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A review by ohmage_resistance
A Fledgling Abiba by Dilman Dila
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
This is a Ugandan inspired book, which affects a ton of the worldbuilding. At the beginning, there's a brief intro where Dilman Dila explains how singular and plural forms work in Bantu language family, and that's really the first and last time he really explains things in depth for non-Ugandan audiences. Pretty much everything else the reader has to pick up from context (unless they're familiar with Ugandan cultures, then I imagine things would be much easier!). I like this, even though I didn't always get the difference between a muchwezi and a lakwopo etc (there are a lot of different kinds of spirits in the book—and I'm pretty sure a lot of them are take from/inspired by traditional Ugandan religions), it made the setting feel way more immersive. IDK, reading this book really emphasizes how many of the [x culture]-mythology inspired books I've read are probably really simplifying things for Anglosphere audiences.
You can also tell that a lot of the book is concerned with stuff that's very relevant to Uganda—there's an illness that's very reminiscent of AIDS and a huge part of the book deals with social attitudes towards spirits/traditional Ugandan spirital beliefs. There's also some bits that felt kind of jarring to me probably because of cultural differences (one of the MC's magical powers was the ability to fart/defecate fire, which comes up a lot).
Unlike the last book I read recently with worldbuilding that the reader had to pick up from context (The Archive Undying), in this one, the motivation of the characters were always clear (especially the main character, who is facing an evil spirit called a wor-yama, trying to find a place to belong after her mother died, and trying to figure out who her father was). The prose style/rhythm of the story might also feel a bit odd to some readers, I think because it's going for a slightly more myth/folktale style. I liked it, and I liked the coming of age story that the MC went on, although the ending is pretty abrupt and could have been fleshed out more, imo.
You can also tell that a lot of the book is concerned with stuff that's very relevant to Uganda—there's an illness that's very reminiscent of AIDS and a huge part of the book deals with social attitudes towards spirits/traditional Ugandan spirital beliefs. There's also some bits that felt kind of jarring to me probably because of cultural differences (one of the MC's magical powers was the ability to fart/defecate fire, which comes up a lot).
Unlike the last book I read recently with worldbuilding that the reader had to pick up from context (The Archive Undying), in this one, the motivation of the characters were always clear (especially the main character, who is facing an evil spirit called a wor-yama, trying to find a place to belong after her mother died, and trying to figure out who her father was). The prose style/rhythm of the story might also feel a bit odd to some readers, I think because it's going for a slightly more myth/folktale style. I liked it, and I liked the coming of age story that the MC went on, although the ending is pretty abrupt and could have been fleshed out more, imo.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Gore, Cannibalism
One of the MC's magical abilities is the ability to fart/defecate fire (that's the excrement and fire content warnings there).
At the start of the book, the MC's mother is dead, so she is living with her neglectful/abusive aunt.
The slavery is of a magical nature.
There's a magical illness that felt very AIDS like (hense the terminal illness warning) although the MC and another woman find a cure, so I don't think we see anyone actually die from it
Religious bigotry is prejudice against the MC for having magic related to traditional Ugandan spirituality especially around spirits.
There's a fair amount of infidelity happening with the adults in this book, most of which has pretty disastrous consequences, especially as people seek revenge.