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abbie_'s review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
5.0
This book is truly as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside! I put The First Woman on my Christmas list last year after brilliant reviews from both @reads.and.reveries and @enobooks (it’s published as A Girl Is a Body of Water in the US), and it did not disappoint! It’s a stunning coming-of-age tale, intertwining Ugandan folklore, feminism and friendship, all set against the dictatorship of Idi Amin with the country changing in the background of Kirabo’s story.
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The characters in this book are all incredible, especially the women. I loved Kirabo as a protagonist, but I think Nsuuta may have stolen the show for me. I don’t really cry at books often but I welled up at the end of The First Woman, there’s such a tender, beautiful scene at the end that I read over and over again.
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I also loved Makumbi’s exploration of how the women in this book interact with each other and with men, and how that’s changed over time. Through storytelling, Kirabo learns when women started to be oppressed, and how in more recent times, that oppression is often increased by women turning on other women.
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Tasnim pointed out in her review, and there’s a tweet from the publisher too, that Makumbi doesn’t write for a western audience. She writes for Ugandans. The rest of us are lucky to be privy to her work. I’m really excited to read her other books now too!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death of parent, and Grief
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