Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

With the aim of broadening my literary horizons, I frequently request and read books, short stories, and poems by non-Western authors. It is a way for me to diversify my reading, yes, but it also gives me a taste of other places, other cultures, other ways of viewing life. This has not just enriched my bookshelves, but also my own way of living, my own understanding of myself. The stories in Minutes of Glory most definitely contributed to this growth. Thanks to The New Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My sincere apologies for the delay.

Short stories are, for me, one of the best ways to get a taste for a culture, for a history, for a people. Because we all tell stories into which we pour our history, our loves, our fears, our beliefs, and our anger. While stories are a good introduction, it is nonetheless worthwhile to know some of the history of their country of origin. The Republic of Kenya has a history full of conflict, largely brought in from the outside. By the 15th century, Mombasa was a great trading city and became known to the Portuguese Empire. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Masai people settled in Kenya, taking over the Bantu people. Colonisation found them towards the end of the 18th century, first through a German protectorate, then via the Imperial British East Africa Company. The breakout of WWI also affected African colonies through proxy wars, as Western powers tried to keep each other busy there to prevent further fighting within Europe itself. As settlers established themselves, they began to occupy more and more land through land titles, which local farmers did not have, and so edged out the local population. This led to the Mau Mau Uprising from 1952 to 1959. During this uprising up to 80,000 Kikuyu were detained in detention camps and subjected to horrible treatment. The uprising was eventually defeated and saw many Kikuyu farmers stripped of their lands. British Imperial control came to an end on 12 December 1963 and Jomo Kenyatta became the Republic's first president. While independence is always the goal, it is not a happy ending in and of itself, as many previously colonised countries struggle to establish for themselves and identity and systems away from their colonised past. This history, especially the Mau Mau Uprising and the loss of land by local farmers play a major role in many of the stories in Minutes of Glory. While the stories themselves give enough background to understand, I nonetheless felt it was important to give this background here as well.

Minutes of Glory is split into four parts, each containing a number of stories. The first part is 'Of Mothers and Children' and features the story 'Mugumo', about a young woman, marriage, and the mugumo tree; 'The Rain Came Down', a story of motherhood, loss, and letting go; and 'Gone with the Drought', a really tragic story of family, famine, and madness. 'Fighters and Martyrs' is the second part. 'The Village Priest' tells the tale of a man struggling between the Christian faith and the faith of his people, while 'The Black Bird' describes the impact of strongly-held beliefs. 'The Martyr' is written from the perspective of white settlers and one of their servants and masterfully describes the different tensions of humanity, loyalty, and domination at play in this relationship. It is a brilliant story. 'The Return' shows a man coming home after having been imprisoned in a detention camp during the Mau Mau Uprising. Is his village waiting for him, or has time left its imprint here as well? 'A Meeting in the Dark' describes the pressures of living in two worlds, the village and the expectations of the new, white world. (This story does feature discussion of female circumcision, i.e. Female Genital Mutilation. The last story of this part if 'Goodbye Africa', another story told from the perspective of white settlers as they look back on their role in the "shaping" of Kenya.

Part three, 'Secret Lives' concerns itself with exactly what the title suggests. 'Minutes of Glory', the title story, tells of a young woman who simply, for a few minutes, wants to be everything she dreamed of, even if life has been a series of disappointments. 'Wedding at the Cross' shows a man losing himself in his desire to seem worthy, while his wife always knew him as good. 'A Mercedes Funeral' is perhaps one of the most tragic stories in Minutes of Glory as it describes the way the life and death of a man became a way for those around them to consider themselves better. 'The Mubenzi Tribesman' combines elements of 'The Return' and 'The Village Priest', showing a young man torn between a White life and the hopes of his tribe. Part four, 'Shadows and Priests' was perhaps my favourite part, featuring Thiong'o's most recent stories. 'Without a Shadow of a Doubt' is almost biographical, telling of Thiong'o' and his brother's experiments concerning shadows and how it led them to great truths. 'The Ghost of Michael Jackson' plays with supernatural elements while critiquing the blind adoration towards priests. This is a playful story, and perhaps also my favourite of the collection.

These stories were my first introduction to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and I am once again immensely pleased at discovering a new author. In the Preface Thiong'o states that: 'My writing is really an attempt to understand myself and my situation in society and in history'. Seeing someone so succinctly describe not just his own writing but his own relationship to his writing was intriguing. Reading the stories in Minutes of Glory it becomes clear to what extent his short stories indeed function as a king of soul-searching for Thiong'o. These stories deal extensively with Kenyan history, but also with the different expectations of his society. We see men and women struggling with their role, with the expectations on them, with their interactions with their elders. Much of this is very recognisable, even to a Western reader, while some offer insight to readers like myself. Others, however, are new and confronting. The way he evokes the internal battle of having been colonised and having that forever change and shape your culture honestly impressed the weight of colonial history upon my mind once again. When reading Japanese fiction I came to appreciate the different tone and style of Japanese writing, and similarly I have found something different to appreciate in Thiong'o's writing. There is a matter-of-factness, mixed with real insight, in Minutes of Glory which meant that each story had me gripped. I will definitely be looking out for more books by Thiong'o.

Minutes of Glory is a great collection of stories which have not just introduced me to Thiong'o but also made me appreciate the role literature has in understanding history, society, and culture. It also made me re-assess some of what I knew about Kenya's history, which I found very valuable.

This collection of short stories was beautiful. It was definitely not happy but it was beautiful nonetheless. These stories took place in places that I have not read a lot about, which I found to be extremely interesting.

I love a short story collection that weaves together to a bigger tapestry. The writing was superb and I truly fell into the writing. Definitely recommend reading.

Usually, in a short story collection, there are lots of ups and downs. It's the type of book that normally gets an average rating because of that. This book though, it's got strong story after strong story with only one exception. I was only unable to connect to the Mercedes story, and after a couple of tries gave up in order to appreciate the remainder of the book.

These stories from Kenya collect so many perspectives: you get the girl working at a bar feeling unloved, the religious boy meant for the white school who has a child on the way, a convert feeling as though he's praying to the wrong God, the husband doing everything he can to show his bride's family he's worth it, a woman envying another's child, a priest brainwashing his parish.. even though some of the stories are only a couple of pages long, you are able to connect with the characters and feel as if you understand what they are going through. Very well written and enjoyable.
Also, this cover is beautiful. I'm a sucker for a beautiful cover.

(book obtained from netgalley, to provide my personal opinion)

Interesting and varied collection of short stories, and a couple of them really stuck with me. Would be interesting to use some of these in my English classroom!

That aside, Minutes of Glory is a short story collection to describe. Thiong'o provides readers with slices of life stories of Kenyans before, during and (immediately) after the colonial era focusing on the region of the country. He weaves in themes of colonisation, race and religion into the everyday lives of the Africans and the British in a simple but captivating manner.

This short story collection took me by surprise when I picked it up the second time around. Honestly, the first time around when I picked it up I read it through like a novel but found it frustrating because I could not see the connection among the different characters... Nonetheless, I am glad that I gave it a second shot because I resonated with his stories and longed to read about this era from our other Kenyan authors.

This remarkable collection of short stories, written by Ngugi wa Thiong’o, has the power to conquer the reader’s attention with its style and the magical atmosphere that pervades all of them. In fact, nature is described as an active actor that shares and represents the feelings of the characters. Set in the period between British colonial rule and resistance in Kenya and the independence, these short stories reflect on several issues such as women’s condition, the role of Christianity in the colonial period, corruption, lack of education and famine.
First of all, women are portrayed as the inferior sex in a patriarchal society. They are treated harshly by violent husbands and if unable to procreate they are portrayed as impure or unclean. They are considered more prone to madness and sometimes they feel powerless and frustrated. African men, at the head of the patriarchal society, are also made inferior by white European settlers because their blackness is considered synonym with shame. They are forced to convert into their faith and obliged to become soldiers to their Christian God to rescue their tribes from a supposed eternal damnation. The arrival of white missionaries, farmers and administrators has changed completely their society and they have gradually become victims of a cruel wave of violence and the object of a forced and unwanted civilization because seen as savage and not as human beings. They have been steadily displaced from their lands by European settlers and forced to sheep-walk. Even if they tried to rebel, they lacked education, the key to a better future, and therefore condemned to a future of sweat and toil or to a period in detention camps. Those who had the possibility to educate themselves chose to learn English and behave like Europeans, erasing completely their African roots. They are represented by the authors as living in an ivory tower of privilege and arrogance. Therefore, Kenyan’s rebellion is a fighting against invisibility and even a minute a glory is sufficient to save them from eternal obscurity.

This short story collection covers the period of British colonial rule and resistance in Kenya through to independence. So it is a large, wide canvas against which to present stories with many varied themes. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is a celebrated, respected writer and this collection shows us exactly why. His keen insights into the many nuances of power, protest, dreams, and social hierarchies shine on almost every page. A master of his craft.

This is a great collection of short stories, of a variety of subjects and types, that will pull you in and make you not want to stop reading. I was hooked from the first story and love how each piece is just as gripping as the last. Loved this collection and highly recommend it!

Minutes of Glory by Ngugi Wa Thiong’o was a collection short stories, spanning many decades until today. While the writing style and storylines varied wildly over time, there were a few things that stayed the same. I loved that he so consistently called out colonialism, and uncritical religious dogma and morality, and capitalism - that all worked for me. I was however, less enamoured of how abruptly every story ended, you’d just be going along with the build up, and bam! end of story. Overall I enjoyed the collection though, and I loved that it was a retrospective of a lifetime of writing. I’m for sure going to pick up one of his novels. Who’s read him? That’s @netgalley for the ARC -!opinions are my own.

A know name, but that I haven't read until now.
A wonderful writing with feeling, that has you feeling it, even with it being a collection of short works

The diversity, the words, the world.
It just leaves you hooked
it just leaves you wanting to go out and read more of it.

Unfortunately, I received this approval too close to the archive date, so I did not get a chance to read it. I love the concept though and I hope to circle back to this book one day!

I really enjoyed this book. All the mini stories added up to one very good book. I also love that you can skip around and read many of the stories but not in any particular order. I highly recommend this book.

I'm not a particular fan of the short story format, but often found these particular work engaging. Those who particularly like that format will be, I think, delighted. Like many other reviewers I was previously unfamiliar with Thiong'o, but I am glad for the introduction. Thanks, NetGalley!

This is one of those books that make me happy I decided to embark on my literary world trip. Minutes of Glory might not be a happy book, but it’s one that speaks volumes for the country it tells the reader about, Kenya.

Since I was a child, Kenya has been one of the countries that I’ve most often heard about when it comes to Africa. But aside from some pictures from safaris and a faraway view of the Kilimanjaro, as well as the general knowledge that I possessed about the sub-Saharan countries, what did actually know about the Kenyan people and their struggles? Or their history? Their cities, aside from Nairobi? Not that much.

Minutes of Glory is a great collection of short stories, where I’m not even a big fan of short stories, which gives us the tales of the modern Kenyan people. The book covers many topics, among which traditional beliefs vs the new, modern world; poverty and lack of education; the struggles of women; religion, etc.

The author’s writing style is simple, yet captivating. He manages to describe the hardships, as well as the joys of people, in vivid detail in the matter of a few pages, and manages to draw the reader in and make them feel engaged with the characters’ journeys. While, for example, I’ve never been a part of a society torn between staying with its old traditions and moving forward with the developing world, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o made me sit down and think about how hard and confusing that might be. While I’ve always had the possibility to get a good education, to learn, to read, to travel, this book showed me how devastating the lack of those possibilities is to a man’s soul.

I found this book by pure chance, on NetGalley, close to its publishing date. I can only be grateful for that.

3.5 stars! This is a beautiful collection of stories. It took me a while to get into the flow of them and some left me hanging and surprised that they were over, but I kind of respect when an author doesn’t give me what I want! I was transported by the descriptions and characters and am hoping to see much more from the author. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the digital copy in exchange for an honest review!

A solid collection of stories which explore society in post-colonial Kenya. I appreciated what it gave me in sense of an understanding of a place, but found it lacking in its ability to stir up emotion. The final story in the collection is the one exception.

This collection was...fine? I enjoyed the insight into Kenyan culture and history. Some of the stories kind of dragged on; in general I liked the shorter ones best. I found myself wishing I had more time to read it (the digital arc was going to expire) so that I could give myself some space to process each story before moving on to the next. This was especially the case in the first part of the book where the stories had similar themes -- it got a bit repetitive to read them one after the other. But the writing was good and I found many of the stories compelling. Thank you to NetGalley and The New Press for providing this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this book with no knowledge of the author and without expectations, but unfortunately I didn't really enjoy the stories. The writing style is good, but I just can't click with any of them.