1. How would you describe Seasons in Hippoland?
Seasons in Hippoland is about the narration of history as living stories told by a young woman coming of age in a land caught between a colonial past and neocolonial present, figuratively and literally. The action of the novel takes place in and across three fictional valleys, and unfolds through flashbacks that evoke a folk-tale atmosphere, part realism and part magic realism.
2. What drew you to write this book?
My aunt (dad’s sister) told us stories when we were growing up. We would sit around the chimney, and she would regale us with stories – mostly folk tales. These are some of my best memories growing up. One day I thought about writing a short story about a woman master storyteller. I wanted to capture my aunt’s voice that has stayed with me all these years. The story fell apart, but I would say this was the beginning of the novel.
3. Can you tell us a bit about your experience writing this book?
I loved writing this novel. I loved it even when it was most difficult to weave the stories Aunt Sara tells into one coherent narrative. I loved it through the tonnes of revisions I had to do to make the characters come alive the way I envisioned them in my head. It was certainly not happiness the entire time, but it was very meaningful.
4. What do you hope readers will take from this book?
The world is a big bowl of stories.
5. What prompted you to become a writer and when did you start?
I come from a family of storytellers. My aunt told us stories when we were young on most evenings, whenever she came visiting. Her brother, my father [celebrated author, academic and activist Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o] is a writer so in a way we grew up ‘watching’ books being written and I think their influence is the reason why four of my siblings are also published authors. In addition, when my father was thrown in detention (for writing) and later went into political exile, we told each other stories, mostly made up on the spot as a means of survival and meaning making.
6. Where do you write?
In a little vegan café about ten minutes from my house. At the height of the pandemic, the owner, worried about my writing, carved out a ‘safe’ space for me in the back of the café. For a few months, no one else was allowed back there.
7. Favourite bookshop anywhere in the world?
Atlanta Vintage Books, Georgia (USA).
Seasons in Hippoland will be available in bookstores across Australia and New Zealand from 1 August 2022 or pre-order now via our online store.
