The novel written by a Kenyan can be read for several of the categories as an African writer who does not publish in English, as a political novel and, in addition, written during his confinement in Kamiti prison.
Ngūgī wa Thiong'o was being held in 1980 in Kamiti maximum security prison and took advantage of the harsh toilet paper provided by the prison to write this novel.
It is a text written in Gikuyu dialect and does not stand out for its style, it is full of symbolism, legends and scenes that represent their culture. But, it keeps a deep political message, disillusioned by the results of the independence of his country, Thiong'o denounces that the national bourgeoisie are nothing more than the straw men of the multinationals that continue to possess the wealth of the country. It is a class obsessed with Western culture and education, to the point of assuming to the point of ridicule foreign customs.
"They [the foreigners] will eat the meat and we [the national bourgeoisie] will peel the bones.... The dog that has a bone is better than the dog that has nothing... but make no mistake, it's a bone with some pieces of meat." That's the image he has of the bourgeoisie after Kenyan independence.
"The white man believes that there is no business that beats stealing and looting. I will speak frankly to you. The white man came to this country holding the Bible in his left hand and a gun in his right. He stole the fertile lands of the people. He stole the cows and the goats of the people, piling on fines and taxes. He robbed the people of the work of their hands." If we who live in America's backyard will know.
Written in the midst of the Cold War, in a world of bipolar powers and ideas, it may seem a bit pamphleteering.
The plot is based on a journey of 5 characters in a matatu (bus), each of them representing a social group, a manual worker, a young woman seeking to make a decent living, an intellectual, a woman who participated in the struggles for independence, an executive of the national bourgeoisie and, finally, the driver of the matatu. They travel to the city of Ilimorg for different reasons and attend the Devil's Party!
At that party, the seven most efficient thieves and robbers will be chosen to represent the interests of foreigners, new straw men.
Perhaps, it only reveals images of a reality that has been covered by advertising and the mass media of disinformation.