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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Catholic Father and the Elusive Mau Mau General: A Study of Father Ottavio Sestero's Novel 'L'Inafferrabile Mau Mau' (1957)
Author:Pugliese, CristianaISNI
Year:2002
Periodical:Journal of African Cultural Studies
Volume:15
Issue:2
Period:December
Pages:149-158
Language:English
Geographic term:Kenya
Subjects:Mau Mau
novels
Literature, Mass Media and the Press
nationalism
History and Exploration
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Religion and Witchcraft
About person:Ottavio Sestero
External link:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369681022000042628
Abstract:This article examines 'L'inafferrabile Mau Mau' (The elusive Mau Mau), which was published in 1957 by Ottavio Sestero, a Consolata priest who eyewitnessed the Emergency years in Kenya. His novel describes the hunt for the 'Mau Mau' leader Dan Kima - inspired by the historical figure of Dedan Kimaathi - and his friendship with a British Catholic priest, Father Richard. Numerous fictional works have been and still are being published on the Mau Mau period. Some, written by Western authors to endorse the colonial settlers' ideology; others, written by Kenyans, can be broadly divided into those that support the loyalists' views and those that celebrate the Mau Mau cause. 'L'inafferrabile Mau Mau' does not fit into any of the above categories and presents a different perspective on the movement, that of an insider - a man who knew the Gikuyu language and spent thirty years among the Gikuyu people - but who, as an Italian, was at the same time a foreigner, an outsider, whose views did not necessarily coincide with those expressed by most British officials and settlers. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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