I connected with this book immediately ... Racism, generational culture, love and family ties are all key components of this novel by a really accomplished debut author who I feel sure we are going to hear a lot more from.'

We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan | Goodreads

It is the 1960s in Uganda and things are changing fast. Hasan is the owner of multiple businesses, things are going great but he continues to struggle with the death of his wife. Even married to his second wife and having numerous children, he still cannot shake the death of his first wife. Added to this the new regime is in power and his business

The other interspersed strand is Sameer's family history as his grandfather writes letters to his dead wife telling her about his life under Idi Amin's regime. It's a rather clunky device that results in lots of 'telling', with an exposition-as-history feel. 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 He has to find a way of breaking the news to his parents, knowing that his ambition of climbing the heights of the corporate ladder is out of kilter with his family’s vision for his future. He’s expected to return to Leicester, marry a suitable Muslim girl and join the family’s restaurant business, not swan off to the other side of the world. We have an exclusive extract available for you to read. We also have some discussion questions for your group to use. We Are All Birds of Uganda

BBC Radio 4 - We Are All Birds Of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan

This species and two others, all of different genera, were formerly placed in family Promeropidae, the sugarbirds, but were accorded their own family in 2017. [1] My life has always revolved around the written and spoken word. I worked as a journalist for nine years then in international corporate communications Honeyguides are among the few birds that feed on wax. They are named for the greater honeyguide which leads traditional honey-hunters to bees' nests and, after the hunters have harvested the honey, feeds on the remaining contents of the hive. Outside of the historical side of this book, the way that Zayyan delt with race and culture was unique and skilful. The creation of morally grey characters was fascinating to read, and I felt myself cringe at attitudes depicted many times.Planning to buy We Are All Birds of Uganda for your group? Buy books from Hive and support The Reading Agency and local bookshops at no extra cost to you.