✨« Manchester Happened » will bring you on a deeply intimate journey into the lives of Ugandan people battling to create a life for themselves in England.

✨In this collection of short stories, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi paints an incredibly wide picture of the multi-faceted experiences of the Ugandan diaspora in England and the pursuit of a place one can call home. I am in complete awe of her capacity in portraying such diverse points of view, exploring racism, prejudices, classism by getting into the shoes of characters coming from widely different backgrounds and points of view, without sounding forced. 

✨I have to say, this is the second book I read by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi (the first one being Kintu), and I am slowly becoming obsessed with her writing and storytelling.

✨ This novel follows the life of Manzana, a queer young Colombian who’s rejected by his family, and notably by his father who sends him with the Colombian military in order to “make him a man”. During his time in the military, he will survive through some terrible abuse, while also remembering the past ones that led him there.

✨ In the form of a novel, this book has its roots in real events, which makes it even harder to read. It is not a book you can read with a light hearth, it will break your heart and make you wonder how much can a person be resilient before the break point.

✨ Besides the glance into the conflict between the Colombian military and paramilitary groups in the country (this is not an history book), I found the parts of the novel told by the point of view of Manzana unique.
On the other side, I found the parts told by the other main narrator, a journalist, less relevant: they could have been so, for example, by cutting some unnecessary sex scenes with a woman who served no particular other role in the story besides having sex with the journalist (EYEROLL 🤷‍♀️)

✨ Overall, I would suggest this reading (warning though about some pretty violent triggers about sexual violence), even if I would not put it into my top 10 of 2021 (yes I’m starting to think about it!)

Well, where to even begin. Just let me get something out of the way before you get bored and stop reading this: READ THIS (the #book I mean).

 If you consider yourself a #feminist , read this. If you call yourself a feminist AND you are privileged, DEFINITELY read this.

This book is a necessary reminder that #feminism is not a unified movement, and that there is not a unique experience rallying all women together. Not all women experience the oppression of the patriarchy in the same way, some women experience the oppression of white supremacy, racism, poverty, classism AND of the patriarchy.

This book is an invite to acknowledge our privilege, and to consider a range of problematics as feminist issues (I.G. poverty, housing, disability, education and many more): if we as feminist with privilege are not able to question ourselves about these issues and about our being part of these oppressive mechanisms, then our feminism is broken and is probably of no use or even worse, is hurting other women.

While the subjects and aim of the book, it results really easy to read, as the author bases a lot of the reflection on real life exemples and anecdotes. It is mainly focused on the USA context, but you can learn a lot of interesting concepts that could apply in other contexts as well. Definitely a feminist must read!
Image description: holding the book “Hood Feminism” in front of the camera, blurred background; white cover and big title in center (orangey/red colours)

 Let me just say: I’ve never read anything like this in my life. The structure of the book itself is already worthy of the five stars rating, I found the way to present the story in the form of a script was absolutely genius.
In addition to the structure, you’ll find a beautiful and insightful story about race, about immigration and assimilation, told in an absolutely original way. The parallel between movie roles and the roles society imprisons immigrants l and new generations into is especially very ingenious.

While reading this amazing book by Nadeesha Uyangoda (“L’unica persona nera nella stanza” ~ “The only black person in the room”) I simultaneously realised two things: this was the first time for me reading a BIPOC author from my own country (Italy) and, often, when talking about BIPOC authors, we talk about BIPOC authors from the USA.
Maybe the reason is, as the writer of the book put it, that we (Italians and Europeans) see racism as something that doesn’t really touch us, or at least not as badly as in the USA for exemple, which is consequentially why we don’t talk about it.
Quote “But the fact that an Afro-American had to die at the hands of the police on the other side of the Atlantic and that an anti-racist movement was needed elsewhere so that in Italy, even in Europe, we could protest and talk about structural racism makes us think. And the point of view that we decided to adopt to narrate this renewed interest in this theme starts from an assumption: we are not so racist".

After 3 months gone without reading, I could not have picked a better book to get me out of the reading slump!

Against the Loveless World is a piercing MASTERPIECE written by Susan Abulhawa and winner of the Palestine Book Award

The novel follows the story of Nahr, a Palestinian woman with various names, and many lifes. This book will bring you not only in Palestine, but also in Kuwait and Jordan, but always through the eyes of Palestinians and its peoples struggle to simply exist.

A whore, a wife, a revolutionary.. who is Nahr ? While she goes on a journey of self discovery, she will also find her own origins, her own country and her own place in the world, in the world that Zionists destroy day by day, while also attempting to erase Palestinian identity all together.

If you already had this book on your TBR list, do not think twice and read it, you won’t regret it at all. Besides the stunning writing of Susan Abulhawa, you will as well find an amazing work of research that reflect in the details of the story settings

This is one of those books that #bookstagram made me buy, and I’m not disappointed AT ALL!
If you are looking for an historical fiction with a passionating and captivating narrative, you can stop looking! 
 The story is set in post-revolution Iran and follows the story of a family, who after a tragic event fled Tehran trying to rebuilding their life away from the revolution, trying to protect their own freedom and forget about their sorrows, but will fate allow them to do so?
 The writing of Shokoofeh Azar is enchanting, and manage to tell awful events while in such a lyrical way, at some moments it felt I was reading a fairy tale.

If you are looking for a book for kids written by a BIPOC author look no more !

As I said when starting this bookstagram account, in Europe and more specifically in Italy (where I grew up), the educational program drastically lacks of representation, and the books we read for school are books written mainly by western (white) authors
As you know by now, I believe it’s radically important for literature to be more inclusive and diverse, but I find it especially crucial when it comes to literature for kids
In this novel, you will follow three 12 yo kids in Zambia, trying to solve a mystery surrounding the disappearance of AIDS patients. The novel is short, but manages to keep the suspense until the end, even if I found the conclusion of the story to be a little too quick. 

I can’t even find the words to tell you how much I loved this book ! 

She would be King is a retelling of Liberian history, and more in particular about its birth. Through the life of three characters bond together by their special gifts, you’ll be brought in their lives of outcast, while they fight for their freedom and to salvage the the relationship between the African American settlers and indigenous tribes
There is so much to love and say about this book, starting with the marvellous writing style of Wayétu Moore, the amazing and endearing characters and their stories, the power dynamic between African Americans settlers and local populations. However, what I admired the most about this book it’s the way the author gives back agency to the Black people of the story
Indeed, as a white person who grew up and studied in Europe, I’ve always been fed the history of slavery in the USA and Europe as if the only active people where the colonisers, the “whites”: there was slavery, and then one day white people realised it was bad and decided to free the slaves. Never once I was taught about how black people fought for this freedom, and how even once slavery was abolished the struggle continued. This book gives back this active agency to black people, or rather it sheds light on it, has it’s always existed but purposely left out of western history books.

Do you like historical fiction, epic stories and multiple narrators? This book have it all, and more !
The book is divided into 6 books, all centering on a member of the Kintu descendance, starting from Kintu Kadda, the leader of the Buddu province in the kingdom of Buganda. During a trip to meet the new Kabaka (King) of Buganda, however, something horrible happens casting a curse on the Kintu descendance. The 5 books following the Kintu Kadda one will show how the curse has affected the Kintu descendance.
The writing of Makumbi is majestic, to the point that I immediately got myself another of her books while I was still reading Kintu. She manages to tell a complex story without becoming repetitive neither boring, and this was the only time I didn’t end up hating the presence of a genealogy tree at the beginning of the book.
As I said, this book has it all: an astonishing storytelling, suspense, attaching characters and also historical knowledge, I can’t even start to imagine the amount of work Makumbi put in this. If I had to only choose a word to describe Kintu, it would be MONUMENTAL