Customer Reviews

Abyssinian Chronicles

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Perhaps the definitive African novel of our generation ... a story that traces the lives and tragedies of a Ugandan family from the sixties through present time. While the first half of the novel reads somewhat like a Dickensian novel, chronicling the oftentimes abusive youth and adolescence of the book's central protagonist, the second half reads more like a history of this African nation, with vivid often horrifying descriptions of the chaos and senseless violence that took place during Idi Amin's regime and subsequent overthrow. For this reader, however, the book's most effective passages detail the devastating impact of AIDS in Uganda in the mid to late 1980's, especially as it affects the lives of the novel's central family.

I hesitate to give this book a full five star rating only because I found the last chapter, which brings our "hero" to Amsterdam, lacking in the dramatic urgency of all that's come before, culminating in what was for me a rather weak and disappointing ending. Otherwise, I would rank this as among the best books I've read in the past several years.

Kudos also to the book's translator. Originally written in Dutch, this translation reads as smoothly and effortlessly as if English was it's original language.

I started reading this book at 9:00 am this morning and finished it 12 hours later, no one could pull me away from this gem! What a wonderfully written book... if one doesn't know much about Africa and the political, cultural, religious conflicts that are so much a part of my continent, then this book is for you. Make no mistake, though, this is no boring, uncaptivating book, it is extremely entertaining, yet also very informative. At times I found myself laughing out loud and re-reading passages over and over again, at other times, I felt a cold shiver creep down my spine, reminding me of the Ugandans I met when I was growing up in Africa and recounting the horrirific stories they told me. If you are to buy just one book in 2002, let it be this one. Be warned, though, when you pick it up to read, make sure it is on a day when you have nothing else scheduled to do. You will NOT be able to put it down. Moses Isegawa is a marvelous writer, I cannot wait to see what he will come up with next. This is the kind of book that deserves the Booker Prize....but then again, that's all political...isn't it?

There are some authors whose books I feel compelled to read: Saul Bellow, Garcia-Marquez, Isabelle Allende are examples- the writing is so immediate and beautiful. To this group I am adding Moses Isegawa. His story is fascinating- I take it that this is autobiographical. He understands life in terms of power struggles- first his Edenic existence with his grandparents, particularly his midwife grandma, whom he assisted; then his life with troubled and tyrannical parents, school bullies, an oppressive stint at Catholic boarding school, later adventures in business, avoiding trouble during the Amin years, subsequent emigration to Europe. At every turn there is someone trying to thwart him and whom he outsmarts with stealth and patience. There are a host of eccentric characters and natural disasters to be coped with. The customs of Uganda are so different from what we Americans are used to, yet the author conveys how the people are so like us in feelings and motivation. He might be called cynical, but it's just reality that he describes - and he is likeable. The writing is superb. The idiom seems American- do they really talk like us over there? How does he do that? I enjoyed this book as much as Bellows' whose midwestern Jewish background I share.

This book is a must read before travel to Uganda. It contains wonderful character development and provides a learning experience about life in Uganda and its history. Written from a Ugandan perspective. I read this book and the Brandt travel guide on Uganda before a 8/04 trip to Uganda and was enthralled with both. Much better than "Gravity of Sunlight". Read Abyssinian and be prepared for hours of fascinating people, culture and history.

Moses Isegawa knows how to catch a reader with a powerful first paragraph; While dissapearing into the jaws of a crocodile, a man remembers three things, and with the capricious nature of memory, those three things are very different from each other. Why the image of the rotting corpse of an ox (maggots and all, showing the reader, from page one, what a dexterous novelist Moses Isegawa is) would have a place next to the face of one beloved? The protagonists' memories are the answer. This is a novel narrated by remembrance, punctuated by glimpses so sensual (the ambience of the coffee plantation of Grandfather when it goes to seed, for example) that the vividness of this novel is in close league to the stories of Gabriel García Márquez, of Salman Rushdie and of Juan Rulfo. It belongs with them too, in the sense of how the magical is interwoven with the historical; we knew of the history of Colombia, of India, of México, and in this case of Uganda, trough the fantastic realities created in these novels, where the historical was more unbelievable than the magical. The lushness, the cruelty, the outrageous, all combine seamlessly in a language so terse and beautiful that the reader will be dazzled.

This is the second time in a year reading this book and it is still as entertaining and instructive as the first time. In the background of this fictional story are hard facts about growing up in post-independence East Africa. Mugezi (the lead character) does not hold back any emotions when recounting his life story and does not mince his words when describing other characters.

I have also gone through Isegawa's "Snake Pit" twice; another wonderful read.

Isegawa's book offered me a view of life inside of Uganda that is difficult to find elsewhere. While I appreciated his insights, his cynicism paints an additionally dreary picture that needed no additional dark coloring. He frequently goes far overboard in discriptive language as though to give us a class on colorful descriptions. I was offended at his caustic evaluations of the helping agencies, throwing a blanket comdemnation of the lot as a self-serving condescending bunch (my words). One quickly picks up his feeling of despair for the country's future while he offers no light or solutions of his own based on his insight and experience. If the reader develops their own opinions as how to view or support Uganda based on Isegawa's insights, then the country of Uganda was done a disservice by this book.

I hope I receive it during this week the destination is Nairobi Kenia . The Book is a gift for a friend of me

This is an interesting read which provides some insight from an African perspective on the turbulent recent history of Uganda. I have a few quibbles, first the book needs some more editing.The author tends to repeat some abstruse words such as "diaphanous" and "patina" at numerous and, at times, inappropriate moments throughout the book. Secondly, once the author leaves Uganda the story becomes very uninteresting very quickly. Otherwise a very good read.