Kololo Hill

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I wish African schools went out of their way to teach the history of various African nations, there is so much to unpack, learn and understand, I remain thankful that reading is a beloved hobby of mine because it allows me to learn beyond and about the world I live in. The author explores what it takes to find a new foothold and ultimately love and connection within the broader family unit. The characters grapple with questions of home and identity, and their experiences as immigrants in Britain are portrayed with nuance and depth. Jaya, the aging matriarch bears the burden of keeping her family united in the unsettling times of curfews, gunfire and army checkpoints.

Through vivid storytelling, it explores the devastating consequences of this expulsion and the challenges of starting anew in a foreign land. I'll be perfectly honest, before I read this novel I knew nothing of the expulsion of Asians from Uganda but upon finishing Kololo Hill, I feel well informed, but actually I think I'd now like to know more. the family moves from Kampala to London and the only differences Jaya notices are the weather and the supermarkets.In 1972, Idi Amin declared that Britain would need to take responsibility for the Asians who were brought to Uganda. The beautifully written Kololo Hill is a novel to savour, and it will stay with me long after I closed the final page. As violence builds in the capital, the family flees to Britain, where a different type of violence welcomes them: racism.

Their future is now, however, sealed, the future is in London, which of course is so different (think Arnos Grove and a Ford Cortina) to Uganda. One of my favourite things about this novel is the sensitivity with which the author tackles themes of displacement, identity and belonging with the contrast between the two halves of the book. The plot moves at a satisfying pace but pauses sufficiently, where necessary, to enrich the sense of place and character. Reading about Uganda is not new to me thanks to the wonderful Jennifer Makumbi Nansubuga, so visiting the world within the pages of Kololo Hill was like visiting an old friend but getting to learn so much more, as I was introduced to many more layers. This is a novel about home, about belonging and exile; a compelling and complex insight into a recent past that still resonates .it was a bit like Half of a Yellow Sun, where so much happens plotwise, but for some reason the author chooses to focus on the most mundane things.