Rinsing Mkami's Soul
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
Rinsing Mkami's Soul
By (Author) Njambi McGrath
Jacaranda Books Art Music Ltd
Jacaranda Books Art Music Ltd
30th September 2025
20th June 2025
United Kingdom
Classifications
General
Fiction
Narrative theme: Displacement, exile, migration
Narrative theme: Coming of age
Sociology: family and relationships
Narrative theme: Social issues
823.92
Physical Properties
Paperback
320
Width 129mm, Height 198mm
Description
Njambi McGrath, award winning author of Through the Leopard's Gaze, delivers this stunning debut novel examining the validity of fury as response when a young Kenyan girl's mistakes in first love are ruthlessly held against her by a paternalistic society.
Mukami is a young scholarship student at a prestigious boarding school. She has a clear path ahead of her, but a deceptive smile, a school expulsion and an impossible pregnancy see her well ordered life hurtling towards complete and utter disarray.Facing disappointment from her family and finding that innocence is not a strong enough place from which to mount a defence, she declares revenge. This charged novel asks us to question why girls and women are often left to fight for justice from lonely places in societies that prefer them silenced.Reviews
What a heart wrenching book... I loved the interweaving of Gky mythology, distant, and past history with Mkami's desperate life. A clever mind with sharp skill is clearly at work here. Events tied together in strange, mysterious ways. The book is both extended metaphor and identifiably Kenyan. -- Makena Onjerika * 2018 Winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing *
Rinsing Mukami's Soul' is an immersive experience. We fall in love with Mukami from the first page, as she experiences the turbulence and thrill of first love. We stay with Mukami as her world tumbles and she tries to save herself. McGrath takes us on a gritty yet spirited ride through 1980s Kenya, a society wrestling with corruption and grief in the wake of independence. McGrath is a talented writer. She manages to balance brutal realities with a light humourous touch that make 'Rinsing Mukami's Soul' a meaningful and entertaining read. -- Isabelle Dupuy * author of Living the Dream *
Author Bio
Njambi McGrath is a Kenyan born, UK based comedian and author. Amongst her amazing accolades, she was voted 1 of 5 top female comedians to watch by Fabolus Magazine 2012. She has been called the Important Voice by The Times and her comedy has been called 'Trailblazing' by The Guardian. Njambi was nominated Best Newcomer Black Comedy Awards 2012 recently won the 2019 NATYS Award. She has also appeared on BBC World New Years Comedy, BBC Radio 4 Saturday Live.
