I remember that bookshop in Nairobi that had an almost endless supply of books written by the American John Steinbeck. Steinbeck managed to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He wrote many very good books about the human condition during the days of the Great Depression in the United States. He showed that for many people there was no American Dream, just and American nightmare. 

Now some years later this young man Thomas Mlanda says he likes books by John Steinbeck due to his social awareness. What a nice coincidence. Read in this article his answers to a good number of questions.