A Thief in the African Night: The Conflicts of Change
Joe Miano
Category: Drama
The book views the African experience through the eyes of three Africans, an Ameru, a Maasai, and a Gikuyu and their interactions with the Colonials. They are slowly learning British ways and are corralled into helping them extend colonialism and assist through the years of WWI. They slowly come to the realization that freedom is being denied them.
This historical fiction covers the years of early colonialism in East Africa, roughly from the 1880’s to 1925. These years were highly influential to East Africans development. I was influenced by my reading of Elsbeth Huxley, but especially Jeffrey Fadiman who studied the Meru people. I have lived in Kenya from 1972 to 78, the first three years as a US Peace Corps Volunteer in Meru district.
The book tries to view the African experience through the eyes of three Africans, an Ameru, a Maasai, and a Gikuyu and their interactions with each other and the Colonials. They are slowly learning the ways of the British and are corralled into helping them extend colonialism and assist them through the years of WWI. They slowly come to the realization that freedom is being denied them.
The backdrop is enchanting East Africa and the history of the region, much of which must be conjectured. I include lore of some of the tribes and try to weave a web from pre-history to the War.
