The River Between is a 1965 novel by Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o that was published as part of the influential Heinemann African Writers Series.

[1][2] It tells the story of the separation of two neighbouring villages of Kenya caused by differences in faith set in the decades of roughly the early 20th century.

Ngugi reveals that the three boys, Waiyaki, Kamau and Kinuthia, are all destined to study at a local mission school nearby and, from there, to become teachers.

The significance of Chege’s eagerness to send Waiyaki to the mission school rests on the fact that the boy would be in a position to learn the wisdom of the colonists.

As the story progresses, the division between the two villages intensifies, and the proposed circumcision of the young girl Muthoni causes much dissention within the community.

Some villagers begin conspiring behind closed doors, eventually forming a secret organization known as Kiama, whose singular purpose is to ensure the purity of the tribe.