My first attempt at reading Ngugi wa Thiong’o was when I tackled A Grain of Wheat in 2005. I admit I did not like the book. Unfortunately with Matigari my view of this author did not change.
The novel is a political satire of the corruption that became rampant during pot independent Kenya. Matigari is a sort of Jesus Christ/ rebel warrior figure who tries to restore order in a land he had fought in order for it to be free.
As such it’s not a bad book but I had trouble relating to it , even though I did my research on the Kenyan politics. At times I was frustrated by the very bad translation and by the end I got heavily irritated.
Until someone manages to translate this novel adequately then my opinion of it won’t really change. It’s out of print so I wouldn’t recommend making an effort to obtain it.
The Bobsphere 