As we gear up for Uganda, here is a booklist of excellent picks that either take place in Uganda or were written by Ugandan authors. When a trip is on the horizon I go to work finding a book or two to accompany me on the journey. I love learning what I can about the people, history, and culture of the place I'm traveling to. We've got some pretty long flights, after all, so plenty of time for reading!
I should say also that I am a little fascinated by Uganda because my father taught history at Makerere University in Kampala from 1959 to 1961, and I went there myself in 2010 and found the corridor where his old office would have been.
Here are some recommendations to enrich your understanding of Uganda:
Featured Books
| Title | Author | Goodreads Raters | LibraryThing Owners |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kisses from Katie | Katie Davis Majors | 33,774 | 1,253 |
Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis Majors
Unfortunately the top spot for books set in Uganda, on both Goodreads and LibraryThing, still goes to a literal white saviour narrative. It’s a long way ahead on Goodreads, and also leads if by a much narrower margin on LibraryThing.
Read also: Literature and African History
Beginner's Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose and Impact Now by Liz Forkin Bohannon
Liz Forkin Bohannon wants you to rethink everything you've been told about finding your passion and following your dreams. Why? Hate to break it to you, but you're likely never going to "find your passion." Because your passion and purpose are something you build--actively--day by day. In her signature tell-it-like-it-is fashion, Liz shares 14 actionable principles that will teach you how to do just that. With total transparency, Liz shares hilarious and heartbreaking stories of her journey of screwups and successes that illustrate the mindsets and principles that will give you a jolt of energy, inspiration, and direction toward your True North. By embracing your Inner Beginner, dreaming small, choosing curiosity over criticism, and so much more, Liz's story and the principles of Beginner's Pluck will have you on your way to building a life of purpose, passion, and lasting impact.
Where the Air Is Sweet
Spanning the years between 1921 and 1975, Where the Air Is Sweet tells the story of Raju, a young Indian man drawn to Africa by the human impulse to seek a better life, and three generations of his family, who carve a life for themselves in a racially stratified colonial and post-colonial society. In 1972, dictator Idi Amin expelled 80,000 South Asians from Uganda.
The Rise and Fall of Idi Amin
The First Ugandan
Growing up with a violent father in the country of Uganda in the 1960s, Medad Birungi faced physical and emotional pain that few people can imagine--yet today he speaks of a revolutionary forgiveness we all can experience. Once a boy who begged to die by the side of the road, once a teenager angry enough to kill, once a man broken and searching, today Medad is a testimony to God’s transforming power. Through his story of healing, Medad calls readers to find healing from their own emotional scars. As Medad’s remarkable journey shows, when people forgive each other, they are doing something truly radical. They are changing relationships, communities, countries.
Read also: African American Urban Fiction
The First Woman
In her thirteenth year, Kirabo confronts a piercing question: who is my mother? Kirabo has been raised by women in the small Ugandan village of Nattetta―her grandmother, her best friend, and her many aunts―but the absence of her mother follows her like a shadow. Seeking answers from Nsuuta, the local witch, Kirabo learns about the woman who birthed her, who she discovers is alive but not ready to meet.
Additional Considerations
Both All Our Names, by Dinaw Mengistu, and We Are All Birds of Uganda, by Hafsa Zayyan, are split between Uganda and another country (the UK and the USA respectively) and I have not been able to detect if the Ugandan content is more or less than 50% of the book in either case.
I am not sure about In A Free State, by V.S. Naipaul, because the original publication with that title is a collection of shorter pieces, the longest of which is also called “In A Free State”, is set in Uganda (not named but clearly intended) and has also been published as a standalone.
Read also: A Look at Leisure in South Africa
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tags: #Uganda
