Son of WomanAn instant success and bestseller in Kenya, which ran into 6 reprints, this prize-winning novel marked the beginning of popular literature in Kenya. Mangua's novel is a fictional, autobiographical account of the son of a prostitute. The male narrator describes his life as the orphan of a prostitute in the slums of Nairobi, a young man frequenting bars and brothels, a student, corrupt civil servant and seasonal convict. His is a humorous and cynical account revealing much about the unsavoury aspects of a world experiencing rapid social change. Charles Mangua is a prolific writer of popular literature, and author of three other novels, Son of Woman in Mombasa (the sequel to Son of Woman), A Tail in the Mouth, and Kanina and I. |
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African ain't anyway bang bastard beer blinking chapati cops cursing damn Dodge door dough Dracula dream drink drunk Eastleigh eyes face fart father feel fellow funny girl give goddam Gosh hand hate head hell hello husband Jack jail jailbird Josy Kaheti Kamau Karatina Kenya kicks kidding Kikuyu Kisii Kiunyu Landrover Langata laughed look lousy maize Mangua married mean mind Miriam Mombasa mother move Muiga Nairobi Nakuru Nanyuki never nice nuts Nyeri Pilsner pocket police station prison punk reckon remember roundhead shilling shit simply sleep smile Somali sorry stand staring starts stop stupid sure talking teeth tell thank Thika thing Titus Oates told Tonia walk whisky whore woman women wondering Zick