Abyssinian chronicles, isegawas first book, attracted significant attention both locally and internationally when it came out in 2000. If one or more works are by a distinct, homonymous authors, go ahead and split the author. In moses isegawas riveting first novel, the writing is big, but the story is even bigger. Moses isegawas spectacular debut, abyssinian chronicles, is an angry epic which follows the fortunes of a rich cast of characters in the turmoil of idi amins uganda. Giles fodens book about idi amin, the last king of scotland. Abyssinian chronicles moses isegawa, author alfred a. Like salman rushdies midnights children and gabriel garcia marquezs one hundred years of solitude, moses isegawas abyssinian chronicles tells a riveting story of twentiethcentury africa that is passionate in vision and breathtaking in scope. Not that moses isegawas saga of late 20th century ugandan life isnt full of fascinating material. This acclaimed book by moses isegawa is available at in several formats for your ereader. Moses isegawa is a 35 yearold resident of holland who emigrated from his native uganda in 1990.
About abyssinian chronicles like salman rushdie s midnights children and gabriel garcia marquezs one hundred years of solitude, moses isegawas abyssinian chronicles tells a riveting story of twentiethcentury africa that is passionate in vision and breathtaking in scope. If upon reading the first sentence of moses isegawas debut novel, abyssinian chronicles, in an amsterdam bookstore a few years back, i quickly reread it a few times and committed it to m. Buy abyssinian chronicles by moses isegawa from waterstones today. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. He studied at a catholic seminary and taught history in a secondary school. Abyssinian chronicles is an ambitiously conceived novel and it offers an interesting, personal perspective on recent ugandan history. He has written novels set against the political turmoil of uganda, which he left in 1990 for the netherlands. Read abyssinian chronicles a novel by moses isegawa available from rakuten kobo. Containing within its 460 pages weddings, funerals, infidelities, public struggles.
Abyssinian chronicles by moses isegawa used very good. It tells the story of the narrator, known as mugezi, from his young life in uganda to his. Precious few first novels are as phantasmagoric or as haunting as this one. Abyssinian chronicles a novel by moses isegawa paperback.
Abyssinian chronicles by moses isegawa hardcover, 480 pages, published 2000 by picador isbn. Abyssinian chronicles isbn 9780330376655 pdf epub moses. Idi amin, for example, plays a pivotal but passing. Containing within its 460 pages weddings, funerals, infidelities, public struggles with corrupt dictatorships a section called amin, the godfather and private struggles with god seminary years, this is a first. Buy abyssinian chronicles reprints by isegawa, moses isbn.
Abyssinian chronicles 97803754063 by isegawa, moses and a great selection of similar new, used and collectible books available now at great prices. Rites of triangulation in moses isegawas abyssinian. At the center of this unforgettable tale is mugezi, a young man who manages to make it through the. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Moses isegawa is currently considered a single author. From a young african writer who has already earned comparisons to salman rushdie and gabriel garcia marquez comes this masterful saga of life in 20thcentu. Abessijnse kronieken abyssinian chronicles isegawas semiautobiographical novel is a rambunctious, sprawling novel which might remind you of peter carey or even salman rushdie. It is a coming of age chronicle of postcolonial ugandan history, as told by the narrator, who is also coming of age, mugezi. Abyssinian chronicles by moses isegawa africa book club. At the center of this unforgettable tale is mugezi, a young man who manages to make it through the hellish reign of idi amin and. Moses isegawa the story of mugezi, left behind when his parents move to the capital city of kampala, who later joins them in the city, attends a repressive catholic seminary, becomes a high school teacher.
His debut novel, abyssinian chronicles, was first published in amsterdam in 1998, selling more than 100,000 copies and gaining him widespread national. Abyssinian chronicles african union commission library. Abyssinian chronicles is, in every sense, a big book, exploding with big themes and a rich cast of colourful characters. Every once in a while there emerges a literary voice with the power and urgency to immerse readers deep within a previou. Abyssinian chronicles by moses isegawa like salman rushdies midnights children and gabriel garcia marquezs one hundred years of solitude, moses isegawas abyssinian chronicles tells a riveting story of twentiethcentury africa that is passionate in vision and breathtaking in scope. Abyssinian chronicles the free library of philadelphia. Abyssinian chronicles by moses isegawa waterstones. Abyssinian chronicles, paperback by isegawa, moses, isbn 0375705775, isbn abyssinian chronicles, paperback by isegawa, moses, isbn 0375705775, isbn 9780375705779 in a novel spanning ugandas most bloody recent history, a young african writer introduces mugezi, a witness to the horrors and excesses of idi amins regime. And not because it was the first to expose the brutality of idi amins regime, or to delve into the history of pre and postamin uganda it wasnt. In his hugely impressive abyssinian chronicles moses isegawa renders the chaotic swirl of life in uganda, from a lazy, remote village to the urban rush of kampala.
At the center of this unforgettable tale is mugezi, a young man who manages to make it through the hellish reign of idi amin and experiences. Moses isegawas sprawlingly ambitious first novel, abyssinian chronicles, pulls off something of the same feat amid the carnage and chaos of postindependence uganda. Praised on both sides of the atlantic as well as in the authors native uganda, moses isegawas first novel abyssinian chronicles was a big, transcendently ambitious book boston globe that blasts open the tidy borders of the conventional novel and redraws the literary map to reveal a whole new world elle. Isegawas diction lurches clumsily between the grittiest street slang and pompous verbosity. This briskly paced comic epic recounts in lavishly imagined detail its sly narrator mugezis upbringing in 1960s uganda, struggles with demands imposed by his sprawling extended family and divided country, and eventual escape to the mixed blessings of sanctuary in amsterdam. From a young african writer who has already earned comparisons to salman rushdie and gabriel garcia marquez comes this masterful saga of life in 20thcentury uganda.