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WOMEN AND GENDER Kenda Mutongi. Worries of the Heart: Widows, Family, and Community in Kenya. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2007. xv + 256 pp. Photographs. Maps. Glossary. Notes. Bibliography. Index. $50.00. Cloth. $20.00. Paper.
In this intriguing book the author situates her experience as a paternal orphan within the colonial and postcolonial histories of Maragoli widows in western Kenya. The book is local in its focus, but by comparing the experiences of Mutongi's mother and other relatives in the colonial and postcolonial periods, the analysis reaches conclusions that could be replicated in many areas of Kenya, showing the effects of recent changes on the lives of widows across the country.
The book is interesting and easy to read. The merger of oral and archival evidence lets the data speak clearly to the reader. The voices of the respondents are clear, and their stories are vividly captured as the author engages them in dialogue; however, with such intimate engagement on the part of the author, the reader is left to wonder how well Mutongi has extricated herself from...