A Fragile Hope

The short stories in A Fragile Hope are set in different locales, from Nairobi and small villages and slums in Kenya to London and Copenhagen, from the bustling humid cities Hong Kong and Bangkok to Shanghai. They are testimony to the author’s keen eye on his many travels around the world. They tell the poignant stories of love, betrayal, trials and tribulations, dreams and aspirations, corruption and greed, self-discovery and redemption.

In ‘Black fishnet stockings’, a rich Nairobi couple get entangled in a liaison with their poor workers. In ‘The Warrior’s Last Job’, a hangman in a small Kenyan village battles the demons from his dark past as he seeks to maintain the façade of a venerable strongman. In ‘The Smell of Fresh Grass’, a Hong Kong girl who is lost in the confusing world of Copenhagen learns to reconcile with her estranged father following a chance encounter with a roving African musician. In ‘London Slaves’, a newly-minted Kenyan tycoon in the UK comes face to face with a form of discrimination that makes no sense to him. In the final story ‘And then the End’, an elderly Chinese driver is forced to confront the reality of his boss’s conviction for corruption.

Many of these stories have previously been published in journals and magazines such as Ambit, Wasafiri, Kunapipi, New York Stories and Author-me. For the first time, readers can appreciate this kaleidoscopic picture of the breadth and depth of the human condition in a truly multi-cultural collection.

(Ken Kamoche / Salt Publishing, 2007)

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