Abyssinian Chronicles

Posted on 16 August 2018 by Moses Isegawa

Like Salman Rushdie s Midnight s Childrenand Gabriel Garcia Marquez s One Hundred Years of Solitude, Moses Isegawa s Abyssinian Chronicles tells a riveting story of twentieth century Africa that is passionate in vision and breathtaking in scope.At the center of this unforgettable tale is Mugezi, a young man who manages to make it through the hellish reign of Idi Amin and experiences firsthand the most crushing aspects of Ugandan society he withstands his distant father s oppression and his mother s cruelty in the name of Catholic zeal, endures the ravages of war, rape, poverty, and AIDS, and yet he is able to keep a hopeful and even occasionally amusing outlook on life Mugezi s hard won observations form a cri de coeur for a people shaped by untold losses. Download Abyssinian Chronicles – kino-fada.fr 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 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 edu...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 th...Otras realidades a las que solemos llegar desde visiones de segunda mano G nero Novela.Lo que nos cuenta El libro Cr nicas absinias publicaci n original Abessijnse kronieken, 1998 ofrece los recuerdos, pero tambi n la reconstrucci n de momentos que no vivi porque sucedieron antes de que naciese, de Mugesi, un ugand s nacido en un periodo de grandes cambios pol ticos en su naci n y que marcar n sus vivencias que, a la postre, terminar n por llevarlo muy lejos de su Uganda natal Quiere sa Otras realidades a las que solemos llegar desde visiones de segunda mano G nero Novela.Lo que nos cuenta El libro Cr nicas absinias publicaci n original Abessijnse kronieken, 1998 ofrece los recuerdos, pero tambi n la reconstrucci n de momentos que no vivi porque sucedieron antes de que naciese, de Mugesi, un ugand s nacido en un pe...I would listen to Mugezi, the narrator of the Abyssinian Chronicles, over and over like the sound in my head when I m at peace and in turmoil.The story begins in Uganda and ends in Amsterdam but it is not about the geographical locations, it is about the events and experiences that shape Mugezi s life The choices he makes, the women in his life and how religion, war, corruption influence his quest for both identity and belonging.The book is not one to be read at a sitting and it takes time to I would listen to Mugezi, the narrator of the Abyssinian Chronicles, over and over like the sound in my head when I m at peace and in turmoil.The story begins in Uganda and ends in Amsterdam but it is not about the geographical locations, it is about the events and experiences that shape Mugezi s life The choices he makes, the women in his life and how religion, war, corruption influence his quest for both identity and belonging.The book is not one to be read at a sitting and it takes time to read through the experiences and adventures he has a child and also while at the seminary I was taken b...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.halfway mark and I must remark on a few thoughts so Opening sentence Three final images flashed across Serenity s mind as h...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 sof a mildly scatological Bildungsro...First class lesson on Uganda s history following independence I find the last bit of the book Mugezi s story after his stint in the army too rushed, and also did not quite get where he got married and divorced, as is mentioned on the blurbFascinating book that reveals modern history and cultural features of Uganda I really enjoyed.I didn t anticipate I would take so long to read this book, but ultimately it did take me six months to get through it It wasn t that the story wasn t fascinating a saga of a family in Uganda I believe it was the writing style The writing could be too descriptive at some points and at others it felt there were too many sentences to describe one point that it became a little too much to bear In any case, this was not a page turner YET every time I would pick it up, I was curious about the I didn t anticipate I would take so long to read this book, but ultimately it did take me six months to get through it It wasn t that the story wasn t fascinating a saga of a family in Uganda I believe it was the writing style The writing could be too descriptive at some points and at others it felt there were too many sentences to describe one point that it became a little too much to bear In any case, this was not a page turner YET every time I would pick it up, I was curious about the story and would read several pages Another generational saga that is narrated by the character Mugezi who comes from a hard core Catholic family At least his mother is Padlock, the mother, as very religious she is, is also quite a horrible mother who mistrusts Mugezi and treats him horribly Mugezi s father, Serenity, is not so conservative, and in fact starts an affair with Padlock s aunt from the day of their marriage The book follows both families, before Mugezi s parents gets married and throughout d...A crazyquilt of familial and political storytelling that adds up to what, exactly Isegawa offers up some great set pieces the chapter on main character Mugezi s seminary schooling is a particular highlight , but I found myself grasping at straws for a sense of the author s overall plan Or IS there a plan Example a variety of characters fall victim to gruesome encounters with wild animals a puff adder, a buffalo, a crocodile for what purpo...

English
16 August 2018

Moses Isegawa