Ngugi is one of the most important novelists on the contemporary world stage, and someone whose name has for many become synonymous with cultural controversy and political struggle.

Patrick Williams lucid analysis offers the most up-to-date study of Ngugis writing, including his most rcent collection of essays. Focusing on important aspects of Ngugis work which critics have hitherto ignored, and drawing on a wide range of relevant theoretical perspectives, this study examines the growing complexity of Ngugis accounts of the history of colonised and post-colonial Kenya. The cultural and anti-imperial politics on Ngugis experimentation with language and form in both novel and drama is discussed, including the important role of culture as a source of historical memory and strategies of resistance for oppressed groups.

All the novels and the major plays are studies in detail, and in addition a substantial chapter examines Ngugis contribution in the area of non-fiction.