The conflict between the African and Asian Ugandans is mirrored by the racism Sameer experiences in Britain.

We Are All Birds of Uganda - Penguin Books UK

The digitally native, all year round, online literature and books festival, with new content released every week is a free-for-all-users festival. Amid all this, the romance that evolves between Sameer and Maryam reads like a miracle, something good that might yet be salvaged from trauma. I had been listening to Stormzy for a while and following what he’d been doing, because he’d been doing lots of unusual stuff for a grime artist. When she gives him a tour of the city, it feels like a clunky device, but Zayyan is determined we see Kampala: modern, cosmopolitan and yet still scored by racial tension.The story alternates between high flying lawyer Sameer's life in present-day London and successful businessman Hasan who is still deeply mourning the loss of his first wife though he's remarried in 1960s Uganda. Asians were just one of many ethnic minorities being expelled during the reign of despotic dictator Idi Amin.

How I wrote it: Hafsa Zayyan on We Are All Birds of Uganda

W hat's distinctive is the modern, multi-ethnic vision of masculinity she presents and the solidarity that emerges from it . African warblers are small to medium-sized insectivores which are found in a wide variety of habitats south of the Sahara. They were originally brought to Uganda by the British as part of a policy that would establish a middle class to serve as a buffer between the European and African populations. The way in which protagonist Sameer visits Uganda in the later part of “We Are All Birds of Uganda” and experiences the spectacular sights and delicious food makes me want to go there too.Uganda is a country I had no prior knowledge of but the author paints a picture of a place of beauty but also of societal and cultural upheaval. The ending too was really grating (it reminded me of The Saint of Incipient Insanities and The Secret of the Grain) and made me want to scream: what was the point of it all?

We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan | Goodreads We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan | Goodreads

The combined storylines have a certain symmetry because now grandson and grandfather have crossed countries and must adapt to unfamiliar cultural circumstances. The partner who’d been his main supporter resigns, and his replacement seems hell bent on finding fault with Sameer’s work. They are written by Hasan, starting on the night of his marriage to his second wife, to his first wife and true-love Amira (who died unexpectedly). We were trying to exterminate them for a while, couldn't work out how to stop them coming back though - you can't exactly stop birds from flying, can you?We are All Birds of Uganda” chronicles the effects of this displacement across generations and continents. Some are colourful with yellow, red, or orange vents, cheeks, throats or supercilia, but most are drab, with uniform olive-brown to black plumage. These birds are adapted to an aquatic existence with webbed feet, flattened bills, and feathers that are excellent at shedding water due to an oily coating. We had Ugandan Asians running our local off-licence in Bristol in the 1980s, a lovely family who suddenly upped sticks in the millennium—no idea why.

We Are All Birds of Uganda: Will Gompertz reviews Hafsa - BBC

The narrative moves between two different timelines,alternating between Sameer in present day London and his grandfather Hasan in Uganda and Europe from 1945 through 1981. Sameer is a nice bloke with some serious life decisions to make, but is, as protagonists go, a tad dull. The author really paints a very vivid picture and all her characters are believable and interesting – I really wanted to know all their stories.

This sounds like a fascinating read and I’m going to put it on my list – I’m a big fan of what Stormzy’s doing with the Merky imprint, too. When Sameer's colleague, and until then friend, also begins to make remarks about 'tokenism' (implying that Sameer only got the Singapore gig because he is South Asian) Sameer feels justly alienated. Hasan is the owner of multiple businesses, things are going great but he continues to struggle with the death of his wife. are named shared by my own family members, Hafsa Zayyan tapped into the uniquely Asian East African condition, and translated it beautifully to be shared with the world.