"The great Kenyan writer and Nobel Prize nominee Ngugi wa Thiong®o's powerful fictional critique of capitalism. One of the cornerstones of Ngugi wa Thiong®o's fame, Devil on the Cross was written in secret, on toilet paper, while Ngugi wa Thiong®o was in prison. It tells the tragic story of Wariinga, a young woman who moves from a rural Kenyan town to the capital, Nairobi, only to be exploited by her boss and later by a corrupt businessman. As she struggles to survive, Wariinga begins to realize that her problems are only symptoms of a larger societal malaise and that much of the misfortune stems from the Western, capitalist influences on her country. An impassioned cry for a Kenya free of dictatorship and for African writers to work in their own local dialects, Devil on the Cross has had a profound influence on Africa and on post-colonial African literature"-- Provided by publisher.

"First published in Gikuyu by Heinemann Educational Books (East Africa) Ltd 1980. English-language edition translated by the author published in Great Britain by Heinemann Educational Publishers 1982. This edition with an introduction by Namwali Serpell published in Penguin Books 2017"--Title page verso.