A hard-hitting political story that dramatically juxtaposes the contrasting lives of two young boys living in Kenya during the 1950s. Celebrated for her uncompromising treatment of racist issues, Naidoo once again pulls no punches as she explores and exposes the harsh realities of African colonial politics. Told from the point of view of two very different families on either side of the struggle for colonial freedom, Burn My Heart presents an enlightening, sometimes shocking, look at this often overlooked conflict.
Mathew is the son of a wealthy farming family of settlers (called 'wazungu' by the natives), and is friends with a native servant boy, Mugo, who works in his family's kitchen. At first oblivious to the political crisis in their midst, the boys' friendship is gradually fractured by the spiralling unrest.
Through a series of distressing events, each boy has his eyes opened to a complicated, frightening world of oppression and racism, that causes them to re-evaluate their respective beliefs and allegiances. A dark and harrowing ending is followed by a moving and informative afterword, reinforcing the severity of the crisis, and the fact that its repercussions are still felt today.
Mathew is the son of a wealthy farming family of settlers (called 'wazungu' by the natives), and is friends with a native servant boy, Mugo, who works in his family's kitchen. At first oblivious to the political crisis in their midst, the boys' friendship is gradually fractured by the spiralling unrest.
Through a series of distressing events, each boy has his eyes opened to a complicated, frightening world of oppression and racism, that causes them to re-evaluate their respective beliefs and allegiances. A dark and harrowing ending is followed by a moving and informative afterword, reinforcing the severity of the crisis, and the fact that its repercussions are still felt today.
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