Lucas Blogs About Kintu
You shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but this cover is dope! That's right, three posts in a row without Hypothetical Reader butting in. A blogger could get used to this. This week, I'm blogging about Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi's debut novel, Kintu . According to the introduction by Aaron Bady (don't worry, I read the book before I read the intro), Kintu is the Great Ugandan Novel. I don't know enough about the Ugandan literary scene (or even contemporary African Literature at large) to make that judgment, but I can say that Kintu is an engrossing novel It opens with the death of Kamu Kintu on Janurary 5th, 2004 at the hands of a vigilante mob after he is falsely accused of theft. It then jumps back to 1750, when his ancestor, Kintu Kidda was ppookino (this word is never translated, but it is clearly a title like governor or prefect) of a large territory in the Kingdom of Buganda. On a trip to pay homage to the new king, Kintu accidentally strikes...