We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan

The debut novel from Hafsa Zayyan is a narrative of two halves. It follows Sameer, a young high-flying lawyer living in present day London who is struggling to decide about his future. He comes to realise he feels adrift and unachored from his family and his history. His narrative is interspersed with letters written by his grandfather Hasan in 1960s Uganda. Hasan's letters detail the conflict and struggles he faced as the country he called his home came to reject him under the upheaval of Idi Amin's rule.

The switch between the time periods serves to unravel and explore the complexities of generational divides, racial tensions and the long legacy of the destructive British colonial empire. Zayyan also explores themes of family, faith, friendship, culture, memory and identity. Her focus on identity and how Sameer struggles to find himself and life direction is central to the whole narrative.

I think the book tells a really important period of history with nuance and thought, although it largely focuses on the voices of the Asian community. I think Maryam's character really offered an insight into the emotions and troubles of some of the black, Muslim Ugandan population. She was a very grounded woman in her faith, her beliefs and I really fell in love with her. The one aspect I would point out is that I felt other than Maryam the female characters were quite weak and fell into stereotypes a little more which was a little disappointing.

Overall though, this was a really brilliant debut. It starts of a little slowly, but once Sameer gets to Uganda the narrative is entirely absorbing and I was swept away into the narrative. For those who are fans of multi-generational historical fiction I think this one will be a firm winner! Thanks to Tandem and the publishers for the review copy.

TW: racial slurs, violence references, racism.