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    Nairobi Grit
    Nairobi Grit
    Nairobi Grit
    Ebook66 pages1 hour

    Nairobi Grit

    By Tom Jalio, Clifton Gachagua and Clifford Oluoch

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    About this ebook

    This anthology is a door to the world of Nairobi in the eyes of three budding Kenyan writers. Welcoming you at the entrance is Tom Jalio with a tale that takes off at the heart of Kenya's capital city. It is famed as the "city in the sun", but what happens when that sun sets and you find yourself in a dark and lonely side of town? Such is the dilemma of a campus student in No Rest for the Wicked.

    The city is surrounded by estates dominated by the middle class. Clifton Gachagua guides you on a stroll through one such residential area in the footsteps of three schoolboys. Follow the bounds of their curiosity as they come of age and are fascinated by the driver of a hearse in Smoker's Lips.

    Clifford Oluoch takes you on a ride with members of the working class coming home from another day of labouring in town. It seems a relief to escape the hustle and bustle of the city for the respite of a quiet neighbourhood, but some of the passengers carry a greater madness with them. Find out what kind in Every Dog Has Its Day.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMaster Publishing
    Release dateDec 20, 2013
    ISBN9789966052063
    Nairobi Grit

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      Book preview

      Nairobi Grit - Tom Jalio

      Publisher

      Publisher’s Note

      There a literary desert in Kenya. Kenyans do not read. These are some of the clichés we had to contend with when coming up with this collection.

      There is no literary barrenness in Kenya. It’s just that most writers express their creativity in blogs, poems, and articles. And there is no shortage of readers. The bulk of them, however, read textbooks, newspapers, and self-help books. There has therefore been a shortage of literary classics since the likes of Ngũgĩ wa Thiongo put Kenya on the map in the 1960s.

      By publishing short stories with a minimum of 5,000 words, we sought to give a stepping stone towards longer literary works. We may do sequels in future to draw more writers out of their shells.

      This (first) anthology is a door to the world of Nairobi in the eyes of three budding Kenyan writers. Welcoming you at the entrance is Tom Jalio with a tale that takes off at the heart Kenya’s capital city. It is famed as the city in the sun, but what happens when that sun sets and you find yourself in a dark and lonely side of town? Such is the dilemma of a campus student in No Rest for the Wicked.

      The city is surrounded by estates dominated by the middle class. Clifton Gachagua guides you on a stroll through one such residential area in the footsteps of three schoolboys. Follow the bounds of their curiosity as they come of age and are fascinated by the driver of a hearse in Smoker’s Lips.

      Clifford Oluoch takes you on a ride with members of the working class coming home from another day of labouring in town. It seems a relief to escape the hustle and bustle of the city for the respite of a quiet neighbourhood, but some of the passengers carry a greater madness with them. Find out what kind in Every Dog Has Its Day.

      These authors come from different parts of the city and all have prior experience in publishing. Each portrays a face of Nairobi with the authority of a resident and the dexterity of a creative writer. The result is an intriguing mix of horror, humour, and harsh realities in the recesses of the city and its environs.

      These stories made the cut from a pool of twelve submissions due to their characterisation and plot development. We compiled them after realising they share the setting of Nairobi and an underlying theme of urban crime. While they have a dark and gritty theme, we do not intend to fall into the stereotype of Nairobi being a dangerous place. Rather, we want to bring out upcoming writers and showcase on the global stage Kenyan writing within the genre of noir fiction.

      I would like to thank Lesleigh Inc. for soliciting the short stories and channelling them to us to consider for publication. I appreciate the authors for being patient with the publishing process and cooperative in doing rewrites. And I am greatly indebted to editorial associate Wanjira Hirst for her insights on substantive issues.

      Agatha Verdadero

      Publisher

      The CAN-DO! Company

      No Rest for the Wicked

      Tom Jalio

      YOU KNOW YOU ARE ON the wrong side of town when the tarmac is a drum and your shoes are its sticks, when the streetlights are losing their battle against the shadows of the skyscrapers, when traffic has dwindled to the highway several blocks away. It’s a detour I take whenever I need to pass by Dad’s office. It just feels lonelier than usual since class ended close to nine p.m. today.

      The patter of my feet plays tricks on my ears. I muffle my steps to catch any stalker’s tread, but the sole rhythm that persists is that of my heart. I scurry across a pavement that feels more spacious than usual. I cross an adjacent road like a car will hit me if I’m half a step too slow. The police are headquartered around the corner at Vigilance House, but they tend to keep vigil more on the pockets of law-abiding citizens than on thieves.

      I go straight past the Central Bank of Kenya. I seek out the intersection beyond two buildings ahead and the return to the safety in numbers it promises. It evokes the sensation I get when approaching the end of a half marathon. The finisher’s medal I would get is the movies I plan to watch on the laptop Dad had borrowed for bookkeeping.

      Someone springs from a saloon car parked to my left. His ebony frame towers over the roof of the vehicle. He raises his palm and says, Young man! Come here!

      Out of fear, I just decelerate, but then someone skirts around me from the other side of the car, blocking my way.

      The one who addresses me continues. Where’s your ID? He flashes a

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