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Abyssinian Chronicles
Set in a tribal village during the years of the Idi Amin terror in Uganda, "Abyssinian Chronicles" takes us into the heart of Africa, vividly immersing us in the mesmerizing extremes of beauty and brutality, wisdom and ignorance, wealth and poverty, hope and despair that define the continent today. We come to intimately know an extended family rich in centuries-
...morePaperback
Published
by Pan MacMillan
(first published 1998)
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I’ve just finished 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 messy guerilla wars, the rise of AIDS and so on. The central character is initially brought up in a village before moving to Kampala, is from a Catholic background and is educated in a rather brutal seminary;...more
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This book is so amazing that I'm willing to forgive a few weighty sins -- like how the narrator comes to know so much detail events in the lives of people he avoids. The story, which covers the life of Mugezi and many members of his extended family, is interwoven into a history of pre- and post-Amin Uganda. The first half of the book, his life through late adolescence, is by far the strongest. As the second half concentrates more on the nation during that tumultuous period, the novel becomes mor...more
I read books about modern Africa trying to figure out how humans survive lives so filled with losses. Uganda's history is so gruesome that I was halfway through this book before I realized that there was, after all, some humor. Humor and a resilience that I fear has been bred out of America's gene pool.
Isegawa's writing is wonderfully colorful, packed with seemingly effortless similies and metaphors that would have earned A+ from Mrs. Adamson, my high school senior comp. teacher.
Isegawa's writing is wonderfully colorful, packed with seemingly effortless similies and metaphors that would have earned A+ from Mrs. Adamson, my high school senior comp. teacher.
In Moses Isegawa's riveting first novel, the writing is big, but the story is even bigger. It is a coming of age chronicle of post-colonial Ugandan history, as told by the narrator, who is also coming of age, Mugezi. Isegawa candidly touches on many subjects: Obote, Idi Amin, civil wars, corruption, rapes, religion, party politics, the AIDS epidemic, culture, tradition, morals, and community folklore. While much of the novel contains serious subject matter, humorous sections are abundant, and I ...more
A sample from Isegawa's literature - "given an ear, her mouth loosened and grief flowed out with the sinuousness of a sloughing serpent". Isegawa's words flow somewhat similarly. For a debut novel, he puts up a magnificent show of how he can write, and write he can. But somewhere along the narrative, Isegawa loses his vision. What started off as a brilliant analogy between the protagonist's own small world and Amin's larger than life times, soon degrades into a narrative of everything ...more
A Ugandan novelist who now lives in Amsterdam. An autobiographical walk through Uganda from the 40's-90's-- very interesting.
This was billed as the Great Ugandan Novel and reviewers kept comparing Isegawa to Rushdie and Marquez. Not so, my friends. There are enough technical issues with the writing that it took me fifty pages in to really figure out who was who, and another hundred to give a shit at all. I mean, it may still be the Great Ugandan Novel - and it certainly shares the national family epic genre with Rushdie and Marquez - but so far it's more of a mildly scatological Bildungsroman. Still interesting - but ...more
Novel of Uganda. Aug. 08. Good. -- Good.
the horrors of the Obote regime, then Amin, Obote again, then AIDS - like falling into an abyss where each time the worse seems over, a further abyss opens up underneath. Such is the Uganda in which this remarkable novel is set.
Excellent took a trip through Uganda from the 60's through to the 80's following the story of the narrator Mugezi his coming of age story during the time of Idi Amin's reign and fall.
This book will have you literally laughing out loud well it did with me anyway and then next minute it will move you to tears.
This is Moses Isegawa's first novel and it is very impressive so much so I was sad when it came to the end, I will definitely be reading more from this author.
This book will have you literally laughing out loud well it did with me anyway and then next minute it will move you to tears.
This is Moses Isegawa's first novel and it is very impressive so much so I was sad when it came to the end, I will definitely be reading more from this author.
Bettie
marked it as to-read
Recommended to Bettie by:
Dear M
Opening sentence - Three final images flashed across Serenity's mind as he disappeared into the jaws of the colossal crocodile: a rotting buffalo with rivers of maggots and armies of flies emanating from its cavities; the aunt of his missing wife, who was also his longtime lover; and the mysterious woman who had cured his childhood obsession with tall women.
There is no reference as to whom the translator might be, neither is there a dedication.
There is no reference as to whom the translator might be, neither is there a dedication.
A great portrayal of life in Uganda, capturing well the chaos and serenity that wash like waves over the actions of people each day. The book also provides valuable insights into what life was like under Idi Amin's rule. The story however lacked heart, humor, compassion and love. I feel there is much hope and optimism embodied in the Ugandan culture and people and no account can be considered complete without capturing this spirit.
Book #23 of 2008. Traces the chaotic life of Mugezi, a guy growing up in Uganda, from the end of colonialism through the reign of Idi Amin and rebel government after rebel government, into the era of AIDS. I was struck by the ways in which the various elements of Ugandan society needed to transform themselves, and how often, in order to survive the latest crisis. Powerful, if a bit dry and dull in spots.
This book features a cunning hero who bounces through life with gentle attention to his dick and stomach, and generally a laize faire attitude toward everything else, including his country, Uganda, which is getting ripped apart by Abote and Amin. While he's not super likable to me he taught me a lot about the survivalist values of a Ugandan.
I liked this novel, which is set in Uganda during the Amin and Obote years. This is also the time when AIDS came on the scene in Uganda. The story takes a while to get into it and it's pretty long, but I recommend it, especially for those who have spent time in Uganda or have an interest in the country.
Very intense book. Parts of it are spellbinding but others seem to wander or seem out of place. Recommended.
I'd give 3.5 stars. It was a good book, but a bit too long. It's fiction, but it gave me sense of the corruption of the government and the suffering of the local people during Idi Amin's dictatorship.
Fictionalized memoir: 1960-80's Uganda. Through Obote's and Amin's rule, what life means to a growing boy. Does not get into historical detail of politics, which is what I had hoped for.
Accomplished, but I found it unaffecting - and it's definitely not Midnight's Children or One Hundred Years of Solitude.
A great saga spanning decades in Uganda...a good story set against the back drop of the times (Idi Amin, AIDS etc..)
I should not have finished this book. I knew from the beginning that it wasn't any good. Disappointing.
is not on abyssinia per se.a fine novel by the Ugandan writer.
reviewed it here:
http://www.5cense.com/Africa/EA8_Equator...
http://www.5cense.com/Africa/EA8_Equator...
A wonderful first novel!
Suzanimals
marked it as wishlist
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