There are books that entertain us, and then there are books that haunt us — that sit with us long after we close the final page, whispering questions that pierce the heart and stir the conscience. Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is one such book. It is not a mere novel; it is an awakening. Reading it felt like walking through the wounds and dreams of a continent still learning how to breathe after centuries of suffocation. When I first opened the pages, I expected a story about post-colonial Kenya, but I found a reflection of Africa itself — a continent full of promise yet bleeding from betrayal. Ngũgĩ does not write to please. He writes to provoke, to challenge, and to open eyes that have been taught to look away. The novel begins in the small village of Ilmorog, a place forgotten by the modern world, left behind by the false promises of independence. The people live simple, painful lives under the burning African sun, waiting for rain that never comes. In Ilmorog, I saw many of ...