Short stories
Kalasanda
Barbara Kimenye · 1965
Synopsis
Eight stories take place in Kalasanda, an imaginary Ganda village, around the time of independence. We meet Daudi, a self-proclaimed scholar who dreams of a scholarship abroad, Nantondo, an old widow greedy for attention, Mrs Lutaya, president of the Mothers' Union, or the keeper of a royal tomb; a lorry driver brings them news of the world, such as that of a Russian moon landing, and belief in spells has not disappeared.
Context
The author's first book, the collection appeared in 1965 from Oxford University Press, which published its sequel, Kalasanda Revisited, as early as 1966, after the success of the first volume. F. A. Orina and C. Namayi point out in 2021 the legacy of orality, the humour, the moral aim and the taste for tricks, and intend it above all for young readers; Anna Adima reads in it echoes of the Cold War and of the village's links with the wider world.
Who it is for
For smiling with the villagers of Buganda, caught by a Kampala journalist at the moment of independence.
Prizes and reception
Nancy J. Schmidt regarded the author as one of the most prolific writers for young people in East Africa.
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