Reviews
The Teeth May Smile But the Heart Does Not Forget: Murder and Memory in Uganda by Andrew Rice
melbsreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Trigger warnings: war, death, murder, death of a parent, rape, violence, gun violence, mass slaughter, animal death, Islamophobia.
I'm embarrassed to admit that almost everything I know about Amin's regime in Uganda comes from watch The Last King of Scotland. So when I saw that my library had this, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to change that. I really liked the way that Rice used one story, one death from the regime, the impact on one family, to tell the story of the regime as a whole.
It's a very readable story, and I appreciated the way that Rice jumps between recounting the past and discussing how Uganda has moved forward to the present, as it gave the reader some breathing room between horrific moments. The discussion of the reaction to Amin on the world stage was a fascinating inclusion, and I'm ultimately glad that I read this, even if it was full of atrocities I wish I could unread.
I'm embarrassed to admit that almost everything I know about Amin's regime in Uganda comes from watch The Last King of Scotland. So when I saw that my library had this, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to change that. I really liked the way that Rice used one story, one death from the regime, the impact on one family, to tell the story of the regime as a whole.
It's a very readable story, and I appreciated the way that Rice jumps between recounting the past and discussing how Uganda has moved forward to the present, as it gave the reader some breathing room between horrific moments. The discussion of the reaction to Amin on the world stage was a fascinating inclusion, and I'm ultimately glad that I read this, even if it was full of atrocities I wish I could unread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Rape, Islamophobia, Murder, Death, and War
wtb_michael's review against another edition
3.0
A sometimes compelling mix of reportage and history, using the murder trial of one of Idi Amin’s senior military commanders from crimes committed decades earlier to explore the complicated history of Uganda. The story sometimes gets a bit bogged down in the history lesson, but generally Rice walks the tightrope assuredly. It’s not a propulsive read, and you’ll find it dragging in the middle, but you’ll come away with a deeper understanding of the ways in which the huge rifts that cut across Ugandan society throughout the 70s and 80s have been healed (and the ways they haven’t).
drdreuh's review
5.0
This is the type of book I yearn for when staying in a country for a long period of time. Having traveled all over Africa, Uganda is among the most friendly and easy countries on the continent to navigate. But stay here for a little while and the socio-political tensions become palpable. You feel what Rice refers to as resignation before you know what it is. In ‘The Teeth May Smile, but the Heart Does Not Forget’, Rice uses the story of one man–one among the hundreds of thousands of victims of political violence in Uganda over the past fifty years–to tell the story of its modern history.
In particular, I appreciate Rice’s skillful avoidance of the common proclivity to make a neat and tidy narrative. Instead, Rice writes Uganda’s modern history as a journalist, weaving together a patchwork of diverse perspectives and historical records, following each angle to its end. He allows the different–sometimes incompatible–perspectives to remain intact. However, the resulting disjointedness is not a detraction; rather, the effect–arguably a more honest reflection of history–is to leave the reader wondering ‘what is the truth?’ Indeed, what Rice evokes is the sense that “history” is what society agrees history is and, for now at least, there is no broad consensus in Uganda.
Unlike its neighbor to the south, Rwanda, in Uganda there are few historical markers; few institutions dedicated to documenting, preserving, or presenting (modern) history to the public; and few memorials commemorating the thousands murdered in its making. A whole generation has come of age knowing no other leader than Museveni. Reconciliation without truth seems a dangerous tactic, and young adults who did not live through the administration of Idi Amin or the years of civil war that followed now look back on him as a “patriot”. So, more broadly, ‘The Teeth May Smile, but the Heart Does Not Forget’ also does a huge service to history in simply compiling documentation produced contemporaneously, and assembling it in a sensical, seemingly objective fashion.
As is common with tomes that cover such a long span of time, the book is a smidge repetitive, but overall incredibly engaging and hugely relevant. I’d go so far as to call it essential reading for anyone living or working in Uganda. The most sincere praise I can bestow is that, having read it, ‘The Teeth May Smile, but the Heart Does Not Forget’ has informed and coloured my experience and interpretation of Uganda since.
In particular, I appreciate Rice’s skillful avoidance of the common proclivity to make a neat and tidy narrative. Instead, Rice writes Uganda’s modern history as a journalist, weaving together a patchwork of diverse perspectives and historical records, following each angle to its end. He allows the different–sometimes incompatible–perspectives to remain intact. However, the resulting disjointedness is not a detraction; rather, the effect–arguably a more honest reflection of history–is to leave the reader wondering ‘what is the truth?’ Indeed, what Rice evokes is the sense that “history” is what society agrees history is and, for now at least, there is no broad consensus in Uganda.
Unlike its neighbor to the south, Rwanda, in Uganda there are few historical markers; few institutions dedicated to documenting, preserving, or presenting (modern) history to the public; and few memorials commemorating the thousands murdered in its making. A whole generation has come of age knowing no other leader than Museveni. Reconciliation without truth seems a dangerous tactic, and young adults who did not live through the administration of Idi Amin or the years of civil war that followed now look back on him as a “patriot”. So, more broadly, ‘The Teeth May Smile, but the Heart Does Not Forget’ also does a huge service to history in simply compiling documentation produced contemporaneously, and assembling it in a sensical, seemingly objective fashion.
As is common with tomes that cover such a long span of time, the book is a smidge repetitive, but overall incredibly engaging and hugely relevant. I’d go so far as to call it essential reading for anyone living or working in Uganda. The most sincere praise I can bestow is that, having read it, ‘The Teeth May Smile, but the Heart Does Not Forget’ has informed and coloured my experience and interpretation of Uganda since.
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