The Promised Land

The Promised Land

Grace Ogot

A young farmer and his wife who have migrated to Tanzania from Kenya become embroiled in issues of personal jealousy and materialism, and a melodramatic tale of tribal hatreds ensues. The novel explores Ogot's concept of the ideal African wife: obedient and submissive to her husband; family and community orientated; and committed to non-materialist goals. The style is distinctively ironic giving the story power and relevance. Grace Ogot has been employed in diverse occupations as a novelist, short story writer, scriptwriter, politician, and representative to the UN. Some of her other works include The Island of Tears (1980), the short story collection Land Without Thunder (1988), The Strange Bride (1989) and The Other Woman (1992). The Promised Land was originally published in 1966, and has since been reprinted five times.

ISBN 9789966467713 | 208 pages | 203 x 127 mm | 1991 | East African Educational Publishers, Kenya | Paperback

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About the Author

Grace Ogot

Born in Kenya's Central Nyanza district in 1930, Grace Ogot was a founding member of the Writers' Association of Kenya. She can be credited with being the first African woman writer in English to be published with two short stories in 1962 and 1964. Her first novel The Promised Land (1966) was published in the same year as Flora Nwapa's Efuru and deals with the subject of migration. Her second novel, The Graduate (1980) relates the story of a male protagonist who, after studying in America, returns to Kenya. The novel also offers a comment on Kenyan women's inequality in the political process and intimates how successful they can be when given the opportunity to participate. Ogot has also published three volumes of short stories, as well as a number of works in Dholuo. Her attitude towards language is similar to that of her fellow Kenyan, Ngugi wa Thiong'o's, but until recently her writing has not received the critical appraisal bestowed on Ngugi's writings.

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