I really loved this book, because it showcases a type of mythology that is not taught in Europe and in the US: it was fun, it was different, and it is something I feel like is really refreshing, as the latest literary trends seem to focus only on greek mythology.
It was a pretty fast read, and could easily be read in one whole sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I love the epic format and the style of The Perfect Nine was incredibly pleasant and reflective throughout. Themes such as religion, unity, family, femininity, Black beauty, and more were touched upon in this quick and easy tale rooted in folklore. I enjoyed the size and pacing of the segments and enjoyed the atmosphere of travel and perseverance. My main drawback is a pretty big one I haven't seen commented on much; the portrayal of disability in this really doesn't sit right with me, with the suggestion that there is a 'miracle cure' to what can only be a hinderance or struggle. The disabled sister was also the last born which added to the idea of her being the 'runt' so to speak, which was overall just really harmful. This view isn't great at all and I feel it was a topic that could have been handled with more care. This aside, I enjoyed the mythical journey and sense of adventure and rumination within.

"Ngũgĩ tells the story of the founding of the Gĩkũyũ people of Kenya, from a strongly feminist perspective. A verse narrative, blending folklore, mythology, adventure, and allegory, The Perfect Nine chronicles the efforts the Gĩkũyũ founders make to find partners for their ten beautiful daughters—called “The Perfect Nine” —and the challenges they set for the 99 suitors who seek their hands in marriage."

Super interesting, genre-defying take on mythology. Very easy to get into and breeze through.

I thought this one was genre-defying, as it claimed to be.

It's easy to get into the story, and easy to follow. While I had a bit of trouble remembering the names, I could easily follow what was going on. One of the pros is that it really puts you in a mood as if you're hearing your great grandmother tell a tale or legend from her ancestors. This is the best I can describe how I felt. The mood created was marvelous.

It also put me in a thinking mood; thinking about life, about Gods, spirituality, legends, feminism, heaven and so much more.

I love reading about African folklore. They are always such enthralling and vivid stories, histories, legends and myths. It's fun, different, and always leaves me wanting more.

It's a quick read, easily can be read in just one sitting.

If you're looking for something new, rather than the good old Greek myth retellings, dive into this one. You will love it.

From the author’s own introduction:

“The Gĩkũyũ are one of several peoples that make up the Kenyan nation.

The Gĩkũyũ people trace theirs to Gĩkũyũ (man) and Mũmbi (woman). God put the pair on the snowcapped Mount Kenya, from where they surveyed the lands around. They made their home in a place called Mũkũrũweinĩ. They had nine daughters, but they were actually ten, hence the Perfect Nine.

Legend has it that when the girls came of marrying age, Gĩkũyũ went back to the mountaintop and asked God to provide. On waking up one morning, the family found ten handsome young men outside their home in Mũkũrũweinĩ. The ten clans of the Gĩkũyũ people are named after the ten daughters.

The epic The Perfect Nine is an interpretation of that myth starting from a question: where did the Ten Suitors come from?”

This is indeed an epic. In the sense of the scope and subject matter of the writing. Written originally in verse much of that poetic timbre and flow of language is maintained in this excellent translation into English. Epic too, in the scale of its central theme, like a creation epic it centres on personal identity, the spiritual awareness and the place of humanity in the world as stewards and beneficiaries.

The idea of creator God is addressed and the ideas shared by the world’s religions and numerology is tackled in an inclusive way. Such that the man and woman welcome suitors from all over the known world. Inclusivity and openness is the welcome offered to the 99 young men that trek in search of their prize the hand of great beauty in one of the nine daughters. They want to fight it out among themselves - ‘to the victors the spoils’. But that isn’t the way things will be done.

I loved the pass of the writing. The author’s melody of ritual and faith initially which then leads in a series of quests. The sense of travel; the struggle of the journey to the mountain top. The need to find the means of faithful worship bring worthy sacrifice and libations down from the mountain and defeat ogres to impart healing for the tenth daughter.

The language isn’t like theological tracts - rather it is the wisdom of consensus and the politics of reason, choosing faith over fear, love before strife and peace rather than war. Indeed the simple sagacity is not a given for it is in working together, pooling resources no-one deemed of greater worth or excused chores that rank, gender and pride are shown as irrelevant.
The girls, in every way beautiful princesses have grown up without brothers and have been taught to reason, hunt, fight and see no-one their master.

This is a fresh dimension to the many tales of knights in shining armour rescuing the fair maid. They can out think, out run and endure better than most. The quest is to bring them together while whittling down those with the stomach for graft and potential danger.

The episodes of endurance brings about a closer and stronger bond. There is no room for ego and those who cannot bend are not broken but allowed to freely return home - go in peace. This sense of unity and practically learning the lessons for life and society based living creates strong bonds.
In terms of the dangers, challenges, life-threatening situations they are a mix of common sense learning, teaching through parables or fables and wisdom writing of appropriate sayings.

I throughly became engrossed in the writing that transcends genre, culture and religion. You feel enriched and better placed to meet the stress and fears tomorrow may bring.

I bring in conclusion some further words from the author’s introduction:

“ I use the quest for the beautiful, as an ideal of living, as the motive force behind migrations of African peoples. The epic came to me one night as a revelation of ideals of quest, courage, perseverance, unity, family, and the sense of the divine, in human struggles with nature and nurture.”

What beautiful writing which hopefully finds a universal audience and melt the hardness hearts full of entitlement, superiority and self-worth.

I liked the style of the writing and thought it was an epic feminist adventure. I’d recommend it to fans of free verse and wonderful adventure.

The Perfect Nine is a dazzling, genre-defying novel in verse by critically-acclaimed poet and writer which singlehandedly attempts to tackle the absurdities, injustices, and corruption of an entire continent. In his first attempt at the epic form, Ngũgĩ tells the story of the founding of the Gĩkũyũ people of Kenya, from a strongly feminist perspective. A verse narrative, blending folklore, mythology, adventure, and allegory, The Perfect Nine chronicles the efforts the Gĩkũyũ founders make to find partners for their ten beautiful daughters—called “The Perfect Nine” —and the challenges they set for the 99 suitors who seek their hands in marriage. The epic has all the elements of adventure, with suspense, danger, humor, and sacrifice. Ngũgĩ’s epic is a quest for the beautiful as an ideal of living, as the motive force behind migrations of African peoples. He notes, “The epic came to me one night as a revelation of ideals of quest, courage, perseverance, unity, family; and the sense of the divine, in human struggles with nature and nurture.”

This is a sprawling and startlingly original epic which is steeped in rich cultural tradition and mythology with a rare beauty about it which immerses you in the Kenyan setting from the very beginning. Written in lyrical, gorgeous prose which flows exquisitely page to page, we are treated to an inspirational message about courage and unity; an important message now more so than ever as we trundle through a hellscape of a year. With humour and humility, beauty and brevity, and both timeliness and timelessness, The Perfect Nine is a raw and unflinching depiction of the true Africa described in captivating and beguiling fashion. Political and powerful, entertaining yet thoughtful, this is a humane and exceptional exploration and celebration of Kenyan culture with a distinct and welcome feminist tang. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Harvill Secker for an ARC.

A fabulous epic in verse, The Perfect Nine tells the foundational myth of the Gikuyu people in Kenya. Written in Gikuyu and translated by the author, Ngugu wa Thiong’o into English, it follows traditional oral storytelling in simple, beautiful language.

The Perfect Nine is a feminist retelling of the myth, the perfect nine being the ten daughters of Gikuyu (man) and Mumbi (woman) who founded the nine clans of Gikuyu. Born into a vibrant landscape, they grew into beautiful, brave women attracting suitors from far and wide. Before they can chose husbands, the women and their suitors embark on a perilous quest, facing many dangers and learning about themselves and each other.

“We faced many trials on our journey,
Which turned out to be a test of heart and body.
You cannot be without trying to be.”

I loved the world view, the belief in connectedness of everything, the humanity. The Perfect Nine has been compared to classical Greek epics, I found it totally unique and original. An important book that deserves a wide readership, especially in Britain with its colonial legacy.

My thanks to Harvill Secker, Vintage, Random House and Netgalley for the opportunity to read The Perfect Nine.

The only other book I have read by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o was “The Wizard of the Crow” – an epic, sprawling, satirical, magical-realism account of the fictional African country of Aburiria in post cold war period.

That story was originally designed to be performed aloud in Gĩkũyũ (the language of one of the people groups making up the Kenyan nation) and was then translated by the author to English (so that as English readers we receive the author's voice directly).

This book too has been translated by the author from Gĩkũyũ and one can even more easily imagine it being performed aloud, but in many other ways this is a very different story.

This book is effectively a feminist reworking of the foundational myth of the Gĩkũyũ people – and is best explained by the author from his introduction.

The Gĩkũyũ people trace theirs to Gĩkũyũ (man) and Mũmbi (woman). God put the pair on the snowcapped Mount Kenya, from where they surveyed the lands around. They made their home in a place called Mũkũrũweinĩ. They had nine daughters, but they were actually ten, hence the Perfect Nine. Legend has it that when the girls came of marrying age, Gĩkũyũ went back to the mountaintop and asked God to provide. On waking up one morning, the family found ten handsome young men outside their home in Mũkũrũweinĩ. The ten clans of the Gĩkũyũ people are named after the ten daughters. The epic The Perfect Nine is an interpretation of that myth starting from a question: where did the Ten Suitors come from? I imagined them as the last left standing after others failed tests of character and resolve.

Overall this is a very simple to read tale, like much oral mythology delighting in repetition (the nine daughters are often each referenced in turn); in real but striking natural features – here snow and volcanoes; in daunting mythical creatures, representing trials and challenges – in this case mainly ogres; in heroic quests – here for a magical hair with curing powers; of split loyalties (the suitors and their own families against the ties of the daughters to their legendary parents); and in the victories of unlikely heroes (with the tenth daughter moving increasingly from the margins to the centre of the tale). I have seen the book compared to Greek mythology, but while I am no expert on this, I found the strong morality in the tales much closer to Eastern religions.

Overall this simple tale when set aside his previous epic, showcases the author’s impressive literary virtuosity while still circling around his central idea of a celebration of African language, oral storytelling and culture.

An excellent celebration of African and specifically Kenyan pre-colonialism culture and mythology; Ngugi wa Thiong'o's epic poem reads as a unique, timeless and yet absolutely intimate experience.

I've seen other reviewers compare this to Homer but for me it's closer to Hesiod's 'Theogony'.. Ngugi wa Thiong'o pays homage to the western epic genre with invocations to the supreme creator: 'I implore thee for the power to faithfully tell this story', and replicates the repetitions that indicate an oral form. But this is self-consciously feminist as the Perfect Nine are 'the matriarchs of the nine clans' of the Gikuyu tribe of Kenya.

Transmitting a mythology which welcomes Kenya specifically and Africa more widely into being, this ends with the transmission of values from the founders/parents to their daughters: 'Look for me among those building the nation in the the name of the human'.

Lyrical, politicised, humane, entertaining as well as weighty, and translated into English by the author, this feels like a timely and yet timeless celebration of Kenyan culture.

Beginning of a civilization, setting of nine clans of Kenya.

Epic, almost fairytale-like, poetic read.

Celebration of African culture.

The book follows a very different story in a unique setting of first man and woman and setting of civilisation and the nine clans. The language is incredibly poetic

'The Perfect Nine,' by Ngugi wa Thiong'o' is the story of how Gikuyu (man) and Mumbi (woman) establish the nine tribes of Kenya, through the birth of their daughters. Written in a Homerian form, Thiong'o tells the story of how these daughters chose their suitors.

I have to admit to only having got a small way into this book before I gave up. I usually enjoy stories written in different forms and was drawn to the promise of epic mythology. However, I found the repetition of phrases prevented me from getting into the story and perhaps due to the layout in the manuscript I was sent, I found it hard to follow.

The Perfect Nine by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o is one of my favourite discoveries of 2020 so far. It’s the story of how Gikuyu (man) and Mumbi (woman) discover a hospitable land to settle on after many adventures, give birth to nine daughters who then become the ancestors of the nine tribes of Kenya.

Written in prose verse, the book is super accessible to contemporary readers. It is a wonderful narrative of female empowerment where the nine daughters who grow up without much male presence, can basically fend for themselves fully on their own. And yet when the time comes, they partner with men from around the world who cherish and stand by them through their journeys to Mount Kenya, fighting ogres and other hazards along the way.

So why is this epic a very critical cultural moment? Because it’s not everyday you find a book that tells you about the origin of African culture. This is a book that celebrates creation and existence of an African identity pre-colonialism. It revives for the current generation a sense of pride and wonder about the glorious Gikuyu lineage that has as much validity as anything Greek, Roman or Indian. It breathes in a rare dose of freshness to the genre of epic. It does a whole lot of good in a brief narrative. Read this book by yourself or with children and a sense of wonder will persist. Highly recommended.

As Homer did for the Greeks, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o does for the Gĩkũyũ people, using epic poetry to convey morals by way of gripping stories that are rich in both action and symbolism. The story revolves around a slew of suitors who travel from near and far with interest in the gorgeous and talented daughters of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi – the daughters being the titular “perfect nine.” [Lest one take the allusion to Homer too far, the problem faced in this story is not how to be rid of the suitors, but how to find the best of them and have the daughters each have a husband she desires. Also, in the case of this myth, the answer to the question of how to deal with the suitors is not to murder them all -- on the contrary, discouraging the use of violence as a problem-solving tool is among the major morals taught throughout this work.]

I’ve long been meaning to read works by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. I have a policy of reading literature from each country I visit, and when one looks into literature from Kenya his name stands above all others. He’s not merely one of the major figures in Kenyan literature, but of African and global literature as well. However, before I got around to reading one of his novels, I was lucky to have the opportunity to read his latest work, which is due out in the fall of 2020.

The story takes the Nine and their prospective suitors on a journey of adventure that will test their mettle as they carry out a mission, traveling through perilous territory that Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi once traversed, themselves. As in Greek and Norse Mythology, the enemies are often supernatural, as is necessary given how capable the Nine are shown to be. Most of the suitors – certainly the ones that live through the early adventures -- are no slouches themselves.

The morals that are conveyed through the story are non-violence (whenever possible), opposition to misogyny and patriarchal norms, a variety of virtuous attitudes and actions, and a kind of tribal attitude. By tribal attitude, I don’t mean tribalistic in the sense that they suggest attacking or even denigrating those of other tribes, but Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi insist that all the suitors and daughters live nearby -- with none allowed to return to the homeland of the suitors. However, as this plays out in the latter part of the story in a way that I’ll leave to the reader to discover, there is an opportunity for learning that modifies the strong tribal norm. [It also leads to the teaching of another important virtue which is to avoid the “you’re dead to me” attitude that one often sees in stories when two parties are at loggerheads.]

I was fascinated by this work. Because -- in the manner of mythology -- it has some preliminaries to get through at the start, it felt a little slow out of the gates. [Though it was much quicker to delve into the adventure than were the early chapters of “The Odyssey” in which Telemachus goes out looking for his father.] So, don’t worry, the story gets into a taught journey of heroes in no time.

I highly recommend this book for readers of fiction and mythology.