Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

Jun 30, 2016 Richard Derus rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Rating: 4* of five

This is one of the stories that's up for The Caine Prize for African Writing 2016. Winners will be announced on 4th of July, 2016, so I'm hustling my bustle to get them read before the announcement.

A long-time immigrant from Uganda, Nnam wakes up to find her Ugandan immigrant husband dead in the bathroom. He's only 45 so it comes as a huge shock to Nnam, but her odyssey is only beginning. Her husband's body goes home to Uganda, she and their two sons in tow, and the nightmare ...more

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Jun 06, 2019 Hannah rated it liked it

Shelves: short-stories, fiction, arc

I found this, sadly, highly uneven and fairly unimpressive. I adore short story collections but have fallen a bit out of the habit of reading them this year. This collection was not the best choice to try to get back into the groove of reading them. Now, these are not bad stories by any means but for the most part they did not quite work for me. Part of that is down to genre preference; I like my short stories either fabulist or hyper realistic and these were neither, combining endlessly bleak ...more

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May 29, 2019 Charlott rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

4,5 -Review will follow soon

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May 26, 2019 Thebooktrail rated it really liked it

Shelves: book-set-in-england, short-stories, book-set-in-africa

Visit the locations in the novel

Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi – Weaving between Manchester and Kampala, this collection of short stories looks at what it means to truly belong. They re-imagine the journey of Ugandans who choose to make England their home. Then the second part looks at what happens when these people then return. Outsiders in their own country. Outsiders in the county they now know as home. So, where do they truly belong?

A collection of short stories taking description

Visit the locations in the novel

Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi – Weaving between Manchester and Kampala, this collection of short stories looks at what it means to truly belong. They re-imagine the journey of Ugandans who choose to make England their home. Then the second part looks at what happens when these people then return. Outsiders in their own country. Outsiders in the county they now know as home. So, where do they truly belong?

A collection of short stories taking readers from Manchester to Kampala. Two very distinct settings which could not be more different. One a busy UK city and the other a sprawling and chaotic capital of Uganda. The settings provide two very different experiences to the Ugandans in the stories. They have moved to Manchester as immigrants and then return to Uganda after several years away. Their stories, experiences of both places is insightful and moving. Very funny at times too.

The stories vary in theme and tone but they all shed a light on what it means to be an immigrant in a new country and city. Several character pop up in more than one story. I’m pleased Poonah did as her stories were amongst the funniest and her wry humour adds even more flavour and fun to the stories as a whole.

There’s a good mix of themes and issues involved in these personal human stories. Politics and foreign intervention in Uganda are two main themes, but the way they are examined and looked at is insightful. The people telling these stories are average people, average immigrants who have similar stories to tell as any other immigrant would. However, every character in the book reads more like a person you might know. They are all real, very vividly drawn and with interesting personalities to match. This shine on characterisation adds so much from the stories.

There’s lots of funny moments. Did you know the sun has moods? Living in Britain is like living inside a fridge. And as for gargoyles, why do people in rainy Manchester carve ugly faces on their buildings?

There’s lots of nice touches in these stories such as the use of Ugandan language. You get a real flavour of the country, culture, people and heritage. What it means to move from here to Manchester. There’s funny stories of adapting to a new country and culture but there’s also pain and reality too. The mix is quite explosive.

I made friends reading these stories and cared about these people learning lots about Uganda along the way. I will miss them now I’ve finished. ...more

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Sep 22, 2019 Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: england, africa, short-story-collections, 3-stars-and-a-half, uganda

I thought Kintu was fantastic, so was looking forward to this short story collection. Which, as it turned out, is good, but not quite as good as I was hoping. Though admittedly, I read it soon after three great collections, which set a high bar for short stories.

The first seven stories, just over half the book, follow Ugandan immigrants in Manchester, mostly in the present day, though one story is set in the 1950s. These stories, while interesting, are rather dreary, very much about social ...more

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Apr 01, 2019 SueLucie rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley

A collection of 12 short stories, divided into two sections - one half concentrating on Ugandans’ experiences in Britain, specifically Manchester, and the other on Ugandans returning to Uganda after some years away. Some characters feature several times, the main one being Poonah - a delightful creation with a subtle, wry take on life - and the stories involving her are my favourites.

The stories are political with a light, unchallenging touch, particularly so where the colonial British legacy in ...more

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Oct 02, 2019 Barbara rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019-reads, england, immigrants, short-stories, woman-writer, africa

Makumba earned her MA and her PhD in writing in England. She is a university lecturer and lives in Manchester. She has won several writing prizes, and reading this collection, her talent is indisputable. I learned about this book from Savidge Reads, and his high praise for it was well deserved. Then at the end of July I was fortunate to hear Makumbi and meet her at the John Hewitt Summer School in Armagh, Northern Ireland.

Manchester of the title is the city in England. The book is made up of 12 ...more

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Jul 05, 2019 Lorraine rated it it was amazing

"Manchester Happened" is a collection of short stories divided into 2 parts. 11 short stories. 305 pages. Part one is about living in Manchester and the 2nd part is about leaving Manchester, going back to Uganda.
The collection opens with a prologue titled "Christmas Is Coming" and the longing for normalcy in those first 28 pages is palpable. The regularity for a family life left behind. The children who learn to shield and protect their parents’ anger and disappointment at this new life in this "Manchester Happened" is a collection of short stories divided into 2 parts. 11 short stories. 305 pages. Part one is about living in Manchester and the 2nd part is about leaving Manchester, going back to Uganda.
The collection opens with a prologue titled "Christmas Is Coming" and the longing for normalcy in those first 28 pages is palpable. The regularity for a family life left behind. The children who learn to shield and protect their parents’ anger and disappointment at this new life in this new city, in a foreign country. Thereafter part 1, Departing, sets the tone for the rest of the collection. "Our Allies The Colonies" flings you into 6 totally absorbing tales. A man leaving without his child but would not leave without giving his child a name. His name. An identity. A clan he would forever belong to. The second part starts with the tale of Aunty Flower titled “She Is Our Stupid” who, like the prodigal son, returns home when the going gets tough for her in Manchester. Having spun tales of personal prosperity, her family is at pains to recreate her “idyllic” life in Manchester at a great personal cost to them but, she never returns to Britain.

Manchester Happened to all the Uganda’s in these stories. The heartache they went through to remain in this city. The heartache they go through on their return home. We've all arrived somewhere having left home and we've all had to return home, temporary or permanently, at some point.
So much to reflect on. Dreams differed. Self-worth vs net worth. Surviving at all costs. Expectations - return home with nothing, where everybody knows your name, or stay, where nobody wants to learn your name, in nothingness
These themes were glaring both in Manchester and in Uganda. Racism. Colourism. Classism. The violence of an immigrant's life. The cost of mobility - visas, relationships, careers, setting roots. Loss of respect for self and others. Above all, the loss of the right to dignity.

Exceptionally written stories. Emotionally narrated stories. The connectedness between part 1 and part two makes the short stories blend into each other. Each wound, each fracture bled into the next wound, the next fracture.

You will see yourself in many of the stories. Maybe you too left because you couldn't live, or lived because you couldn't leave.

Highly recommended. ...more

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Nov 17, 2019 Abiola rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A great collection of short stories, touching on the subject of home and finding one's place through the lives of Ugandans in Britain.... I especially enjoyed the story that the book is named after. The last story was the longest but was hardest to make sense of. Excited to read more of this author's work!

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Jun 13, 2019 Aisha rated it it was amazing

It’s 2019. Technology keeps advancing by the second and yet a vast majority of people in other parts of the world still refer to Africa as though it’s a country or worse — “the dark continent”. Whether aware of or oblivious to this fact, Africans still seek migration outside the continent because “home has become the lion’s mouth”. In Manchester Happened, Jennifer Makumbi expatiates on the intricacies of the African migration.

Manchester Happened is a collection of 12 short stories divided into “
It’s 2019. Technology keeps advancing by the second and yet a vast majority of people in other parts of the world still refer to Africa as though it’s a country or worse — “the dark continent”. Whether aware of or oblivious to this fact, Africans still seek migration outside the continent because “home has become the lion’s mouth”. In Manchester Happened, Jennifer Makumbi expatiates on the intricacies of the African migration.

Manchester Happened is a collection of 12 short stories divided into “departing” and “returning”, to further emphasize their points. Makumbi discusses migration like a mother who makes unending prayers for her child and in the same breath, relegate the child to eternal damnation. I say this because some stories appear to be (mostly) anti-African migration and others, pro-African migration. It lowkey felt like Makumbi wanted to highlight the yin and yang of migration.

She told each story in a way that the reader is anxious to see how the story unfolds. For every single story, I couldn’t sit still because I didn’t want it to end to but needed to see how it would. Another reason to applaud Makumbi’s storytelling skills. The writing was layered with such depth and the words strug together in angelic harmony 🎶 . I mean, I was laughing, sighing, hmmm-ing and pausing at every turn😍. It took everything in me not to highlight every single page. Another thing I noticed while reading was that a lot of the sentences were italicized. These sentences, in one way or another, described the feelings, facial expressions, thoughts of the characters and these are very African thing 😁.

That Makumbi felt the need to describe these very African things reminds me of my own culture’s emphasis on them. Since I read the book, I’ve been reevaluating my desire for migration and I think that’s one main aim behind the stories: to squash the naive eagerness that a lot of African youths have regarding migrating to the West. Not to forgo the possibility but to go into it, with eyes wide open, armed with knowledge and with little (or no) expectations.

It is an understatement to say I love Manchester Happened and so it’s a solid 5-star read for me. I recommend you read it before Kintu (if you’re new to Makumbi). I received an advanced reader’s proof from One World Publishing (upon request).
...more

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Apr 18, 2019 Greg rated it really liked it

Shelves: african, e-books, netgalley, 2019

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book. *

This is a collection of short stories from Ugandan writer Jennifer Makumbi about the experiences of (mostly) women emigrating from Africa to live in Manchester, and the struggles that they encounter immersed in a foreign culture. The stories in the second half of the book deal with emigrants returning home to find that they no longer quite fit in Uganda either.

These stories reminded me very much of ...more

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Nov 01, 2019 Muthoni Muiruri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This anthology opens with the author giving us an analogy of being the poorest in your clan and having to rely on a rich uncle. This rich uncle will often times threaten to withdraw his support if you do act accordingly but since you need his help, you toe the line. You ask your rich uncle if you can move in with him because your prospects will be much better then, he agrees, but not before he chastises your father for being incompetent. Your rich cousins begin to get tired of you. They want you This anthology opens with the author giving us an analogy of being the poorest in your clan and having to rely on a rich uncle. This rich uncle will often times threaten to withdraw his support if you do act accordingly but since you need his help, you toe the line. You ask your rich uncle if you can move in with him because your prospects will be much better then, he agrees, but not before he chastises your father for being incompetent. Your rich cousins begin to get tired of you. They want you out, and so you shrink, you try to not be a nuisance, not to take up too much space. And when they presume things about you, it hurts but you’ve already lost your voice. You gravitate more towards the other poor relatives living with your uncle and try to make something of your situation.

A perfect analogy of the Migrant experience! And so begins these stories of Ugandans in Manchester……

The anthology is a collection of 12 short stories, divided into two parts – Departing and Returning. Departing tells the stories of Ugandans, newly arrived and/or trying to navigate this new land. Through these stories we see how hope can quickly turn to despair, how this new land that does not make room for your culture can affect your personality, how you cling on to who you were even though you can see yourself changing a little every day, how relationships with those who welcome you can take a turn for the best or worst, the lengths you will go to, to stay even when it’s clear you are not welcome and how the community can offer solace and grounding.

Returning focuses on those who return to their homeland to discover things are not as they hoped. The condescending attitude of the populace towards the returnees, the new culture shock, the impatience with this developing world that never seems to be get off its feet. The confliction with wanting to belong, knowing the foreign land took something of you and that you may never really fully reintegrate.

This is an incisive book and stories are told with such depth. Picking a favourite was difficult but gun to my head, I’d have to go with “Let’s Tell This Story Properly" because it speaks to a personal experience. Gun to my head, pick two – I’d pick ‘Manchester Happened’ because this story really shows you how relationships and people can evolve when they have to interact in a foreign land and out of their comfort zones.

I highly recommend this book. ...more

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Nov 28, 2019 Rachel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: short-stories-and-essays, poc-authors, women-writers

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. They take place in a variety of time periods including the 1950s, 1990s and post-Brexit. The stories address issues of belonging and/or not belonging to two places that are a part of the narrators identity. And yet neither England nor Uganda is presented completely as Home.

The narrators are often women and the stories address themes such as relationship woes, financial struggles, familial judgment, racism and xenophobia alongside community ...more

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Oct 22, 2019 Muthoni Muiruri rated it it was amazing

This anthology opens with the author giving us an analogy of being the poorest in your clan and having to rely on a rich uncle. This rich uncle will often times threaten to withdraw his support if you do act accordingly but since you need his help, you toe the line. You ask your rich uncle if you can move in with him because your prospects will be much better then, he agrees, but not before he chastises your father for being incompetent. Your rich cousins begin to get tired of you. They want you This anthology opens with the author giving us an analogy of being the poorest in your clan and having to rely on a rich uncle. This rich uncle will often times threaten to withdraw his support if you do act accordingly but since you need his help, you toe the line. You ask your rich uncle if you can move in with him because your prospects will be much better then, he agrees, but not before he chastises your father for being incompetent. Your rich cousins begin to get tired of you. They want you out, and so you shrink, you try to not be a nuisance, not to take up too much space. And when they presume things about you, it hurts but you’ve already lost your voice. You gravitate more towards the other poor relatives living with your uncle and try to make something of your situation.

A perfect analogy of the Migrant experience! And so begins these stories of Ugandans in Manchester……

The anthology is a collection of 12 short stories, divided into two parts – Departing and Returning. Departing tells the stories of Ugandans, newly arrived and/or trying to navigate this new land. Through these stories we see how hope can quickly turn to despair, how this new land that does not make room for your culture can affect your personality, how you cling on to who you were even though you can see yourself changing a little every day, how relationships with those who welcome you can take a turn for the best or worst, the lengths you will go to, to stay even when it’s clear you are not welcome and how the community can offer solace and grounding.

Returning focuses on those who return to their homeland to discover things are not as they hoped. The condescending attitude of the populace towards the returnees, the new culture shock, the impatience with this developing world that never seems to be get off its feet. The confliction with wanting to belong, knowing the foreign land took something of you and that you may never really fully reintegrate.

This is an incisive book and stories are told with such depth. Picking a favourite was difficult but gun to my head, I’d have to go with “Let’s Tell This Story Properly" because it speaks to a personal experience. Gun to my head, pick two – I’d pick ‘Manchester Happened’ because this story really shows you how relationships and people can evolve when they have to interact in a foreign land and out of their comfort zones.

I highly recommend this book. ...more

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Aug 16, 2019 Tasnim (Reads.and.Reveries) rated it it was amazing

Manchester Happened is a short story collection exploring the experiences of Ugandans who’ve journeyed to make a home for themselves in Britain, Manchester specifically. Whilst the first half of the collection tells the stories of characters who have moved to the UK, the second half looks at the experiences of characters who then return to Uganda after a period of time.

There are an increasing number of books exploring the complexities of immigration in ways that are culturally and ...more

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May 21, 2019 Stephanie Jane (Literary Flits) rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction-short-stories, fiction-africa

See more of my book reviews on my blog, Literary Flits

This collection of short stories includes the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2014 winner, Let's Tell This Story Properly. I loved how all the tales overlap by way of their country settings, and also in other more subtle ways such as shared specific locations and characters. It reminded me of From An-Other Land by Tanushree Ghosh and helped to reinforce the idea of the Ugandan diaspora being connected. Having the British parts of the stories ...more

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Jun 12, 2019 Princess rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, published-recently, i-own-a-copy, ug-fic

Difficult to put words to how it feels to recognize yourself on the page. Not an approximation of yourself, but yourself - your mannerisms, your blunt declarations, your colorful descriptions. To read this collection as a Ugandan immigrant is to grow self-conscious as you turn the pages - because, without warning, Jennifer will swoop in and lay you absolutely bare. And the strange and wonderful thing is that even as you confront yourself in this vulnerable state, you will feel not shame, but ...more

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Jun 14, 2019 Amyn Bawa-allah rated it it was amazing

Jennifer Makumbi can never disappoint me. This is an ambitious and beautifully executed anthology. Tenacity at its finest.
A full review will be published on www.somethingbookish.com.ng soonest. I need to catch my breath first.

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Dec 02, 2019 Lara Kareem rated it it was amazing

I’ve read many collections of short stories which endings leave me feeling unsettled and bothered because of how abrupt the stories end but this isn’t the case with this book. All stories end perfectly and I found myself chuckling out loud in public spaces while reading this book, which is the best collections of short stories I have ever read since my primary school days.

I laugh in the face of people who think writing short stories is easier than writing a novel. And not just any kind of short I’ve read many collections of short stories which endings leave me feeling unsettled and bothered because of how abrupt the stories end but this isn’t the case with this book. All stories end perfectly and I found myself chuckling out loud in public spaces while reading this book, which is the best collections of short stories I have ever read since my primary school days.

I laugh in the face of people who think writing short stories is easier than writing a novel. And not just any kind of short story, one with the all the best characteristics of a novel, go ahead...try it, let’s see how easy it is.

I highly love Jennifer Makumbi’s writing and I am so happy she fought for this collection to be published! This pressed on the fact I need to read Kintu ASAP.

One thing I learnt from reading this collection is that we African’s really have characteristics that bind us despite how different our traditions and culture are. I really loved reading about the Ugandans and is it just me but I spotted some connections in the stories that were told, like “Our Allies the Colonies” and “The Nod”

“Let’s Tell This Story Properly” had my heart in my throat and my anger, but what is wonderful throughout is how powerful and inspiring Nnam is.

Of course, my favourite story in the collection is “Memoirs of a Namaaso” because hello a huge canine lover over here. It’s also a story that leaves me 100% curious because of how bittersweet it is.

Of all the humans in the story my favourite was Poonah and I love how we get to follow her in not one but two stories. "In Love Made in Manchester" Masaaba had me in shock and anticipating how the story would end and I love I felt all the intended emotions the story was meant to evoke.

If I was a white person or someone of lower intellect I would be complaining about how this book doesn’t explain the many Ugandan words and expression and be crying about the—*blasphemous* fact there’s no glossary to explain them. Ladies and gentlemen, there’s google and let it be the norm for writers whose indigenous languages aren’t English to use their indigenous words in their books because it is 100% normal for them.

Each of the stories are wonderful and portray beautiful people going about their normal lives. The writing is well put together and definitely unproblematic. The storytelling is seamless and easy to follow. Need I say more? What are you waiting for? Add this book to your TBR if you’ve not read it already! ...more

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Aug 15, 2019 Raksha Vasudevan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved this collection of short stories that centers on Ugandans abroad, Ugandans returning home, Ugandans somehow in the "in between." True to the collection's title, Makumbi does not simplify, explain or translate Uganda or Ugandans -- their choices, events, and attitudes just are. Clearly, she is writing for a Ugandan audience and/or for curious readers, who are willing to do some work to understand, or sit with being mystified. At the same time, Makumbi is such a masterful storyteller -- ...more

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Nov 23, 2019 Andrea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: uganda, east-africa, african-diaspora

Makumbi has created a series of interrelated stories that illuminate the experience of Ugandans living as immigrants or sojourners in Great Britain. Each story distills an aspect of the immigrant/exile experience, including stories of those who chose to stay in Britain and those who chose to return to Uganda. While the stories have interrelated themes and a couple of characters appear in more than one story, each is an example of the encapsulated form of the short story. These stories are "well ...more

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May 13, 2019 Susan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: uganda

This is a book of short stories whose author previously published a novel that I read and enjoyed. The stories take place either in England (about the life of Ugandan immigrants) or Uganda (about those immigrants who return to visit or live.). Makumbi is a wonderful writer and this is well worth reading. I was actually reading it on the NYC subway and a young woman wandered over to discuss it, having just read something else by Makumbi.

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Nov 21, 2019 Veronika rated it it was amazing

I don't think any words can describe how much I enjoyed these stories. I just finished and I feel so overwhelmed. A 5-star rating is not enough. I am so in love with this collection!

'Manchester Happened' by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is a collection of beautiful short stories, weaving between Kampala and Manchester. Makumbi conveys the reality of relocating to Britain, highlights the characters' unique struggles with identity and explores what it truly means to belong.

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May 12, 2019 Marsha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: immigrant-experience, short-stories, fiction, africa

I enjoyed the book. It was an interesting insight into the experience of Ugandan immigrants to the UK.

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Jul 23, 2019 Samantha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: owned

First, let's just give love to this amazing cover! This book is divided into three sections: prologue, departing, and returning. The story contained in the prologue is one of my favourite and is told from a child's perspective and is filled with anxiety and anticipation. The second section, contains six stories of Ugandans in Manchester. The third section, returning, are stories about Ugandans returning from Manchester to Uganda.

These stories are vivid in description and character. She fully ...more

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Oct 05, 2019 Charlotte rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned, short-story-collection

Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi is a very strong collection of stories broken into two parts: Departing (stories of coming to Manchester from Uganda) and Returning (stories of return to/visiting Uganda from Manchester). The writing was so engaging, easy, and sometimes humourous that it was often on reflection that I realized how truly heavy some of the topics were.
***
A young boy deals with anxiety over his alcoholic mother's drunken outbursts. A father tries to get his newborn ...more

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Jul 07, 2019 L A rated it liked it

Thanks to Oneworld and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not usually a huge reader of short stories but this sounded interesting. A collection of Own Voices short stories from the perspective of Ugandan migrants? Yup, sounds great. The glowing praise the author has received piqued my interest too.

The book is split roughly into two parts. The first tells the stories of multi-generational Ugandan migrants living in Britain and the second part tells the ...more

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Sep 10, 2019 Afreen Aftab rated it really liked it

Shelves: short-story

I don't often get to read about other cultures especially people who have undergone such a specific experience in their lives. About those who have been or are immigrants. About Ugandans to whom Manchester Happened.

This is a collection of stories, the first half of which comprises of people immigrating to UK/Manchester and the second half of Ugandans moving back and how the experiences the characters have had has changed them and their relationships.

The stories are all so varied, so diverse and ...more

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Jul 09, 2019 Andrea rated it it was amazing

'Manchester Happened' is a delightful collection of what are, essentially, loosely related short stories spanning generations, and the flow of immigration from Uganda to the UK and back again.The approach is similar to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Americanah-except replacing Nigeria with Uganda and the US with the UK-but with an entirely different affect. Having judiciously selected which stories to tell, Makumbi covers an amazing breadth of historical and cultural ground with exquisite details ...more

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May 13, 2019 Dincy rated it really liked it

My intention, when I sat down to read this, was to work my way through a story or two a day, but I ended up reading it in a single sitting. This was a wonderful read. Memoirs of a Namaaso, in particular, will stay with me for a long time.

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