false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174345407m/383997.jpg 383997 12 In his hugely impressive <I>Abyssinian Chronicles</I> Moses Isegawa renders the chaotic swirl of life in Uganda, from a lazy, remote village to the urban rush of Kampala. Containing within its 460 pages weddings, funerals, infidelities, public struggles with corrupt dictatorships (a section called "Amin, the Godfather"), and private struggles with God ("Seminary Years"), this is a first novel of epic ambitions. Narrated by Mugezi, the son of a man named Serenity and a woman named Padlock, Isegawa's book is wild and decentered, moving swiftly and confidently from place to place, from character to character. It is the kind of book that says, just follow, trust me, all these names and passions will sort themselves out and make sense sooner or later.<p> The prose itself bristles and cooks, with graceful transitions ("This time a year passed without hearing any news from Tiida") and scenes lurching with activity. Isegawa, who was born in Uganda but now lives in the Netherlands, is a master of unexpected verbs and details. Here Mugezi describes his mother's voice: <blockquote> This woman knew how to irritate me on all fronts: her pathetic country-western girlie whine, xeroxed from a white nun from her convent days, the same nun from whom she had inherited the little tremolos which she sprinkled piously on the last hymn every night, really got to me. </blockquote> Inconsistencies in the narrator's point of view can mar this novel and arrest its progress. The narrator will suddenly describe interior states he couldn't possibly know about: his mother's depression and loneliness, which she hides from everyone, the deepest thoughts of distant relatives. But for readers hoping to glimpse a foreign world, these bumps in the road are worth the ride. <I>--Ellen Williams</I> 887376 1998 Abyssinian Chronicles: A Novel total:82|5:16|4:22|3:29|2:13|1:2| 82 283 138 18 2 2 false false Tue Mar 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jan 05 07:50:25 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 24 16:27:20 -0700 2009 Abyssinian Chronicles. Which is a bit of a relief, because I found it quite hard work. The good stuff first: it’s a story that traces a couple of generations through the history of modern Uganda, with the arrival of Idi Amin and the collapse of his regime, the sequence of mess...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Mar 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Feb 24 10:58:22 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 11 11:31:49 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 18 15:02:32 -0700 2007 Tue Sep 18 15:02:39 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Mon Feb 23 11:48:05 -0800 2009 Mon Feb 23 11:49:39 -0800 2009 2 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 05 09:35:44 -0700 2007 Tue Jun 05 09:39:44 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Sep 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 19 07:43:30 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 07:47:26 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Sep 22 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 13 17:01:37 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 22 17:39:50 -0700 2008 2 This book will have you literally laughing out loud well it did with me anyway and then next minute it will mov...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Jan 06 13:31:37 -0800 2009 Mon Apr 07 06:25:53 -0700 2008 Tue Jan 06 13:31:37 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004 Sat Oct 13 19:46:55 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 13 19:49:32 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 12 09:14:06 -0700 2008 Mon Apr 07 04:45:42 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 14:11:33 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 20 09:26:31 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Jan 14 19:51:53 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 09 17:15:07 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 14 19:51:53 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Sat May 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 23 21:07:27 -0700 2008 Sat May 24 20:49:30 -0700 2008 3 0 false false Sat Sep 01 16:33:43 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 03 16:49:03 -0700 2007 Midnight's Children or One Hundred Years of Solitude.]]> 4 0 false false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Mon Mar 19 16:04:15 -0700 2007 Mon Mar 19 16:04:15 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Mon Feb 11 06:13:15 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 11 06:14:12 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Sun Jan 06 18:08:20 -0800 2008 Tue Oct 16 04:42:32 -0700 2007 Mon Dec 03 10:54:01 -0800 2007 http://www.5cense.com/Africa/EA8_Equator... ]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Aug 09 08:34:57 -0700 2007 Thu Aug 09 08:35:20 -0700 2007 0 0 false false Fri Nov 13 21:21:14 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 21:21:14 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 11 11:32:14 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 11 11:32:14 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=383997