A Narratological Reading of the Kiswahili Novel

The centrality of narrative cannot be ignored for narrative is not just the essence of literature but of life. Ideally, everything we do in life constitutes a narrative. As a result, narrative can be seen as a mode that informs human activity. In modern literature it is the novel that best exemplifies the narrative process. Studying the narrative process implies examining closely the relationship between the message and its mode of presentation. In five thematically related chapters, the book examines three major elements that constitute the basic aspects of narrative process, namely: the story, the story-teller and the listener as evident in four selected Kiswahili novels: E. Kezilahabi's Rosa Mistika and Gamba La Nyoka; and S. A. Mohamed's Utengano and Dunia Mti Mkavu. The book will serve as an indispensable primer for English students interested in studying literature of other languages especially for its pioneering application of narratology in the Kiswahili novel.