Betrayal in a Grain of Wheat

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A Grain of Wheat From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Question book-new.svg This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2010) A Grain of Wheat AGrainOfWheat.jpg First edition Author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o Country Kenya Language English Genre Historical novel Published 1967 (Heinemann) Media type Print (Hardback & Paperback) Pages 247 pp ISBN NA A Grain of Wheat is a novel by Kenyan novelist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. The novel weaves together several stories set during the state of emergency in Kenya's struggle for independence (1952–1959), focusing on the quiet Mugo, whose life is ruled by a dark secret. The plot revolves around his home village's preparations for Kenya's independence day celebration, Uhuru day. On that day, former resistance fighters General R and Koinandu plan on publicly executing the traitor who betrayed Kihika (a heroic resistance fighter hailing from the village). Characters[edit] Mugo, a loner who became a hero after leading a hunger strike in a British concentration camp and trying to stop a village guard from beating a pregnant woman to death. Although he is thought to be a hero throughout the whole book, he is the traitor who betrayed Kihika to the British in order to selfishly save himself. Gikonyo, an ambitious carpenter and business man married to Mumbi. He confessed to taking the oath of the resistance while in a concentration camp, securing an early release only to find that his wife had borne a child with his hated rival Karanja while he was away. Mumbi, the wife of Gikonyo and sister of Kihika. While Gikonyo was imprisoned she slept with Karanja, who had been appointed village chief by the colonial power. Karanja, a collaborator with the British and widely suspected to be the
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