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bookwormcat's review
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Body shaming, Cancer, Bullying, Abandonment, Grief, Terminal illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual content
lochanreads's review
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? No
4.0
Set in Uganda, The First Woman is a memorable coming-of-age epic that speaks on the complexities and nuance of womanhood against the backdrop of a violent dictatorship and paternalistic ideals.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Abandonment, and Death of parent
zara89's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Misogyny, Infidelity, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
Minor: Infertility and War
micaela11's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Sexism, Misogyny, and Abandonment
Moderate: Rape, War, and Trafficking
jackelz's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
Kirabo lives with her grandparents because her mother abandoned her as a baby and her father works in the city. As a 12-year-old girl, she begins to question who her mother is.
We see Kirabo with her friend, their eventual falling out, her first love, her life in Catholic boarding school, and her discovery of what it means to be a woman in a patriarchal society.
This book encompasses fundamental issues affecting women in Ugandan society, including skin bleaching, trafficking, polygamy, colonialism, and Ugandan folklore and superstitions around women. I loved learning about Ugandan culture and history, and the beautiful storytelling.
“My grandmothers called it kweluma. That is when oppressed people turn on each other or on themselves and bite. It is as a form of relief. If you cannot bite your oppressor, you bite yourself.”
mwenkanonkano: a Luganda word that loosely translates as feminism, but this concept is older, local, not something imported from the west
“Any mwenkanonkano is radical. Talk about equality and men fall in epileptic fits.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Abandonment, Cancer, and Death
achingallover's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Colonisation, Death of parent, Grief, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Racism, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Trafficking, War, and Violence
beckyjc's review
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
4.25
I discovered the Jhalak Prize this year, and The First Woman won its adult award for 2021. I also saw Makumbi speak at Cheltenham Literature Festival alongside Sophie Mackintosh in 2020 and her charisma encouraged me to try her writing.
This looked to be another absorbing family saga set against an historical and cultural backdrop I know little about - and I have enjoyed a few of those this year. This one started a bit slowly for me and it took a while for it to grip me, but I did enjoy it more as the story progressed. I think part of this is because there was a magical realism element, which I'm usually quite sceptical of. Kirabo 'flies' out of her body, particularly at times of emotional stress, and I still wasn't convinced about this by the end of the book.Was this really happening? If not, what was going on and what did it represent? Nsutta discusses this with her as if it's real and links it to the original state of woman, but I couldn't quite buy into it somehow.
The conversations that Kirabo has with village 'witch' Nsutta about womanhood and her discoveries of motherhood in all its incarnations are the parts I enjoyed the most. They are touching, wise and imbued with a wry humour. This is a novel defined by the relationships between the female characters; friends, mothers and daughters, aunts and nieces, grandmothers and granddaughters. All are drawn in their full complexity and humanity. The mythology around the 'first woman' is an undercurrent that resurfaces at various points of the narrative, and I always find it interesting to read about origin myths and national stories or worldviews from other countries and cultures. Part of Kirabo's journey is about testing the boundaries of these myths and exploring how well they stand up and can provide teachings in a fast changing world.
I learned more about Ugandan tradition, the impact of Idi Amin's regime, and the societal upheavals brought about by British colonialism and the arrival of Christianity. The contrasting definitions of wealth, family and power according to views of the villagers, Kampala residents and the West are explored. But it's the definition of what makes a woman and a mother that drives the novel.
Lively and profound.
This looked to be another absorbing family saga set against an historical and cultural backdrop I know little about - and I have enjoyed a few of those this year. This one started a bit slowly for me and it took a while for it to grip me, but I did enjoy it more as the story progressed. I think part of this is because there was a magical realism element, which I'm usually quite sceptical of. Kirabo 'flies' out of her body, particularly at times of emotional stress, and I still wasn't convinced about this by the end of the book.
The conversations that Kirabo has with village 'witch' Nsutta about womanhood and her discoveries of motherhood in all its incarnations are the parts I enjoyed the most. They are touching, wise and imbued with a wry humour. This is a novel defined by the relationships between the female characters; friends, mothers and daughters, aunts and nieces, grandmothers and granddaughters. All are drawn in their full complexity and humanity. The mythology around the 'first woman' is an undercurrent that resurfaces at various points of the narrative, and I always find it interesting to read about origin myths and national stories or worldviews from other countries and cultures. Part of Kirabo's journey is about testing the boundaries of these myths and exploring how well they stand up and can provide teachings in a fast changing world.
I learned more about Ugandan tradition, the impact of Idi Amin's regime, and the societal upheavals brought about by British colonialism and the arrival of Christianity. The contrasting definitions of wealth, family and power according to views of the villagers, Kampala residents and the West are explored. But it's the definition of what makes a woman and a mother that drives the novel.
Lively and profound.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Death of parent, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Slavery, Violence, and War
peachani's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment
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