Waiting: A Novel of Uganda's Hidden War (Women Writing Africa) - Softcover

Goretti Kyomuhendo,

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1558615393 ISBN 13: 9781558615397

Publisher: THE FEMINIST PRESS CUNY, 2007

Synopsis

Set in the seventies during the last year of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's brutal, often surreal rule, Waiting evokes the fear and courage of a small close-knit society uncertain of what the edicts of a madman or the marauding of his disintegrating army will bring with each day.

Safe for years in their remote country village far from Amin's political battlefield, teenager Alinda and her family experience terror firsthand when the troops of the self-proclaimed "Last King of Scotland" use the local highway to escape pursuing Ugandan and Tanzanian allied forces. With her pregnant mother on the verge of labor, her brother anxious to join the Liberators, and a house full of hungry siblings, neighbors, and displaced refugees, Alinda learns what it takes to survive, and eventually to plan for a new life.

About this title

Review:

"In a beautifully direct narration, [Kyomuhendo] is able to show her characters reacting to the horror that Amin's regime has put them through. While the story can be used pedagogically, the writing does not feel either syrupy or pedantic but instead profoundly realistic." --Library Journal

Synopsis:

Set during the last year of the Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's brutal regime, "Waiting" exposes the fear and courage of a small, close-knit community uncertain of what the edicts of a madman and the marauding of his uncontrollable army will bring with each coming day. Safe for years in their poor remote country village far from Amin's political battlefield, Alinda and her family are plunged into the rippling effects of war when the troops of the self-proclaimed "Last King of Scotland" use the local highway as an exit route from the pursuing Ugandan and Tanzanian liberators. With her mother on the verge of labour, her brother anxious to join the liberators, and a house full of hungry siblings, neighbours, and displaced refugees, Alinda learns what it takes to survive and eventually plan for a new life. "Waiting" captures the intimate details of a home front battle inflicted on individuals locked in a personal, daily war too often overshadowed by the atrocities of Amin's dictatorship and the eccentricities of his character.

Here the hidden realities and despair of the state-sponsored war on the Ugandan people gives way to the hope forged by the coming of the liberators and the renewed spirit of the people themselves as they reconstruct their homes and lives.

About this edition

• Publisher: THE FEMINIST PRESS CUNY
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1558615393
• ISBN 13: 9781558615397
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 134