Soma Nami’s Books in Review
By Wendy Njoroge
Wendy Njoroge reviews Nairobi Noir, a collection of short stories
Ask any Nairobi resident about their city and you’re bound to get a nickname or two: “City under the sun,” “Kanairo,” or the ever-cynical “Nairobbery.” Each moniker holds a story, a sentiment, or a survival tale. It is this kaleidoscope of perspectives that Nairobi Noir captures so powerfully.
Edited by Peter Kimani, Nairobi Noir is part of the global Noir series launced by Akashic Books in 2004 with Brooklyn Noir—Nairobi being one of the first African cities to feature. The anthology offers a gritty, unflinching look at the city’s underbelly through 14 stories, each rooted in a distinct Nairobi neighbourhood. From Dandora to Karen, Kangemi to Westlands, readers are taken on a tour of the city’s many faces—its contrasts, contradictions, and complexities.
When I first read the book years ago, I had my reservations. Would it simply reinforce tired stereotypes about Nairobi’s crime and chaos? But on revisiting it for this year’s Nyrobi Book Fest—and in conversation with editor Peter Kimani and contributors Makena Onjerika and Stanley Gazemba—it became clear that Nairobi Noir is not about sensationalism. It is a call to engage truthfully with Nairobi’s layered identity. To look unflinchingly at the shadows if we are to imagine a fairer, safer, more inclusive city.
Nairobi Noir is an act of excavation, rediscovering the city’s ossified past and infusing life to preserve it for future generations. It is also an act of celebration, reminding readers of the brilliance of the best-known writers to emerge from this part of the world, and heralding the birth of new writers whose gifts, we can safely predict, will shine brightly in the years ahead.” – Peter Kimani
The stories are grouped into three evocative sections: “The Hunter,” “The Hunted,” and “The Herders”—a nod to the city’s cut-throat nature and its pastoral origins as Enkare Nyrobi, the place of cool waters. In Kimani’s own story set in Karen, the stark class divide between Karen and neighbouring Kibera is rendered with piercing clarity. Gazemba brings Kangemi to life through the ingenuity of his characters and the buzzing energy of the informal settlement. Onjerika’s tale unfolds in the confines of a matatu—capturing the haste, the chaos, and the daily indignities of Nairobi’s public transport.
The anthology’s strength lies in its range of voices. From literary giants like Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and John Sibi-Okumu to fresh and emerging talent, the collection spans generations and styles, reflecting Nairobi’s ever-shifting rhythms.
Nairobi Noir does not offer easy answers. It holds up a mirror to a city that is by turns cruel and beautiful, chaotic and hopeful. In doing so, it invites us not just to read, but to reckon—with the stories we tell about Nairobi, and the ones we still need to write.
Nairobi Noir is available at Nairobi’s Pan-African bookshop Soma Nami, located in Greenhouse Mall, Ngara & online at www.somanami.co.ke
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