We Are All Birds of Uganda

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The family Hirundinidae is adapted to aerial feeding. They have a slender streamlined body, long pointed wings, and a short bill with a wide gape. The feet are adapted to perching rather than walking, and the front toes are partially joined at the base. The ground-hornbills are terrestrial birds which feed almost entirely on insects, other birds, snakes, and amphibians. For me, the letters sections felt a bit forced. There is a lot of exposition in these letters which feels like it is for the reader’s benefit rather than being realistically what a man would write to the “love of his life”. That said, they are interesting to read and integrate well with the book’s other narrative strand.

We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan | Waterstones

We Are All Birds of Uganda follows two timelines of one family: modern London where young lawyer Sameer chooses his own path with a work opportunity in Singapore over his family's business, and 1970s Uganda, where Hasan is forced to leave as an Asian under Amin's regime. A must read if you enjoyed The Beekeeper of Aleppo, and the devastation caused by social and cultural conflict and the effects it has on generations across continents. These small to medium-sized songbirds have soft fluffy plumage but are otherwise rather diverse. Members of the genus Illadopsis are found in forests, but some other genera are birds of scrublands. Only one member of this small family is found in Africa, and its range is limited to Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It feeds mostly on fruits.

I really enjoyed this book; it is very emotive and engrossing. The author really paints a very vivid picture and all her characters are believable and interesting – I really wanted to know all their stories. The writing is really finely nuanced and very easy to engage with. It is also a very ambitious book spanning generations, different countries and cultures. Despite this it was really easy to follow the time shifts in the narrative. There are also plenty of themes such as identity, race, love, loss and family ties to discuss so a perfect book group book.” About the author History Makers: Female Writers Dominate the 2023 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award Shortlist This a debut novel and what a debut it was! A novel set in two timelines. Modern day London sees Sameer, a young lawyer, looking forward to a new stage in his career.

We Are All Birds of Uganda: Will Gompertz reviews Hafsa - BBC We Are All Birds of Uganda: Will Gompertz reviews Hafsa - BBC

The novel tells the story of Sameer, a young London lawyer with prospects and the possibility of a lucrative move to Singapore. It also tells the story of his grandparents as they have to leave Uganda. That part of the novel is epistolary with letters from Hassan’s grandfather to his deceased first wife. The chapters alternate between the two and the switch of styles does work.

Would the novel have worked as well if it had been a single time frame narrative? I don’t think so. It’s the symmetry between Hasan’s experience and that of his grandson that makes all the difference to this novel. Both narratives contain love stories, both concern men who become unwitting victims of racist attitudes. Together they give us a multi-faceted perspective on the issue of racial intolerance and questions about identity and belonging.