⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ All the Glimmering Stars by Mark T. Sullivan had a special pull for me. My daughter studied abroad in Kampala, Uganda, and while I knew the country’s beauty, I also knew its violent past. This novel brought that history into sharp, painful focus. Inspired by a true story, the book follows Anthony Opoka and Florence Okori, bright, principled teens coming of age in 1990s Uganda. Both believe in being good humans—right up until they’re kidnapped and forced into the Lord’s Resistance Army. Anthony is drawn terrifyingly close to warlord Joseph Kony and his secrets, while Florence fights to hold on to her sense of self as the world around her unravels. When […]
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A History of Burning
The story begins at the turn of the twentieth century, when 13-year-old Pirbhai, the eldest son of a poor family, is conscripted British to work on the East African Railway in Kenya. The hardship the workers experienced was unimaginable. Then one day, Pirbhai commits an act so heinous it will haunt him forever and reverberate across his family’s future for generations to come. Pirbhai’s children are born and raised under the searing sun of Kampala during the waning days of British colonial rule. As Uganda moves towards independence and military dictatorship, Pirbhai’s granddaughters, Latika, Mayuri, and Kiya, are coming of age in a divided nation. Then, in 1972, under Idi […]
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