The First Woman

A SUNDAY TIMES, OBSERVER, DAILY MAIL, BBC CULTURE & IRISH INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE YEAR

A WATERSTONES BEST FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR

OPRAH MAGAZINE BEST OF 2020

A TIME MAGAZINE MUST-READ BOOK OF 2020

A GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BOOK OF THE MONTH (OCTOBER)

A BOOKSELLER BOOK OF THE MONTH (OCTOBER)

AN AL JAZEERA PICK: TOP BOOKS BY AFRICAN WRITERS, 2020 

At once epic and deeply personal, the second novel from prize-winning author Jennifer Makumbi is an intoxicating mix of Ugandan folklore and modern feminism that will linger in the memory long after the final page. 

As Kirabo enters her teens, questions begin to gnaw at her – questions which the adults in her life will do anything to ignore. Where is the mother she has never known? And why would she choose to leave her daughter behind? Inquisitive, headstrong, and unwilling to take no for an answer, Kirabo sets out to find the truth for herself.

Her search will take her away from the safety of her prosperous Ugandan family, plunging her into a very different world of magic, tradition, and the haunting legend of ‘The First Woman’.