Lucas Blogs About Books

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...

I'm certainly not holding this book in front of my face to hide the tears streaming down my cheeks! What would give you such a ridiculous idea? So, what's this book's de—Oh for cryin' ou— That's right!  It made me cry!   We talked about its author's merits—and demerits!  It's also one of my favorite books of all time. I just finished re-reading East of Eden  by John Steinbeck. The deal is exceedingly simple to explain: it's a genuine, goddamn masterpiece of Modernist and Naturalist prose exploring such topics as the American Dream, the Old Testament, racism, mental health, good, evil, family dynamics, war, peace, moral obligation, how to start a Ford Model T, love, sex, betrayal— OH. MY. GOD! Stop, just stop! I can't be here for this. Sorry, I already started this as a Hypothetical Reader formatted post. The novel starts with a loving description of the Salinas Valley then quickly splits into two tracks that only rejoin hundreds of pages l...