kemunto's review against another edition
5.0
Doreen, you took me back to my craze days in high school. I think you write superbly, I loved Christine, Patti and Rosa. Oh, Rosa.
zeydejd's review against another edition
4.0
Again, a book for class. I'm not usually big on vignettes which is what this novel is, but these vignettes are very much connected. They focus around three sisters growing up in a village in Uganda and their coming of age. The ideas revolving around religion, culture, education, discrimination, etc that come up throughout the vignettes are portrayed in beautiful and emotional ways.
shonatiger's review against another edition
4.0
A lovely (and quick!) read. Have decided I love Ugandan authors. I feel so seen! Close to 4.5/5.
anetq's review against another edition
3.0
Growing up, starving at school and finding yourself in Entebbe or LA, sex live and death. This is a collection of stories about three sisters - mostly Christine, the youngest - it seems like novels, but maybe it's chapters or something in between. I liked it, but it tilts to the side of less story, more thoughts that makes me impatient while reading it...
gamas_de_azul's review against another edition
4.0
Un libro de lectura ligera que nos acerca una cultura con la que pude encontrar más similitudes de lo que hubiera pensado. Y es que la autora escribe centrándose en los personajes y sus sensaciones al crecer, ¿cómo no empatizar con eso?
El libro está compuesto por relatos narrados desde la perspectiva de 3 hermanas: Christine, Patti y Rosa. El primer capítulo me hizo pensar en que iba a leer un libro donde se narraran las vicisitudes de la gente en África, pero no, la autora elige en vez de eso, contarnos la historia de unas hermanas de clase media algo, y como su situación familiar y social fue cambiando, atravesada por el contexto económico y político del país. Me pareció maravilloso cómo intercala relatos de travesuras de la niñez y adolescencia, con temas fuertes como el impacto del SIDA.
Christine fue mi personaje favorito, compartí con ella pensamientos sobre el sentirse ajena al lugar propio, excelentemente descritos por la autora ♥️
El libro está compuesto por relatos narrados desde la perspectiva de 3 hermanas: Christine, Patti y Rosa. El primer capítulo me hizo pensar en que iba a leer un libro donde se narraran las vicisitudes de la gente en África, pero no, la autora elige en vez de eso, contarnos la historia de unas hermanas de clase media algo, y como su situación familiar y social fue cambiando, atravesada por el contexto económico y político del país. Me pareció maravilloso cómo intercala relatos de travesuras de la niñez y adolescencia, con temas fuertes como el impacto del SIDA.
Christine fue mi personaje favorito, compartí con ella pensamientos sobre el sentirse ajena al lugar propio, excelentemente descritos por la autora ♥️
pshamburg's review against another edition
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
msjoanna's review against another edition
5.0
While this book is called a set of short stories with interconnected characters, it reads best as a whole. The book tells the stories of three sisters, focusing mostly on Christine with a couple of stories from Rosa and Patti. The writing is immensely powerful and the stories are extremely compelling. In particular, the stories tracing Christine's time working in the United States (in Los Angeles and Washington, DC) before returning to Uganda tell the story of identity, race, politics, diaspora, and power in an incredible way. The book also unflinchingly reflects the beginning of the AIDS epidemic and its effect on modern Uganda through the personal story of Rosa in a letter to a former lover. Highly recommended.
lonnahroyale's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I loved each one of the sisters. I felt for each one of them. It shows that black women do not all experience the same things and that people grieve in different ways.
italo_carlvino's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Read “Passion” for the class I am TA for
mslaura's review against another edition
4.0
This book is essentially a collection of sequential, linked short stories. Like most short story collections, I enjoyed some stories more than others. Taken as a whole, though, I thought the book did a very effective job of conveying the history and culture of Uganda in a very satisfying and moving way. Overall a good read.