Bound to be an interesting topic for Kenyans Wanjiru Koinange’s debut novel, The Havoc of Choice, is a story about family, politics, and journeying through a fractured country in a delicate time.
“Long-held captive by her father’s shadow of corruption, Kavata has spent her life suffocated by political machinations. When her husband decides to run in the next election, these shadows threaten to consume her home. Unable to bear this darkness, she comes with a plan to escape. As her family falls apart so too does the country. In the wake of Kenya‘s post-election turmoil, Kavata and her family must find their way back to each other across a landscape of nationwide confusion, desperation and heart-rending loss.
Koinange explores the long reach and effects of colonization and corruption within the context of a singular household and the disparate experiences of class and clan they encapsulate.
Wanjiru Koinange is a force. She is a writer, restorer of libraries and entrepreneur with a degree in Journalism and Literature, Masters in Creative writing, and a former talent, festival and events manager. She has worked with organizations like the Africa Centre. While studying for her Master’s in Capetown she was in the editorial team of Chimurenga.
Her writing has been published in several journals and magazines across the continent including Chimurenga, SlipNet, and Commonwealth Writers where she served as a cultural correspondent for East and Southern Africa in 2015. During this stint, she published this piece about the McMillan Memorial Library – Kenya’s second oldest library. This article was a major inspiration for the formation of Book Bunk, which Wanjiru co-founded with Angela Wachuka in 2017 and now restores some of Nairobi’s most iconic public libraries. Wanjiru is also a publisher at Bunk Books, an imprint of Book Bunk Limited which is the commercial arm of Book Bunk Trust.
The Havoc of Choice is available for purchase directly at any Text Book Center outlet and other major bookstores countrywide.
