Ripples in the Pool

Ripples in the Pool is a symbolic and powerful novel that delves into the tragedy and spiritual disconnection in rural Africa.

Central characters, like Selina, a former prostitute, and Gikere, a hospital assistant, return to their village with ambitions of wealth and power, neglecting the spiritual significance of the village pool. The pool, guarded by a mysterious old man, symbolizes the land’s integrity and spiritual essence. As these characters pursue material gains, they disregard this spiritual core, leading to their downfall.

Selina’s journey, marked by a conflict between her rural roots and urban disillusionment, ends in personal and communal tragedy. The novel critiques modernity’s moral decay and the loss of spiritual connection, questioning whether the pool’s sanctity ultimately prevails over such corruption.

The characters, who span a whole tapestry of rural Africa, are portrayed with a depth and richness that illuminates with shocking clarity aspects of rural society heretofore largely unexplored by African writers.

Rebeka Njau was born in 1932 in Kiambu County, Kenya and is a pioneering playwright and novelist.

Her earliest works appeared under the name ’Rebecca Njau’ as well as the pseudonym ’Marina Gashe’.

Njau was educated at Makerere University College in Kampala. While studying there, she attended the 1962 African Writers Conference alongside other prominent writers such as Chinua Achebe, Christopher Okigbo, and Wole Soyinka.

On her return to Kenya after graduation, Njau founded the Nairobi Girls School in 1964 before going on to work as an editor at Target, the magazine of the National Council of Churches in Kenya.

Njau currently lives in Nairobi, Kenya.