1 Introduction

Description

Product Description

"A home without daughters is like a spring without a source." Published in 1994, The River and the Source traces the lives of three generations of women and the men who stood by them. It begins with the story of Akoko, set in her rich traditional Luo surroundings in Nyanza province of Kenya, to the children of Awiti who live and die in the full swell of the 20th century. Akoko's determination and clarity of vision is prominent among the five generations of Akokos's family. The River and the Source is a story of unparralleled vision, endurance, and hope. The women in this award-winning novel are fiercely loyal to family and family values, are able to endure suffering with determination and courage, believe in continuity through change, and have a firm belief in God. The River and the Source embraces the African woman's spirit of welcoming change while taking on the challenges that come with it. It is an epic story that spans cultures—filled with laughter and tears. It is a book that gives a true and involving insight into the culture and aspirations of the Luo people–the land of Obama's father.

Review

In 1995, The River and the Source won the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature and the Commonwealth Writer's Prize, Best First Book. Over 2 million print copies have been sold in Kenya since then. It has been a literature set book for the Kenya secondary schools. It has been studied in many universities in Africa and beyond. An English edition has also been published in Nigeria. It has also been translated into Italian, Lithuanian, and Spanish.

"Ogola has a clear and unpretentious narrative voice, which makes the story very engaging. She also has a uniquely Kenyan turn of phrase." Sarah Norman, White whale (www.booksof2010blogspot.com).

"A top class novel from a highly qualified consultant paediatrician." — Ciugu Mwagiru, The Sunday Nation, August 7, 1994

"Ogola's text seeks to project Kenyan women as capable of not only telling their own stories but also of claiming their rightful place and identity in the broader national life." — Dr Tom Odhiambo, University of Nairobi

The River and the Source richness in terms of thematic exploration, character development and manipulation of style has established her as one of Kenya's upcoming writers worthy of critical attention." — Prof Egara Kabaji, The Weekly Review, June 30, 1995

About the Author

Margaret Atieno Ogola (1958-2011) was a Kenyan doctor and writer. Though a medical doctor, Margaret Ogola was always interested in writing. In her own words, 'her love affair with writing' started at the age of 15 when she sent her first manuscript to a publisher. But it was not until twenty years later, and after many half-hearted attempts, that she wrote The River and the Source—the prize winning and enthralling novel that catapulted her into the world of literature. She said of the novel, "I almost casually began to write The River and the Source, which was a story waiting to be written. I wrote in long hand from November 1992—in between patients—and by April 1993, the over 300 page novel was ready for perusal by a publisher." Margaret Ogola also wrote I Swear by Apollo—a sequel to The River and the Source, A Place of Destiny, and Mandate of the People, published posthumously. She has coauthored a handbook for parents, Educating in Human Love, with her husband George. She contributed a chapter in Empowerment of Women, which came out of the Beijing Conference in 1995. She was the recipient of the Familias Award for Humanitarian Service of the World Congress of Families, in Geneva, Switzerland in 1999.