This story of interconnected lives spans generations. Eileen has to leave Kenya after teaching there for many years and go back to England only to find that Britain is no longer her home. Meanwhile the brightest and best student of her career, and that student's son have problems of their own in terms of fitting into their environments. They all discover that a person's birthplace is not always their home.

A fascinating view of one slice of life in Kenya is offered in this book.

THE PEOPLE OF OSTRICH MOUNTAIN takes on the transition from British colonial control to an independent Kenya. The story covers 50 years across three continents, beginning in the 1950s when local guerrilla fighters (Mau Mau) launch the war (1952-60) that will ultimately lead to Kenyan independence.

Author Ndirangu Githaiga uses the daily lives of a handful of individuals, both British and Kenyan, to tell this larger story:
• Wambũi, a 14-year old girl, whose family lives a simple, subsistence village life. When the violence of war and increasingly repressive government measures begin to threaten her village, Wambũi‘s family makes the difficult decision to send her away to boarding school, one of the first dedicated to educating girls. 
• Eileen Atwood, a dedicated British teacher devoting her life to her students. She is the first to notice Wambũi‘s extraordinary mathematical abilities and is determined to develop her talents. Even if Wambũi dislikes the extra attention.
• Ray, Wambũi‘s son, a gifted physician who winds up experiencing all the discrimination and prejudice typical of a black man living in an American urban city.

As decades pass, lasting friendships form, unexpected opportunities appear, and material success transforms lives. The fledging independence of Kenya brings its own restrictions. What becomes apparent in this novel is the profound impact individual life decisions can have on the ultimate life one leads. As well as the ways societal events and attitudes can impose unexpected limitations to and interference in an individual's goals. 

On the plus side, I learned a lot about how one African country took control away from a colonial power and about the difficulties and rewards of transitioning to independence.

On the minus side, I felt the book lacked focus. Stories jumped around, time passed abruptly, and some passages (like a long description of a safari in the Maasai Mara) felt like they were added for no discernible reason. I also never found myself emotionally involved with the main characters. So, I’d only recommend this one to those interested in the subject matter or time period.

This is a really good read and I really enjoyed the characters. I learned a lot from the this book and it's one I might read again in the future. I highly recommend.

An absorbing saga that could have been longer.

I really enjoyed this Kenyan novel. We follow three main characters: Wambui, her son Raymond and her English mathematics teacher Eileen from the 1950s to sometime in the 2000s. We see Wambui grow up from young maths prodigy to wife and mother, follow her son as he goes to medical school and eventually to America to work, and Eileen as she is forced to return to England after losing her job. I liked all three stories and my only real gripe is that I wanted to spend more time with the characters. The sudden time jumps were a bit jarring and I think the reading experience would have been richer if the book had been longer. But that's really just a tribute to how much I enjoyed the story and not a criticism as such. I recommend this to readers who like historical fiction and sagas. 4.5☆

Audio narration: I didn't feel the narrator added anything to the story, it was pleasant enough narration but just a straight up reading and when I switched to the ebook I enjoyed the experience better.

I'd like to thank the publishers, Bob Esprit Books, and Netgalley for kindly providing me with an advance release copy. All opinions are my own.

A saga of family and friendship spanning five decades and three continents.

We begin in the 1950s village, located in the shadow of Mt Kenya. As the Mau Mau grow in strength...young men are disappearing from the village to join up and fight for freedom. They inflict horrific deaths on those that support or associate with the British.

Wambũi, is fourteen-years-old and is given the chance of a lifetime to leave her besieged village to join a prestigious boarding school a half day’s journey away by train.
Eileen Atwood is a British teacher at the school. What begins as suspicion and hostility on Wambuis part, becomes a lifelong friendship.
Then, Wambũi's son Ray is training as a doctor in Kenya. He is lucky enough to travel to America to undertake a residentancy. Life is certainly different in Chicago ....racism is rife.

For me personally, The People of Ostrich Mountain bought back treasured memories of my time in Kenya. The graphic and emotive description of Eileen's visit to Masai Mara bought tears to my eyes. One of my most favourite places ever too. The tears didn't stop the following day when we learn of the saddest loss.

I believe you are always best writing about what you know. Ndirangu Githaiga proves this. Thank you for taking me back to a most special part fo the world.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bon Esprit Books and Ndirangu for this copy.

Beautifully written with an enchanting storyline and characters that were so well developed that I felt like I could jump into the pages and be welcomed by them. I felt ike I knew them and I absolutey loved them. I loved the setting and the historical content. A really enjoyable read.

This one was really just ok. The strength is definitely the historical/geopolitical information, and the opening is promising. After the story starts to move away from a linear following of Wambui, it weakens significantly. I don’t think I’d seek out any other works by Githaiga.

Audio: the narrator does the work no favors with his monotonous sing-song presentation. There were times I needed to stop the audio and move to reading it to stay engaged. I will be actively avoiding any other works narrated by Lee Goettl.

Thank you to Ndirangu Githaiga, Lee Goettl, Bon Esprit Books, and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed every minute of this book. It really captured my attention from the very first sentence and held it throughout. I thought the historical setting was particularly well drawn and the characters came across as very believable.

If you enjoy quality historical family sagas, then this book has to be on your to-read list. I highly recommend it.

*I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for review consideration.

There's always something memorable about the books that take you back into time or those that have characters and stories set upon some time in history- and more often than not, such stories serve as reminders of the events that happened and how it affected people.
In this book, set in the 1950s at a time when Kenya was fighting for her independence, and follows the life of Wambui. She goes to Alliance, gets an education at a time when her mates are getting married, but her Father is steadfast and insists that his daughter will go and get an education- probably the only man in that village who foresaw the future and changing times.
From then, it's an account of the people who influence her life, like Eileen Atwood, her teacher- and then down the line the family she creates and her children weaving their way around the world.
The pace makes this an interesting read.
Thank you Netgalley for the eARC.