Appreciating Meja Mwangi’s going down river road via a Post - Modernist Lens

Abstract

Due to the so - called „radical‟ approach taken by writers of popular fiction, coupled with their subjects of interrogation, a debate over quality and relevance has raged on with scholars criticizing popular literature for being aesthetically wanting and inc apable of commitment requisite of literature. Such works have been referred to as “...a trashy and scabrous imitation of brothel and [low - life] especially yearned for the [low - brow] reader in this country”. In this regard, the concept of „popular‟ becomes ambiguous as it comes to the reader inscribed with the history of political and cultural struggles. It is not only a site of contested evaluation but the term „popular‟ has also been used pejoratively. „Popular‟ ha s been used as synonymous with low - class; and low - class with irrelevant. Literature forms a major avenue upon which knowledge can be passed. In Kenya, in particular, Literature is part and parcel of English; a compulsory subject. There is, however, a tendency to disregard popular literature in fav our of canonical literature. The most obvious justification for this has been that canonical literature has more „serious‟ knowledge to offer as compared to popular fiction/literature. Due to this relegation of popular fiction to the peripheries, very litt le attention has been accorded to its role in social commentary. This association of popular fiction with the “low - class” members of the society has led to the misconception that popular fiction has nothing “serious” to offer to the “elite readership”. To debunk this notion, this paper undertakes a holistic analysis of Meja Mwangi‟s “Going Down River Road” and in so doing, argues for the fact that, from a post - modernistic viewpoint, this text provides verisimilitude to its fullest meaning. With use of adequ ate illustrations, the paper makes reference to the various tenets of post - modernism and: establishes the thematic concerns dealt with by Meja Mwangi; identifies and discusses the interplay between politics and literature as espoused in this text; and disc usses the use of stylistics to capture the reality as lived by the characters in the text, and by extension, the author.