Good report about the political situation in Uganda. People are pretty realistic. Not black and white but many grey zones. Some of the writing was excellent and then there were some trivial parts. ( )

First published in dutch in 1998 under the title Abessijnse Kronieken, this book soon achieved notority, and a number of translations into several european languages, including this portuguese one, have been printed. Several critics have claimed this novel a landmark in african literature and a book of universal import. Whatever the veredict of time concerning its standing as part of the canon, this is certainly a powerful novel, telling the saga of a Ugandan man (the narrator) and of his family through the last half of the twentieth century. A grand canvas of live in Uganda, but also a mirror of a large part of sub-saharian Africa: a blunt tale of misery, despair, hope and achievement amid a turbulent childhood, a castrating Catholic education, brutal dictatorships, mercyless wars, and the wretch brought about by the AIDS epidemic. Written in a lively style evoking powerful images, one reads quickly and effortlessly through the five hundred plus pages of this absorbing book just to feel sad when it finally ends... ( )

Isegawa is een Oegandees die als illegaal in Nederland woont en in het Engels een kroniek van zijn leven heeft geschreven die in het Nederlands vertaald is.
Moegezi, de hoofdpersoon van het boek is de oudste zoon van Serenity en Nakkazi bijgenaamd hangslot. Na hem krijgen zijn ouders nog talloze kinderen die hij de schijters noemt omdat hij voor ze moet zorgen en hun vieze luiers wassen. Van jongs af aan wordt Moegezi gecommandeerd door zijn moeder Hangslot en vaak geslagen. Hij reageert hierop door zijn eoigen weg te gaan en zich van niemand iets aan te trekken. Als Idi Amin net aan de macht is, is die zijn grote voorbeeld omdat die alles durft te zeggen en te doen. Van Hangslot die non is geweest moet hij naar het seminarie. Hij zit er tegen zijn zin, doet zich voor als ijverige student en haalt kattekwaad uit. Eenmaal jaagt hij een gehate missionaris weg door hem in de nacht een strontpakket in het gezicht te smijten. Na het seminarie werkt hij een tijdje bij een stokerij en vervolgens neemt hij een baantje met een vriend waarbij hij misdadigers afperst. Als de druk te groot wordt gaat hij op uitnodiging van een hulporganisatie naar Nederland en vestigt zich daar.
Abessijnse kronieken kronieken is met veel vaart geschreven, prettig leesbaar en geeft een goed beeld van het leven in Oeganda met de wreedheden van de regimes van Obote en Amin en de verschrikkingen van de Aidsepidemie. Het laatste hoofdstuk geeft nog een beeld van het leven van een illegaal in de Bijlmer.
Uitgelezen: dinsdag 18 juli 2000 ( )

As much as I loved the first half of this book, the fact that I almost quit reading it several times through the second half after it lost nearly all its steam made me dislike it far more than I should.

After reading The Last King of Scotland not long ago, I thought I'd try a different take on the 70s situation in Uganda. This one focused more on the citizens than it did on the government, specifically a narrator who grew up through the dictatorship and government overthrows.

The book starts off explaining the background information on the narrator's family, including his father and grandfather, in their small village. The first half of the book is almost strictly on the narrator's life and his family. The accounts of his daily life both in the village and in Kampala and the Seminary are both interesting and funny, since the narrator tends to enjoy outsmarting people who he disagrees with.

The government situation doesn't enter into the first part much at all save for when it directly affects the family's life, such as the house his mother and father get in Kampala or his father's position at work.

Once the character leaves the seminary, the second half of the book focuses heavily on the fighting between guerrilla and government soldiers and the effects on the country at large. This part was much less interesting since the narrator was playing very little part in what was going on.

The second half of the book is actually quite difficult to get through because of this. It also doesn't help that the time period for all the events is fairly unclear through the entire novel, as is the age of the narrator. Occasionally the year is brought up, and occasionally Mugezi's age is also mentioned, but it's really hard to tell how much time is passing once he leaves the seminary.

The final "book" was fairly interesting and entertaining once again, when the narrator leaves Uganda and winds up in Amsterdam. It seemed like the storytelling worked best when only dealing with a narrow thread of events and people.

The writing style also got on my nerves sometimes. There are copious, flowery descriptions of everything. At one point, the description of a plane ride and Mugezi's mindset takes up three or four pages.

Even as interested as I was in the history in the book, and as much as I liked the main character and his family, I just could not bring myself to like this book in the end. ( )

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 found myself laughing out loud periodically. Early on, the author spectacularly foreshadows the deaths of two main characters, and clear parallels are drawn between the dictators of the era and the culture of the home. The text is ornate and difficult at times, but it reads like a classic. I picked out this novel, since I have traveled to Uganda, and after having read it, Isegawa is now on my list of favorite authors. ( )