Mrs. Shaw

“What emerges in Mrs. Shaw is the cyclical nature of a postcolonial nation-state returning, over and over again, to its violent origins. Yet Mukoma is just as critical toward revolutionary movements that they themselves cannot escape the pathologies of violence.… Mrs. Shaw is a treatise on traumas, individual and collective, but it is also a document on working through these physical and psychological wounds through the technologies of writing.” ~Los Angeles Review of Books

“Mukoma Wa Ngugi is a deft, poised storyteller who has mastered the art of sweeping up the reader. From the first page of Mrs. Shaw I found myself hooked, in awe, riveted. Here’s a sad, gripping and highly entertaining romp of a novel.”

“Mrs. Shaw is a searing account which subverts the notion of universal truths. It is also a novel that poignantly narrates the story of exile, love, the struggle for freedom and multiple perceptions of history.…Through his artistic and fictional representation of war, exile and love, Mukoma wa Ngugi has produced an eloquent critique on the complexity of life and relationships and the impact of political exile.” ~Wasafiri

“Mukoma Wa Ngugi’s latest publication, Mrs. Shaw, is a work of astonishing imagination, blending the real with the surreal to explore the plight of a political activist, Kalumba, who is returning to his fictional homeland, Kwatee, following years of exile in America. The book grips the reader’s attention from start to finish, using twists, turns, and surprises in a plot laced with intrigue, suspense, tension, and passion.”