April 30, 2007
Ugandan author Kyomuhendo's unsettling and richly atmospheric U.S. debut illustrates the terrible plight of a family struggling to survive the last months of Idi Amin's brutal dictatorship in 1979. Terrorized by Amin's soldiers fleeing Tanzanian forces allied with anti-Amin Ugandans, 13-year old Alinda hides out with her family on a farm in the western town of Hoima. Her postal clerk father snatches news of the invading soldiers from the city, while eldest son Tendo serves as a semi-reliable lookout. Grandmother Kaaka, younger daughter Maya, and other neighbors sharing the hideout, along with Alinda's pregnant mother, who goes into labor just as the soldiers arrive. Although the baby miraculously survives, Alinda's mother is killed, and Alinda must cook and care for the smaller children. Difficulties arise as brother Tendo runs off to join the "Liberators," and Alinda's female friend, Jungu, an outcast child of mixed Indian and black heritage, falls in love with a Tanzanian solider and aims to become the first female member of the army. The book, however, is less about plot than Kyomuhendo's strong portrayals of characters such as Uncle Kembo, who returns to recant his mercenary conversation to Islam, and the so-called Lendu woman, a Zairian foreigner considered a witch because of her knowledge of healing herbs. Kyomuhendo delineates the strife of her war-torn country with vivid, unflinching verve.
May 15, 2007
Program coordinator for FEMRITE, the Ugandan Women Writers' Association and publishing house, novelist and children's author Kyomuhendo (Secrets No More ) here offers a novel encompassing a family's fearful response to life in dictator Idi Amin's Uganda. The novel specifically addresses the effects of war on central character Alinda, who also acts as the eyes of the story. Kyomuhendo explores the lives of women not just in a dictatorial state but at different stages of life, including childhood, puberty, pregnancy, and motherhood, and shows the reader the different struggles associated with each stage. In a beautifully direct narration, she is able to show her characters reacting to the horror that Amin's regime has put them through. While the story can be used pedagogically, the writing does not feel either syrupy or pedantic but instead profoundly realistic. Recommended for public and academic libraries.Shalini Miskelly, Highline Community Coll. Lib., Des Moines, WA
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