Somewhere in the middle of studies for my undergraduate degree, I took a course in Introduction to Literature. I was excited by the prospect of getting closer to what I really enjoyed: the written word.

We were a small class, I remember. Must have just made the quorum. Quorum. A word that gained significant meaning in my university days. A word that really meant ‘majority rules’.

So there we were, a class of mostly 1st year students and one over-enthusiastic 3rd year (that would be me). Our lecturer informed us that the course would include a breakdown of a novel written by an African author. I deflated like a balloon at that piece of information. Having already read the likes of ‘The River Between’, ‘The Concubine’ and ‘The River and the Source’, I knew what African literature often meant. As much as I enjoyed all these stories, I just did not find it easy to relate them to my world.

You see, I was born and raised in a Kenyan town. A charming town but a modern one nonetheless. I have always enjoyed reading about places I’ve never been to and lives I’ve never lived. But when it came to reading African books, it always felt like I was expected to entirely substitute my life for theirs. Especially so because I am an African. If I do feel, or worse, say that I cannot relate, then how African am I truly?

Despite my misgivings at having my African identity scrutinised and perhaps ridiculed by Introduction to Literature, I stayed open-minded. And I am glad I did because that literature class was when I first heard about Kinyanjui Kombani.

The book selected for our study was Kinyanjui’s first published novel: ‘The Last Villains of Molo’. I took to the book like a duck takes to water. My reward was the pleasant surprise at finally finding a story written by a Kenyan that I could relate to, without any disclaimers.

Synopsis
‘The Last Villains of Molo’ follows the lives of five young unemployed men who live in a Nairobi slum. Bone, Bafu, Rock, Ngeta and Bomu are spending their days living off others in unscrupulous ways when a young and beautiful girl comes into their lives fresh from the USA.

Bone is caught up in a whirlwind romance with Nancy, whose wealth transforms his life and those of his friends. It is not until Bone’s friends start dying one by one in mysterious circumstances that he realises he has been a victim of an elaborate revenge plan.

Why I enjoyed ‘The Last Villains of Molo’:

• The setting. The story is mainly set in Nairobi with main characters in their twenties. What better way to enjoy a story when you can actually picture the setting?
• The crafting. This is a story that was well-written. It is evident that thought was put into how best to tell the story.
• The tragedy. I am a sucker for a good tragedy. The pain, the tears, the twists and turns were all well-expressed in this tale.

Although this book came into my radar as a school assignment, it ended up being much more than that. It became a source of hope for me; hope that I too, with my urban tendencies and modern upbringing, could create an African story for Africans like me.

Kinyanjui Kombani will be at the Storymoja Festival this year. I am glad I will get the opportunity to talk to him about the inspiration behind ‘The Last Villains of Molo’. And you can too!

For more information on Kinyanjui Kombani’s involvement at the Storymoja Festival, check here. Have you read ‘The Last Villains of Molo’ or any of Kinyanjui’s other works? Let us know in the comments.