PRAISE FOR KINTU

“A soaring and sublime epic. One of those great stories that was just waiting to be told.”

—Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings

“Magisterial.”

—Namwali Serpell, The New York Review of Books

“With a novel that is inventive in scope, masterful in execution, she does for Ugandan literature what Chinua Achebe did for Nigerian writing.”

—Lesley Nneka Arimah, The Guardian

“Kintu is a masterpiece, an absolute gem, the great Ugandan novel you didn’t know you were waiting for.”

—Aaron Bady, The New Inquiry

“A masterpiece of cultural memory, Kintu is elegantly poised on the crossroads of tradition and modernity.”

—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Reminiscent of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, this work will appeal to lovers of African literature.”

—Library Journal (Starred Review)

“Makumbi takes a sniper’s aim at the themes of virility and power across time. Over the course of six rich sections, she fires not a single gratuitous shot.”

—Public Books

“Postcolonial literature is often thought of as a conversation between a native culture and a Western power that sought to dominate it … Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi’s marvelous Ugandan epic, Kintu, explodes such chauvinism.”

—Guernica

“Passionate, original, and sharply observed, the novel decenters colonialism and makes Ugandan experience primary.”

—Book Riot

“With crisp details and precise prose, Makumbi draws us into the dynamic and vast world of Uganda—its rich history, its people’s intricate beliefs, and the collective weight of their steadfast customs.”

—World Literature Today

“Some authors set the bar high with their debut work. Then there are authors like Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi whose first novel succeeds on such a stratospheric level it’s nearly impossible to imagine—or wait for—what she’ll write next.”

—Iowa Gazette

“Jennifer Makumbi’s Kintu is a charming fable, a wide-ranging historical fiction, and a critical historiography … fresh, intelligent, critical, and ambitious.”

—Bookwitty

“Makumbi’s characters are compelling as individuals, but it is their shared past and journey toward a shared future that elevate the novel to an epic and enigmatic masterpiece.”

—The Riveter