A REVIEW OF LEGSON KAYIRAS' "I WILL TRY"

Title:I will Try
Genre:Non-Fiction

BY: Legson Kayira -Originally from Malawi.

PRICE:USED 325.00 Paperback and MK10,000.00 In Malawian Currency.

PAGES:272

CHAPTERS:13

REVIEWER: Isaac Che-Chikwere Kasenjere-Malawi



image from authors facebookpage



IWILL TRY was first published in the United States of America by Doubleday,1965 and in the United Kingdom by Longmans, Greens and Co LTD, 1966.The latest version was published by Rivonia Media Group (PtY) LTD. Its in English and translated into other languages.


 I am not a publisher of any book-guilty as charged -but am an avid reader of these beautiful things called books.One thing that made me go type this review is the reaction this book gets from buyers or potential readers.Some think its exergeration of the whole story............some think this was a great story.What i felt also belongs to me but i will share both feelings in half or totality.Nice cover indeed with that path leading to no where one gets to pull a few musles on the forehead because you have to be very afraid putting yoursef in the shoes of Legson.Where on earth was this young boy going alone.The picture of the skyscraper at the end of the road sings America but was only in the mind of the  young Legson and only had in a corner of his mind picture such tall buildings .....am thinking in the picture below.


image:cover of the book


The title that was derived from his homeland school of Malawi motto 'I WILL TRY" a motto authored by Dr Robert Laws when he was at LIVINGSTONIA MISSION North of Malawi .This book is a collection of real life stories of a 16-year-old Malawian boy called Legson Kayira, who decided to travel on bare foot to America via Sudan where the American consul made his dream to live and get education in America a reality. He carried food, an axe and two books, he travelled more than 2,500 miles according to this book while his original texts in The Seatle Daily Times indicates "about 2000 miles,  by cutting through the African bushes crossing four countries braving the popular big five of Africa lions,elephants,buffaloes and other fierce animals like hyenas, snakes,It is at University of Washington where I will Try was Published in 1965 it hit the bestsellers records in the United States and England.

Original text, photographs in Prt three of the book The Journeys End will make you realise how true the story is as it was published by The Seatle Daily Times about this determined youngboy.The will power that manifests itself into world of possibilities.His happy times and family ties clearly show .Julie Kayira his widow , wrote a memoir in October 2012 when Legson finally died in England.

It still stands out among several African Stories to look out for if you want to understand what inspired such a young boy to dream this big.It stayed on New Yorks'best sellers' list for 16 weeks.Its a lesson well taught. Page 84 he recounts the ordeal of language difference and determination to learn;”I could not speak Swahili, although I could understand some of it.I was not born an English man ,but I had learn the English launguage"……..he challenges in this book.

He chronicles his emotions in a piece of poetry on page 120.The difficulty will not me offend........ in first line first stanza.Then in the second stanza first line he shows his strength to go on,on this journey;Difficulty is behind,fear is before.This clearly and unapologetically shows his ability to notice and draw a lesson from what he has passed through and not what will come.

This title sounds crystal clear that because of luck of money LIFE was about trying a thing or two.It works to try than to give up.Page 192 this title comes louder when the American Consul writes the Dean of Skagit Collage in the process of sourcing a scholarship "I shall try to induce Mr Kayira to remain in Khartoum atleast until i hear from you".With so many challenges he wouldnt have chosen any other title.

This book inspires the world ,however Legson is not the first African or Malawian to walk on foot to another country. Around 1915–16, Hastings Kamuzu Banda,first President of Malawi left home on foot for Hartley.
Mahoma Mwaungulu as a member of the Youth League of the Nyasaland African Congress, he received a recommendation to study in Ghana, and he subsequently crossed the continent on foot from Tanzania to Ghana to meet Kwame Nkrumah.So if you asked me what i think about the story is just another African child among the many who paid the price of their success by a long distance travel.It was obvious that Africans and in particular many Malawians looked for opportunities elswhere for education and work.Its a book that represents the rest.


One thing that Legson Kayiras' publisher would have included in the book is the Glossary.Having noticed that being African most words need reference at a glance to have this whole book sink in readers mind.Forget about other translated versions,iam talking about this book in English.