<p>In her twelfth year, Kirabo, a young Ugandan girl, confronts a piercing question that has haunted her childhood: who is my mother? Kirabo has been raised by women in the small village of Nattetta—her grandmother, her best friend, and her many aunts, but the absence of her mother follows her like a shadow. Complicating these feelings of abandonment, as Kirabo comes of age she feels the emergence of a mysterious second self, a headstrong and confusing force inside her at odds with her sweet and obedient nature.\nSeeking answers, Kirabo begins spending afternoons with Nsuuta, a local witch, trading stories and learning not only about this force inside her, but about the woman who birthed her, who she learns is alive but not ready to meet. Nsuuta also explains that Kirabo has a streak of the “first woman”—an independent, original state that has been all but lost to women. Kirabo’s journey to reconcile her rebellious origins, alongside her desire to reconnect with her mother and to honor her family’s expectations, is rich in the folklore of Uganda and an arresting exploration of what it means to be a modern girl in a world that seems determined to silence women. Makumbi’s unforgettable novel is a sweeping testament to the true and lasting connections between history, tradition, family, friends, and the promise of a different future.</p>

The First Woman

Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

One World

<p>The breathtaking debut from the winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the Windham-Campbell Prize for Fiction 2018 'A soaring and sublime epic. One of those great stories that was just waiting to be told.' (Marlon James, Man Booker Prize-winning author of  A Brief History of Seven Killings ) The year is 1750. As he makes his way to the capital to pledge allegiance to the new leader of the Buganda Kingdom, Kintu Kidda unleashes a curse that will plague his family for generations. As the centuries pass, the tale moves down the bloodline, exploring the lives of four of Kintu Kidda s descendants. Although the family members all have their own stories and live in very different circumstances, they are united by one thing the struggle to break free from the curse and escape the burden of their family s past. Blending Ganda oral tradition, myth, folktale and history, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi has brought to life an extraordinarily colourful cast of characters to produce a powerful epic a modern classic.</p>

Kintu

Literature & Fiction

Literary

Harpercollins

'This is the novel Uganda-and not just Buganda-has been waiting for. Here, history comes alive in such sensual and accurate detail. For many of us who draw a blank when seeking pre-colonial family histories, this multi-layered story makes us re-imagine, reclaim, and yes, re-live what has been lost.' Doreen Baingana, author of Tropical Fish 'An ambitious modern epic that takes in family saga and the history of Uganda, fusing the urgency of the present with the timelessness of myth.' Jamal Mahjoub, author of The Drift Latitudes In 1754, Kintu Kidda, Ppookino of Buddu Province, in the kingdom of the Buganda, sets out on a journey to the capital where he is to pledge allegiance to the new kabaka of the realm. Along the way, a rash action in a moment of anger unleashes a curse that will plague his family for generations. Time passes and the nation of Uganda is born. Through colonial occupation and the turbulent early years of independence, Kintu's heirs survive the loss of their land, the denigration of their culture and the ravages of war. But the story of their ancestor and his twin wives Nnakato and Babirye endures. So too does the curse. In this ambitious tale of a family and of a nation, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi skilfully weaves together the stories of Kintu's descendants as they seek to break with the burden of their shared past and to reconcile the inheritance of tradition and the modern world that is their future.

Kwani Trust

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The First Woman

Kintu

Kintu