Reviews

The First Woman by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

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amydomdom's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

bianca_st's review against another edition

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slow-paced

4.0

interestedinblackbooks's review against another edition

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"...women were two things at once - aquatic and terrestrial. Human but fish, beautiful but grotesque, exciting but frightening, nurturing but malevolent."

Kirabo is a girl without a mother, living with her well-respected Grandmother and Grandfather in the Nattetta village of Uganda. Her grandparents shower her with love. And her father, Tom, who comes from the city every once in a while to visit, also gives her love. But love from these figures is not enough to quell the curiosity that Kirabo has - who was her mother? It's important to find her mother in part because Kirabo is struggling with having two halves of her oneself: her good half and her bad half. Her bad half can float away from her body and fly around the village. Her bad half is masculine, acts like a boy, climbs trees, and forgets to cross her leg. In search of her mother, Kirabo consults the local witch, Nsuuta.

Nsuuta is feminist and important. Though Nsuuta is blind, she sees more than Kirabo can. When Kirabo askes for help (find my mother and help me remain one), Nsuuta obliges but with conditions. Nsuuta will look for Kirabo's mother, but Kirabo is not to go looking for her mother until Nsuuta is sure that Kirabo's mother is ready. And Nsuuta can get rid of Kirabo's "bad half," but she also must first listen to the history of women's original state. As Nsuuta insists, Kirabo's bad half is good. It means that Kirabo still has the original state of women in her. Women used to be powerful, strong, rebellious, and free until men revoked this original state of women, calling women of the sea to insinuate she is not fit for land. From there the story continues.

This is a great book, once I got into it. The book moves slowly at first, which is not bad (we must resist modern Western literature cadences) but did make it hard for me to commit at first. I fear that other readers will think the same. However, if a reader can commit, this is a really gorgeous story about what it means to resist as an African woman and what it means to search for a mother. I love the conversation about the original state of women, from an African woman (written by an African author). It's important to hear that nothing about women's oppressed state is natural, even if it is from a fiction book. Nsuuta was my favorite character. I felt that she was the most colorful, the most full character though she relatively did not take up that much space in the book. I also loved Kirabo's grandfather, who was a great example of a healthy relationship between an African man and a female relative. The way he consoles Kirabo (though funny enough he doesn't extend that to other female relatives) when she is distraught about her mother or wetting the bed was touching. My full review will be up on my book Instagram @interestedinblackbooks and Goodreads sometime this week. I will then add the links.

Thanks for allowing me to have an advanced copy of this book.

mxunsmiley's review against another edition

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5.0

This book is phenomenal! The writing is so fluid and interesting. The characters are so complicated and their relationships with one another are so nuanced. I especially love how it explored the many different facets of a woman's relationships with other women and how difficult it can be to reconcile resentment toward each other. I loved this book and am definitely going to continue following this author as well as read her other book.