This archive report was first published on 15 July 2019.
Published on July 15, 2019, Billy Kahora's latest book, The Cape Cod Bicycle War and other Stories, is a collection of 11 short stories that delve into the complexities of youth life in Kenya and beyond.
The book, launched in Kigali, Rwanda, and London, features stories that have been shortlisted for the Caine Prize in African Writing, including 'Zoning' and 'The Gorilla's Apprentice'. The setting of the stories spans across the globe, from the Kenyan coast and capital city to Cape Cod in the US.
'Zoning', one of the stories, revolves around Kandle, a young bank employee in Nairobi who struggles with addiction and absenteeism. In the story, Kahora vividly describes Nairobi as a complex social and economic landscape, saying, 'Walking in downtown Nairobi at rush hour was an art even when sober. Drunk, it was like playing rugby in a moving bus on a murram country road.'
Another story, 'We are Here Because We are Here', is a historical fiction that narrates the treacherous life of the Pokomo people of the Kenyan coastal region. The story is enriched with symbolism, and the flood season is characterized as a wartime between the Tsana (Tana River) and the Indian Ocean.
The book will be launched in Kenya in August and will be available at Prestige Bookshop, Bookstop Yaya, and Textbook Centre.
