Through The Leopard’s Gaze
Author: Njambi McGarth
As a denizen of Kenya and an action thriller author, I am always on the lookout for books about my adopted country. Through the Leopard’s Gaze, is a story of the Kikuyu tribe towards the end of colonial rule. Njambi writes with real empathy for the times, and she is spot-on with her history.
This captivating memoir follows Njambi through her formative years spent in Kenya from the perspective of her settled life now in the UK. The novel grabbed me from the very beginning, as Njambi describes her idyllic early life of running to school barefoot and just doing what I see so many youngsters do in Kenya.
However, as with all lives a little rain must fall, with Njambi when it came it was like the Kusi monsoon! Living in an era where the Colonial British ruled Kenya with an iron fist must have been hell on earth. Njambo describes horrific scenes of colonial officers using whips and clubs. She even goes as into the internment camps used by the British to try and contain the Mau Mau freedom fighters of the time.
When the British left Kenya, a void was created. The people were free from the oppression of colonial rule, but there was nothing to take its place. The British had done their best to stamp out most of the Kikuyu culture, so the people were left wanting. Njambi’s father, as an entrepreneur, was able to take on the newfound freedom and starts several successful businesses which lead Njambi to a very happy place. A large house and a farm to live on with a wonderfully loving mother. She enjoyed this newfound freedom with her siblings, and it comes across in ‘Through the Leopard’s Gaze’ as a real-time of pleasure and freedom.
But as always, the monsoon comes around again. Njambi’s father, like so many Kenyan men falls prey to alcohol and soon the happiness is torn from Njambi’s life. Her father descends into a world of narcissism, alcohol, and self-pity which he takes out on his family. When Njambi’s father beats the final straw into Njambi’s back, she must leave the compound and her siblings to forge a new life on her own where she is thrown into poverty and suffering.
As the book is a memoir, there are a lot of flashbacks drawing comparisons between Njambi’s new life and her difficult upbringing. She has a constant struggle with her emotions regarding her father and her family with the final chapters drawing it all together in a celebration.
Overall, I enjoyed Through the Leopard’s Gaze and would definitely read more from Njambi McGrath. The book was so well written I could not put it down. As a student of African history, I found the descriptions of life over the colonial period and beyond very informative. Njambi was able to paint a picture of the times and the people.
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