"The Rhino in the Paddock" by Tito Alai is a funny and affecting coming-of-age story set against a backdrop of great political and cultural change. It tells the tale of Kenya's postcolonial transition during the 1970s as seen through the eyes of an African boy who finds himself thrust into the alien environment of a British boarding school at the age of six.

Looking back on his childhood, Thwon paints a vivid picture of life on his parents' farm in rural Kenya-his carefree days, his brush with death from cholera, and the visit from his grandfather, when the old man passes his rhino...