She uses oral traditions, myths, traditional beliefs and folktales to centralise Ugandan experiences. Makumbi breathes life into this history by showing it to us through the experiences of ordinary people. Makumbi uses these characters to walk us through the history of Uganda in the second half of the twentieth century: from the declining years of colonial rule in the 1950s, to the early independence years in the 1960s, to Idi Amin’s military regime in the 1970s, right up to Museveni’s more than three-decade rule in the twenty-first century. The final book of the novel sees all these characters coming together to a family reunion where they try and break the centuries-old curse.
And Miisi is an educated elder who spends his days thinking and writing about the influences of colonialism on Ugandan society. Isaac spends many years trying to get himself out of the poverty his father left him in. Kanani is an elderly evangelist who goes around Kampala looking for converts with his wife. Suubi is an orphan who is raised by a cruel aunt who sees her as punishment from her family for choosing not to have children of her own. The curse manifests itself in different ways in each of their lives. The other books in the novel are told from the perspectives of four of Kintu’s descendants in the year 2004. Along the way, Kintu unintentionally unleashes a curse that has lasting effects on the lives of his descendants for generations.
Kintu travels to the capital of the kingdom to pledge allegiance to the new king, who has ascended the throne after years of rivalry and violence that saw multitudes of male relatives kill each other for power. Book One is set primarily in Buddu Province in Buganda in the 1700s and is told mainly from the perspective of Kintu Kidda, the governor of the province. Kintu is divided into six books, each told from the perspective of one main character. Makumbi’s writing is clear and deliberate and she has the ability to make even the slowest parts of the novel compelling. The genius of Makumbi is that she also does the very difficult work of taking care of us as readers through this, and many other traumatic scenes, by skilfully balancing the violence with humour and compassion. Kamu is caught and killed and Makumbi spares no details in describing his gruesome death.
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