Awards

• Short-listed for Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best First Book - Africa 2008
• Shortlisted for Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best First Book - Africa 2008.

Overview

The short stories in 'A Fragile Hope' are set in different locales, from Nairobi and small villages and slums in Kenya to London and Copenhagen, from the bustling humid cities Hong Kong and Bangkok to Shanghai. They are testimony to the author's keen eye on his many travels around the world. They tell the poignant stories of love, betrayal, trials and tribulations, dreams and aspirations, corruption and greed, self-discovery and redemption. In 'Black fishnet stockings', a rich Nairobi couple get entangled in a liaison with their poor workers. In 'The Warrior's Last Job', a hangman in a small Kenyan village battles the demons from his dark past as he seeks to maintain the facade of a venerable strongman. In 'The Smell of Fresh Grass', a Hong Kong girl who is lost in the confusing world of Copenhagen learns to reconcile with her estranged father following a chance encounter with a roving African musician. In 'London Slaves', a newly-minted Kenyan tycoon in the UK comes face to face with a form of discrimination that makes no sense to him. In the final story 'And then the End', an elderly Chinese driver is forced to confront the reality of his boss's conviction for corruption. Many of these stories have previously been published in journals/magazines such as Ambit, Wasafiri, Kunapipi, New York Stories and Author-me. For the first time, readers can appreciate this kaleidoscopic picture of the breadth and depth of the human condition in a truly multi-cultural collection.

Full Product Details

9781844713202

Table of Contents

Reviews

With its varied cast, diverse themes, and fitting title, A FRAGILE HOPE extends beyond the Eurocentric East-West pathway. -- Wes Stevens Asian Review of Books Ken has devised an intricate interplay between family, dreams, and a kaleidoscope of culture, and he truly makes it work... This is a powerful short story collection. -- Bruce Cook Reserve Books These intricate stories, vivid and detailed, are the offerings of a writer whose future literary career is anything but fragile. -- Maureen Isaacson The Sunday Independent (South Africa)

Author Information

Ken N. Kamoche was born in Kenya and currently teaches management in Hong Kong. He holds degrees from Nairobi and Oxford (Rhodes Scholar). He worked in Uganda as it emerged from the Idi Amin chaos, Somali weeks before it descended into civil war, and Poland while it was still truly communist. He has published four books on management and has completed a novel. 'An end so still' is his first collection of short stories. He is a columnist for Kenyan newspapers and on www.G21.net.

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