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Waiting: A Novel of Uganda's Hidden War
A Ugandan author’s “unsettling and richly atmospheric” novel of a young African woman confronting the brutal end of Idi Amin’s dictatorship ( Publishers Weekly ). Set in the seventies during the last year of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin’s brutal, often surreal rule, Waiting evokes the fear and courage of a small close-knit society uncertain of what the edicts of a madman or the marauding of his disintegrating army will bring with each day. Safe for years in their remote Ugandan village, thirteen-year-old Alinda and her family are suddenly faced with the terror of the self-proclaimed “Last King of Scotland” when troops of his use the local highway to escape anti-Amin Ugandan and Tanzanian allied forces. With her pregnant mother on the verge of labor, her brother anxious to join the Liberators, and a house full of hungry siblings, neighbors, and refugees, Alinda learns what it takes to endure terrible hardship, and to hope for a better tomorrow . . . "Kyomuhendo delineates the strife of her war-torn country with vivid, unflinching verve." — Publishers Weekly
136 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
November 13, 2011
I braced myself for a orgy of blood and horror. It was probably going to be one of those books that would leave me stunned with grief, a tragic reading journey into the most brutal realities the world has to offer, for what else could I expect out of a book with a subtitle "....Uganda at war"? So I mustered my resolve and first-world-guilt-cum-obligation-to-know, and what do you know, Africans do more than fight, starve and succumb to western exploitation. It is a book about women and children and non-violent persons skirting the war in a rural village. A family and their friends fight illness, child birth, fear while surviving with an oblique conflict and ruthless dictator that are somehow both set aside and omnipresent. It is a book about families trying to send their kids to school, cook cassava and avoid or adapt to whatever may be. I appreciated the simple, clear writing, the distinct non-western feminine point of view, and I am impressed with the way Goretti Kyomuhendo is able to contrast the conflicts of war and hearth with compassionate fatalism.
March 3, 2020
This novella narrates the tension and the hope of a family and their neighbors as they await the liberating forces to arrive in their Ugandan village. As they hide from Ugandan soldiers, life and death, prejudice and kindness, promise and regret crowd their lives.
October 29, 2023
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فکر کن جنـ*ـگ شده و تو انتظارش رو نداشتی ولی مجبوری برای اینکه از دست شورشی‌ها فرار کنی و کشـ*ـته نشی، شب‌ها برای خواب بری وسط زمینی که کلی درخت موز توش کاشته شده و تمام چیزهای باارزشت رو تو یه گودال دفن کنی. حاضری از تخت گرم و نرم بگذری بری روی برگ درخت موز و زمین سرد بخوابی؟
برای من تصور این که به خاطر چند تا سرباز معلوم الحال خونه‌ام رو ترک کنم خیلی عذاب‌آوره! ولی خب چاره چیه؟!
احتمالا تا الان متوجه شدی! بله! این کتاب سرگذشت یه دختر نوجوان اوگاندا و خانواده‌اش در زمان جنگ سربازان امین تو دهکده‌شون هست.
چند شخصیت داره و شخصت اصلی این کتاب همان دختر نوجوان هست و در ادامه خوانده دختر و چند آشنای باقیمانده!
شخصیتی که کمی باهاش همزادپنداری کردم همین دخترک بود دختر اول خانواده. وقتی اتفاقی برای مادرش میافته تمام مسئولیت‌ها رو به دوش میکشه حتی بچه‌ی تازه به دنیا آماده‌ی پدر و مادرش! (البته من کاری برای مامانم نکردم ولی خب اکثر دخترهای اول بعد مادر بیشترین مسئولیت رو داشتن یا هنوز هم دارن و خب این شخصیت برام غیر قابل درک نبود. اصلا دلیلی برای همزادپنداری ندارم ولی خب جمله خوبی شده، قبول داری؟! 😂)
اوایل کتاب، روند داستان به خوبی پیش می‌رفت ولی بعد یه سیر نزولی رو طی کرد. یه داستانی که روی یه خط مستقیم حرکت میکنه و هیجان و پستی بلندی زیادی نداره.
فقط بهترین قسمتش وقتی بود که شب تو خونه مادر داشت با کمک مادربزرگ و دخترک وضع حمل میکرد و یهو سربازها سر رسیدن! یکم به داستان هیجان داد.
اصلا متوجه نشدم مادربزرگ ۷۰ ساله داستان که حامله شده و کی بچه رو به دنیا آورده؟! 😐
جالب بود برام وقتی دندون بچه دو سه ماه رو عنوان یه جادو میدونستن ولی بدترش این بود که دندون یه نوزاد رو کشیدن! تا اونجایی که میدونم دلیلش این نیست.
حالا با خودت میگی این کتاب ارزش خوندن داره یا نه؟! عزیز جان وقتت رو براش نذار! 🦦
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امتیاز من از پنج: ۲
امتیاز Goodreads از پنج: ۳.۵۶
مشخصات کتاب من: چاپ اول، بهار ۱۴۰۰، قیمت ۳۵۰۰۰ تومن
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قسمتی از کتاب:
.. پرسیدم: «راست می‌گویند که خورشید ماه را آبستن کرد و وقتی بچه به دنیا آمد، از یر بار مسئولیت طفره رفت؟»
جواب داد: «بله، راستش دو تا بچه هستند. اگر خوب نگاه کنی، دومی را می‌بینی. ماه خیلی دلخور شد. برای همین هر چه خورشید له‌له می‌زند خودش را به او برساند و ازش عذرخواهی کند، او درمی‌رود. صبح که خورشید درمی‌آید، ماه ناپدید شده. گاهی هم اصلا خودش را نشان نمی‌دهد. »
از این نویسنده کتابی خوندی؟
فکر کن جنـ*ـگ شده و تو انتظارش رو نداشتی ولی مجبوری برای اینکه از دست شورشی‌ها فرار کنی و کشـ*ـته نشی، شب‌ها برای خواب بری وسط زمینی که کلی درخت موز توش کاشته شده و تمام چیزهای باارزشت رو تو یه گودال دفن کنی. حاضری از تخت گرم و نرم بگذری بری روی برگ درخت موز و زمین سرد بخوابی؟
برای من تصور این که به خاطر چند تا سرباز معلوم الحال خونه‌ام رو ترک کنم خیلی عذاب‌آوره! ولی خب چاره چیه؟!
احتمالا تا الان متوجه شدی! بله! این کتاب سرگذشت یه دختر نوجوان اوگاندا و خانواده‌اش در زمان جنگ سربازان امین تو دهکده‌شون هست.
چند شخصیت داره و شخصت اصلی این کتاب همان دختر نوجوان هست و در ادامه خوانده دختر و چند آشنای باقیمانده!
شخصیتی که کمی باهاش همزادپنداری کردم همین دخترک بود دختر اول خانواده. وقتی اتفاقی برای مادرش میافته تمام مسئولیت‌ها رو به دوش میکشه حتی بچه‌ی تازه به دنیا آماده‌ی پدر و مادرش! (البته من کاری برای مامانم نکردم ولی خب اکثر دخترهای اول بعد مادر بیشترین مسئولیت رو داشتن یا هنوز هم دارن و خب این شخصیت برام غیر قابل درک نبود. اصلا دلیلی برای همزادپنداری ندارم ولی خب جمله خوبی شده، قبول داری؟! 😂)
اوایل کتاب، روند داستان به خوبی پیش می‌رفت ولی بعد یه سیر نزولی رو طی کرد. یه داستانی که روی یه خط مستقیم حرکت میکنه و هیجان و پستی بلندی زیادی نداره.
فقط بهترین قسمتش وقتی بود که شب تو خونه مادر داشت با کمک مادربزرگ و دخترک وضع حمل میکرد و یهو سربازها سر رسیدن! یکم به داستان هیجان داد.
اصلا متوجه نشدم مادربزرگ ۷۰ ساله داستان که حامله شده و کی بچه رو به دنیا آورده؟! 😐
جالب بود برام وقتی دندون بچه دو سه ماه رو عنوان یه جادو میدونستن ولی بدترش این بود که دندون یه نوزاد رو کشیدن! تا اونجایی که میدونم دلیلش این نیست.
حالا با خودت میگی این کتاب ارزش خوندن داره یا نه؟! عزیز جان وقتت رو براش نذار! 🦦
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.
امتیاز من از پنج: ۲
امتیاز Goodreads از پنج: ۳.۵۶
مشخصات کتاب من: چاپ اول، بهار ۱۴۰۰، قیمت ۳۵۰۰۰ تومن
.
قسمتی از کتاب:
.. پرسیدم: «راست می‌گویند که خورشید ماه را آبستن کرد و وقتی بچه به دنیا آمد، از یر بار مسئولیت طفره رفت؟»
جواب داد: «بله، راستش دو تا بچه هستند. اگر خوب نگاه کنی، دومی را می‌بینی. ماه خیلی دلخور شد. برای همین هر چه خورشید له‌له می‌زند خودش را به او برساند و ازش عذرخواهی کند، او درمی‌رود. صبح که خورشید درمی‌آید، ماه ناپدید شده. گاهی هم اصلا خودش را نشان نمی‌دهد. »
از این نویسنده کتابی خوندی؟
June 23, 2024
Tenía muchas ganas de leer a Goretti Kyomuhendo, y aunque no ha sido fácil hacerme con un ejemplar de la escurridiza editorial argentina Selva Canela, por fin he podido terminar con “La espera”, considerada la gran novela de la autora ugandesa.
Kyomuhendo ambienta su narración en el turbulento periodo de guerra que acabó con el derrocamiento del sanguinario Idi Amin, pero en vez de meterse en la gran historia política de su país, o usar como escenario las grandes ciudades, la autora centra el foco en una familia que habita en una pequeña aldea. El título hace alusión a la espera que tienen que soportar esas personas humildes y ajenas a los vaivenes geopolíticos, adaptando su vida cotidiana todo lo que pueden mientras van acercándose las oleadas de soldados que amenazan con pasarles por encima. Primero, los de Idi Amin, huyendo de su derrota y sin nada que perder. Después, los supuestos libertadores, ugandeses en el exilio y soldados tanzanos, quizás no mucho mejores que los anteriores.
La autora consigue trasmitir de una manera hermosa e íntima la vida tradicional de una comunidad rural ugandesa, con sus múltiples lecturas entre líneas y su dependencia de una tradición cada vez más amenazada e insostenible. “La espera” no tiene un desarrollo de la trama clásico, sino que sencillamente narra ese periodo de tiempo, y nos deja en suspenso sobre muchas cosas.
Una obra muy para tener en cuenta, con la que entrar en contacto no sólo con unas culturas muy diferentes y alejadas de las nuestras, sino que también pone la atención sobre grupos que tradicionalmente no son atendidos por la literatura o la historia, y que suelen ser azotados por las consecuencias de los hechos históricos que se fraguan muy lejos de donde se sitúan los límites de su universo cultural.
Más que recomendable. Ojalá llegue a España también.
Kyomuhendo ambienta su narración en el turbulento periodo de guerra que acabó con el derrocamiento del sanguinario Idi Amin, pero en vez de meterse en la gran historia política de su país, o usar como escenario las grandes ciudades, la autora centra el foco en una familia que habita en una pequeña aldea. El título hace alusión a la espera que tienen que soportar esas personas humildes y ajenas a los vaivenes geopolíticos, adaptando su vida cotidiana todo lo que pueden mientras van acercándose las oleadas de soldados que amenazan con pasarles por encima. Primero, los de Idi Amin, huyendo de su derrota y sin nada que perder. Después, los supuestos libertadores, ugandeses en el exilio y soldados tanzanos, quizás no mucho mejores que los anteriores.
La autora consigue trasmitir de una manera hermosa e íntima la vida tradicional de una comunidad rural ugandesa, con sus múltiples lecturas entre líneas y su dependencia de una tradición cada vez más amenazada e insostenible. “La espera” no tiene un desarrollo de la trama clásico, sino que sencillamente narra ese periodo de tiempo, y nos deja en suspenso sobre muchas cosas.
Una obra muy para tener en cuenta, con la que entrar en contacto no sólo con unas culturas muy diferentes y alejadas de las nuestras, sino que también pone la atención sobre grupos que tradicionalmente no son atendidos por la literatura o la historia, y que suelen ser azotados por las consecuencias de los hechos históricos que se fraguan muy lejos de donde se sitúan los límites de su universo cultural.
Más que recomendable. Ojalá llegue a España también.
Read
October 21, 2021Just read the afterword instead
December 8, 2020
A great short read without much character development. It's more of novella than a novel, but still an enjoyable read.
May 11, 2015
Fantastic quick read, that illuminates Idi Amin's Uganda, and how the people lived during the ending phases of his regime. It gives a fantastic inside look of the conditions they were forced to live in to hide from Amin's soldiers, and even showed some of the culture of the people there such as Ebiino. Thanks to the help of "Alinda" it also reveals some Amin's policies, like what he did with the Indian merchants, or his invasions. Last but not least, it gives an interesting inside look of the "Liberator" forces made up of Tanzanian soldiers and Ugandan exiles, and how they are a blessing to the area but are similar to Amin's soldiers in some aspects. Some background knowledge of Ugandas history is important to help understand this book, and because of that is another reason this book was a resounding success.
December 11, 2018
An interesting contrast between the brutality of the war that is happening there somewhere in the city and the everyday life of a rural population trying to survive. Experiencing uncertainty and fear that is growing more and more while waiting for something to happen seems to me a great topic / idea, but I think that in this story, the author failed to capture this agony and the unpredictability of waiting.
July 10, 2023
In this short novel we follow Alinda, the eldest daughter, as she and her family tries to survive in a village during the civil war between Idi Amin's army and the Libration army (around the end of 1970's maybe). The world depicted in this story is new and distant for someone from Central Europe - I had to google how mango trees look like (big bushy tree with lantern-like hanging fruits, very cool) and I had fun reading the stories and explanations told by some characters:
The characters rather have functions, not personalities. As a tragic killing and death occur, others take up the lost functions, keeping the little patchwork family able to survive. We get to see how conflict takes its toll on ordinary citizens and especially on women - the threat of kidnapping/rape by soldiers, the lack of medicine or doctors (it must be close to impossible to deliver a baby in these circumstances and survive), the closing of schools, the burden of housework on the daughters.
The novel is worth the short amount of time it requires for anyone interested in post-independence Africa from an unusual point of view: it leaves you with uneasy feelings and issues to think about from tribalism to patriarchy.
„The moon rose at eight. The child lying in her arms seemed larger as I gazed at her through the banana leaves. I could see only part of the child and her mother. She wanted to tease us, of course, unveiling her beautiful face shyly, slowly, as she did when wooing her husband, Sun.
“Is it true Sun made Moon pregnant and denied responsibility when the child was born?” I asked Nyinabarongo.
“Yes,” she answered. “There are actually two children. If you look closely you will see the second one. Moon was very upset. That is why she runs away from Sun every time he tries to catch up with her to apologize. By the time he rises in the morning, Moon has already disappeared. At times she doesn’t appear at all.”
The characters rather have functions, not personalities. As a tragic killing and death occur, others take up the lost functions, keeping the little patchwork family able to survive. We get to see how conflict takes its toll on ordinary citizens and especially on women - the threat of kidnapping/rape by soldiers, the lack of medicine or doctors (it must be close to impossible to deliver a baby in these circumstances and survive), the closing of schools, the burden of housework on the daughters.
The novel is worth the short amount of time it requires for anyone interested in post-independence Africa from an unusual point of view: it leaves you with uneasy feelings and issues to think about from tribalism to patriarchy.
December 9, 2021
For any one expecting the battlefield action or military issues between Uganda's army and Tanzania army- liberators, this is not a book. But, for any one interested in understand what villages families went through after Uganda's war broke out this us the book to read. Set at Villages in Hoima district in 1979, It's packed with information much on deteriorated health services affected the rural dwellers, how the lost their properties like food and money from the looting by Amin's soldiers, sometimes they kill the villagers. It also subtly shows how Amin policies were ex how he favoured muslims over other people. After Amin chased the indians from Uganda, all the business were given to Muslim ugandas, who as it's shown in the book like Uncle Kembo, who was just a watchman in the mill, were given to run the business. As they were incompetent economy failed. The novella shows how local herbs plays a vital role in Uganda societies as well as poor beliefs. Generally its a good novel. There is a section of afterword by Margert Daymond, its very insightful as it has elaborated various issues which are interpretation of the novel with the regard to the ugandan society. Its a very easy read.
July 22, 2024
For any one expecting the battlefield action or military issues between Uganda's army and Tanzania army- liberators, this is not a book. But, for any one interested in understand what villages families went through after Uganda's war broke out this us the book to read. Set at Villages in Hoima district in 1979, It's packed with information much on deteriorated health services affected the rural dwellers, how the lost their properties like food and money from the looting by Amin's soldiers, sometimes they kill the villagers. It also subtly shows how Amin policies were ex how he favoured muslims over other people. After Amin chased the indians from Uganda, all the business were given to Muslim ugandas, who as it's shown in the book like Uncle Kembo, who was just a watchman in the mill, were given to run the business. As they were incompetent economy failed. The novella shows how local herbs plays a vital role in Uganda societies as well as poor beliefs. Generally its a good novel. There is a section of afterword by Margert Daymond, its very insightful as it has elaborated various issues which are interpretation of the novel with the regard to the ugandan society. Its a very easy read.
July 5, 2022
It's a small novella describing few months of a village girl when she and her family are hiding from Idi Amin's army after he was vanquished. If you're expecting some action this is not the book for you. While i kept "waiting" for something huge to happen somehow i didn't feel bored either. It kept me engaged throughout. Loved the writing style.
October 25, 2018
Alinda and her family are bravely trying to hide out from Amin's army in Uganda, hearing rumors, hearing gun shots, trying to stay safe and alive. This is a very intimate view of a society riven with clan conflicts, superstition but also love and caring and dependency on each other.
May 7, 2022
شروع داستان رو دوست داشتم ولی بعدش انگار نویسنده فقط خواسته بود تند تند و پشت سرهم از بدبختی‌های مردم اوگاندا بگه. تعداد شخصیت‌ها هم به‌نسبت حجم کتاب خیلی زیاد بود جوری که اصلاً نمی‌تونستم باهاشون همراه بشم📖
January 2, 2021
Read when I got back from Uganda.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2022
Country: Uganda
March 10, 2024
Really wonderful depiction of rural, everyday life during war where all you can do is endure and “wait”.
February 20, 2023
Tremendo y hermoso.
January 6, 2024
Ei familiegruppe og naboar ventar på å bli ramma av krigen, som i dette tilfellet er krigen mellom Tanzania og Uganda i 1979.
Kjekt med uvante perspektiv, ukjende problemstillingar frå ei framand verd og eit framand tilvere. Ein del sidesprang med forklaring av bakgrunnshistoria, som ikkje glir så godt inn i hovudforteljinga.
Kjekt med uvante perspektiv, ukjende problemstillingar frå ei framand verd og eit framand tilvere. Ein del sidesprang med forklaring av bakgrunnshistoria, som ikkje glir så godt inn i hovudforteljinga.
September 14, 2019
"The Lendu woman asked them to go and liberate Zaire too, after they were finished with Uganda, and kill or chase away that dictator, Mobutu," Jungu said.
When Idi Amin came to power in 1971, he wanted to convert all the people to Islam.
Uncle Kembo made money from trading on the black market, selling goods that had been illegally imported into the country from Zaire and Kenya.
When the fighting stopped, I left the hospital and started treating people, using the knowledge I had acquired. Many babies suffering from ebino used to be brought to me. The first signs are usually diarrhea and a fever, at times accompanied by vomiting, which might be mistaken for symptoms associated with growing of milk teeth, if the baby is of teeth-growing age. But as I have explained before, these are not really milk teeth ... some evil people bewitch babies, which causes the tooth buds to rot. If you don't extract the infected tooth bud, the child will die.
When Patrice Lumumba was killed by the Americans in 1961, there was a lot of fighting in Zaire.
But Kaaka did not understand their language. Uncle Kembo said they were speaking in Kiswahili, a language mainly spoken by Amin's soldiers.
But the old man had argued that the Lendu people were useful because they had rid the village of monkeys by eating them.
Whenever there was an important function at our church, his wife would borrow one of Mother's best gomesi to wear to the event.
It was the time when Indians owned all the businesses in the town. This was before Amin chased them away. They also owned the coffee factory, the cotton mill, and the sawmill. They were very rich.
There was no soap in the shops at the time, so we would pluck papaw leaves and squeeze them until they produced thick, dark green juice that we would mix with hot water. The mixture produced foam just like soap.
Friday was always a holiday because President Amin had declared it so. It was a day when Muslims went to the mosque. On Saturday, we would resume school and then rest again on Sunday.
Mother used to smear her with red soil from the anthill and put her in a dark room so that the measles would not affect her eyesight.
By evening, we were ready to take our most valuable possessions to the pit: the bicycle - which Father had dismantled - our mattresses, the radio, the saucepans, and our best clothes. We covered them with mats and goatskins, then we placed two old corrugated iron sheets on top.
He told us that President Idi Amin was about to be overthrown by a combined force of Ugandans who lived in exile and the Tanzanian soldiers who were assisting them.
She used her walking stick to hit a banana-fiber ball out of her way, and it rolled towards us before falling into the water streaming out of the bathroom enclosure.
The Lendu woman was lying on her mat, using a flattened banana stem to pillow her head.
Nyinabarongo had already spread out her two mats and her child sat on one of them, eating a roasted cassava.
Our sleeping place was a short distance from the house on the edge of the banana plantation where smaller trees had formed a dense little forest.
Father returned from the house, a panga in one hand, a blanket and a long, heavy coat in the other.
I've eaten many jackfruits today. And papaws. And mangoes. And avocados.
"It's not the food," Kaaka said. "It's because the baby you are carrying has a lot of hair. That's what is causing the heartburn."
We were all eating our evening meal in the yard between the main house and the kitchen.
May 12, 2015
In the book Waiting by Goretti kyomuhendo it talks about the stuggles families go through in Uganda to hide from the soliders everynight in fear that if the soliders find them in their houses the soliders will kill them. The book started off really slow but got a little more interesting as the book went on. In the book it mainly focuses on one family in particular. The family is made up of a mother, father, and a few children. Out of everyone the mother seems to be the one having the most problems with the switching places everynight from a warm bed in a house to a cold, wet, and uncomfortable ground. I'd rate this book a two out of five stars becuase it didn't catch my attention as much as I feel it could have. Very nice story lining but to little detail. In my opinion the author could have done so much with the story outline but fell short in the end.
August 27, 2010
This is an excellent, quick read that tells the story of the ousting of Idi Amin from power from the perspective of a young girl, living in an isolated village in Uganda. I enjoyed the point of view of the author, even though it is difficult to read knowing the larger historical context of the fact that even the end of Idi Amin didn't mean peace for Uganda, and this particular region in Uganda for many, many more years.
January 22, 2009
This book is written from a young girl's perspective of life under Idi Amin's dictatorship in Uganda--the fear and the suffering she, her family, and her neighbors had gone through in the 70s. I really enjoyed how the story and her characters unfolded.
January 3, 2009
A powerful book about a family in wartime Uganda at the end of Idi Amin's rule... Kyomuhendo apparently wrote this for her master's degree, and she also co-founded a Ugandan women's publishing house, both of which make her awesome.
February 26, 2021
Set in the last days of the brutal regime of the Ugandan dictator, Idi Amin, the book describes events and shares emotions of a young woman in a remote village into whose life the armed struggle which toppled Amin is thrust. A draining, yet uplifting tale.
November 12, 2012
Haunting novel about what Amin's army did to the rural population.
September 9, 2014
A story set in Uganda told from perspective of a girl in the last year of Idi Amin's brutal regime
July 12, 2015
Short, mildly interesting (for its portrayal of rural life for Ugandan women), disappointingly insubstantial.
October 1, 2016
Thoroughly engaging - highly recommended
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