It is best as a chronicle of Ugandan history and of the struggles of different generations of a family to cope with it.

Richard Eder of the New york times said : Abyssinian Chronicles suffers from a disabling split. The book received both positive and negative reviews. Soon, however, Amin’s regime descends to the depths of brutality and mismanagement – starting with a botched “Africanization” campaign that leads to the expulsion of thousands of Asian businessmen. In the second half of the book Mugezi is excited about the country’s prospects under Idi Amin, following the ouster of Milton Obote and his corrupt government. The family moves to Kampala, the nation’s capital about the time Idi Amin comes to power in 1971. Born in 1961, a year before Uganda attained independence, Mugenzi describes a troubled childhood living under the tyranny and strict rules of his parents. The first part of the book centres on Mugezi, a young man growing up in post-colonial Uganda. Rootless and bitter, Mugezi flees to Europe from Uganda. Grandpa represents the traditional order, his son Serenity the chaos of transition, and Mugezi the despair of a younger generation over the dead end of transition and its own prospects. A grandfather, a father and his son are the three figures that form a tripod from which the novel is set. The book follows the life of narrator Mugezi Muwaabi, as he plots his own independence from his parents and capitalizes on his considerable natural resources of charm and intelligence. The book is set in Uganda, in the 1970s and '80s.

Abyssinian Chronicles by Moses Isegawa