Minutes of Glory

Covering the period of British colonial rule and resistance in Kenya to the bittersweet experience of independence-and including two stories that have never before been published in the United States- Ngũgĩ's collection features women fighting for their space in a patriarchal society. Big men in their Bentleys who have inherited power from the British, and rebels who still embody the fighting spirit of the downtrodden. One of Ngũgĩ's most beloved stories, "Minutes of Glory," tells of Beatrice, a sad but ambitious waitress who fantasizes about being feted and lauded over by the middle-class clientele in the city's beer halls. Her dream leads her on a witty and heartbreaking adventure.