Structure

In the House of the Interpreter is structured in chronological order. The book is divided into four high school years: 1955, 1956, 1957 and 1958, with a separate section dedicated to Ngũgĩ’s short time in prison in 1959. Each part is subdivided into chapters of which there are 75 in all. Each chapter covers events in Ngũgĩ’s life during a particular year. Within this general structure, his story incorporates the revival of several key happenings throughout his high school years, most the result of colonial apartheid—such as the razing of his village—or the continuing intellectual arguments of whether one needs a license to write that he has with a good friend of his. These repetitions relay his thinking habits and the events that dominate within his mind.

Within the chronological order, Ngũgĩ is able to manipulate the narrative. As a passive and nonviolent witness, Ngũg...