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seeyouinorbit's review
5.0
I only read “Jambula Tree” by Monica Arac de Nyeko but I’m definitely going to read the other stories as well. “Jambula Tree” was written beautifully and I was moved by Anyango and Sanyu’s love story. It’s the first lgbtq+ story set in East Africa that I’ve read and I enjoyed it. This short story inspired the film “Rafiki” showed at Cannes in 2018. The story in the film takes place in Kenya instead of Uganda like in the short story. “Rafiki” stirred up a lot of controversy in Kenya where it was banned. It’s unfortunate this happened but I’m still hopeful that one day the lgbtq+ community in Africa will no longer be persecuted for being who they want to be and loving who they want. Love is Love!
qaabiqah's review
3.0
I only read the short story featured in the title - I guess this read counts (?).
I was pleasantly surprised by this short story, which criticises and touches upon cultural issues in Uganda.
It's the story of two adolescent girls, Anyango and Sangu, who `prefer’ one another and eventually act upon their growing feelings for each other.
It's a short and bittersweet story, but it's the realism of it which hit me most.
I was pleasantly surprised by this short story, which criticises and touches upon cultural issues in Uganda.
It's the story of two adolescent girls, Anyango and Sangu, who `prefer’ one another and eventually act upon their growing feelings for each other.
It's a short and bittersweet story, but it's the realism of it which hit me most.
filaughn's review
4.0
As you'd expect with a collection like this, the quality differed across stories. That said, I absolutely loved some of these and appreciated the variety of perspectives, stories, and styles. The 2 Caine Prize winning stories (Jambula Tree from 2007 and Poison from 2008) were both excellent and will stick with me.
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