AFRICAN LITERATURE

BY Mubarak Abdessalami

Abstract
Meja Mwangis novel Going Down River Road has not been given the merit it deserves. Most critics have disapproving conclusions about it. They emphasize the fact that it is weak, pessimistic, and that it does not offer solutions to the deplorable economic and social situation of the neo-colonial period in Kenya he wrote about. However almost no one has approached it stylistically to explore its artistic features. And this is mainly the core of this study. Lets first stress the fact that the novel is not an essay or a report. A fictional writing is not required to propose solutions to problems though most African novelists generally do so. We should not deny its powerful construction thanks to its style and language. Its force stems from its true to life characters, setting and diction, besides its distinguished depictive language. Its style reflects the real type of life people in the poorest areas of Nairobi lead and this is a relatively high stage of creative writing. To reach this stage, Maja Mwangi deployed all figurative language devices and tools such as metaphor, simile, degeneration, personification, synecdoche, euphemism, comparison, irony, along with the use of the cinematic techniques. His use of imagery, on the other hand, has enriched and of course has given the book the value it deserves as a piece of art. Going Down River Road was first published in 1976 after Meja Mwangi had published three strong novels, namely Kill me quick, (1973), Carcase for Hounds (1974), Taste of Death (1975) but Going Down River Road was awarded the same Jomo Kenyatta Prize in 1977, which Kill Me Quick won in 1974. This is due to the fact that they both own the same strength and worth. Going Down River Road is using quality literary devices and this renders it particularly very popular to the extent that it is recommended for Neirobi visitors. Meja Mwangis book is not a simple report on the situation in Nairobi. It is rather a living thing which makes the reader absorbed by the marvels of the detailed descriptions which stimulate all the five senses; besides the funny characters and their styles; which add a lot to the refinement of the artistic skills the writer obviously manifested in this masterpiece.