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ok7a's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Sexual content, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Cursing, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child death, Incest, Child abuse, Colonisation, Rape, and Pedophilia
Minor: Abandonment, Chronic illness, Abortion, Miscarriage, and Homophobia
annemaries_shelves's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book kind of surprised me in a good way. It's a novel that I had wanted to read for so long (4-5 years) but had built up in my head the way you do.
Kintu follows the extended Kintu clan and their misfortunes due to a family curse from a Ppookino (governor-type) ancestor back when the region was still the Buganda kingdom. We open with a shocking murder in present-day 2004, and jump back to 1750 to follow the ancestor Kintu. The next few sections are a serious character deep dive into several different family members in 2004. While the present-day is 2004, we jump back multiple decades as we follow different family members. The final section has the whole family coming together for a reunion to break the curse. I loved the prologue and first historical section, and appreciated the in-depth character explorations. However, the final section could've been longer and more effectively tied together the disparate threads, in my opinion.
The themes of family, intergenerational attitudes/beliefs/trauma/histories, identity, knowledge and knowing, role of religion vs. traditional beliefs, among others were well done and nicely woven in. There were some really lovely passages about identity and family (and colonization - which was a lesser theme in comparison) throughout the text. I think it also had a lot to say about family trauma and bad luck and how people reconcile that with their belief systems - a family curse is a lot easier to pin the blame on then big forces out of your control (colonialism, genetics, mental illness, poverty, etc.). That said... I was kind of left wondering whether the curse was real. And if it was, whether they were truly successful in breaking it. Nansubuga Makumbi was very smart in adding the element of "breaking the curse comes with its own negatives" - leaving you wondering if the continued bad luck was the lingering after effects of a broken curse... or the curse still working its way through the family. Really, the story works with multiple interpretations.
Per the Introduction, which I really recommend reading before the novel, this is a Ugandan novel for Ugandans, so there's little explanations or hand-holding for readers unfamiliar with the history and culture of Uganda (specifically the Ganda people and culture). It's absolutely worth the effort if, like me, you're unfamiliar. The writing is compelling and the chapters are relatively short, which propels the reader forward.
Finally, I'd absolutely read another book by this author.
Kintu follows the extended Kintu clan and their misfortunes due to a family curse from a Ppookino (governor-type) ancestor back when the region was still the Buganda kingdom. We open with a shocking murder in present-day 2004, and jump back to 1750 to follow the ancestor Kintu. The next few sections are a serious character deep dive into several different family members in 2004. While the present-day is 2004, we jump back multiple decades as we follow different family members. The final section has the whole family coming together for a reunion to break the curse. I loved the prologue and first historical section, and appreciated the in-depth character explorations. However, the final section could've been longer and more effectively tied together the disparate threads, in my opinion.
The themes of family, intergenerational attitudes/beliefs/trauma/histories, identity, knowledge and knowing, role of religion vs. traditional beliefs, among others were well done and nicely woven in. There were some really lovely passages about identity and family (and colonization - which was a lesser theme in comparison) throughout the text. I think it also had a lot to say about family trauma and bad luck and how people reconcile that with their belief systems - a family curse is a lot easier to pin the blame on then big forces out of your control (colonialism, genetics, mental illness, poverty, etc.). That said... I was kind of left wondering whether the curse was real. And if it was, whether they were truly successful in breaking it. Nansubuga Makumbi was very smart in adding the element of "breaking the curse comes with its own negatives" - leaving you wondering if the continued bad luck was the lingering after effects of a broken curse... or the curse still working its way through the family. Really, the story works with multiple interpretations.
Per the Introduction, which I really recommend reading before the novel, this is a Ugandan novel for Ugandans, so there's little explanations or hand-holding for readers unfamiliar with the history and culture of Uganda (specifically the Ganda people and culture). It's absolutely worth the effort if, like me, you're unfamiliar. The writing is compelling and the chapters are relatively short, which propels the reader forward.
Finally, I'd absolutely read another book by this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Sexism
Minor: Incest
jayisreading's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
This was a really interesting but also tough book to read. Tough in the sense that there is some heavy content, but it’s mostly that there is a lot of information to digest and keep track of that can get a bit tedious.
The story begins with Kintu Kidda and the curse placed on him that affects not only him, but also his descendants. The story then branches out to follow said descendants and how they are reckoning with this curse in their own lives. Makumbi approaches this by dividing her book into six interconnected sections, presenting different perspectives on the curse and how each character understands it. And I love how this is done in the fashion of oral history, recognizing that there will always be slight differences in one’s understanding of something carried down from the past. There was also a lot of interesting commentary woven into this family epic that related distinctly to Ugandan culture and society, the most interesting I thought was the lasting impact of colonialism, especially Christianity.
The book dragged in certain places for me, but overall, I found Makumbi’s storytelling effective and compelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Suicide, Rape, Incest, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Colonisation and War
sonea_moon's review against another edition
Extremely violent, massively traumatic family life described constantly
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Rape, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Incest, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
georgiarybanks's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A sweeping introduction to the folklore and history of Uganda.
The novel covers a period from 1750 to around 2004 and follows the cursed bloodline of the Kintu family, who were once a powerful clan in the kingdom of Buganda.
Some sections made me laugh. Other sections were just bleak. I learned a lot about Uganda - but suspect that some things might have gone over my head because I don’t have all the context.
I listened to an audiobook version from Audible. The narrator was fantastic. I think if I was reading the physical book I might have found it a bit easier to keep track of which part of history I was in. I did get things mixed up sometimes.
Really enjoyed this overall.
The novel covers a period from 1750 to around 2004 and follows the cursed bloodline of the Kintu family, who were once a powerful clan in the kingdom of Buganda.
Some sections made me laugh. Other sections were just bleak. I learned a lot about Uganda - but suspect that some things might have gone over my head because I don’t have all the context.
I listened to an audiobook version from Audible. The narrator was fantastic. I think if I was reading the physical book I might have found it a bit easier to keep track of which part of history I was in. I did get things mixed up sometimes.
Really enjoyed this overall.
Content Warnings
Minor: Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Rape, and Suicide attempt
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