Vanishing Shadows (Macmillan modern writers)

This is the Writeup by the Commonwealth Writers Prize 1996 Panel of Judges.

Runner up in the Best First Published Book category

Vanishing Shadows by Namige Kayondo is an extended short story which illuminates, ever so subtly the sufferings from the fear of AIDS and the ravages of unemployment which plague the youth of Kampala.

The AIDS “dance of death,” is presented as a long drawing out of pain. The uncertainty of life forces the victim to be strong, to fight, knowing it to be a losing battle. The transmission of AIDS carries with t a taboo which renders the victim’s life doubly hard. Tiisa’s testament of suffering is very touchingly done. Dona her friend, has also gone through the pain of unemployment and a poverty stricken and show more parentless life. Tiisa has transmuted her share of suffering into a spiritual experience. We see through the characters how the modality of pain affects people in different ways. For Tiisa, it leads to a deprivation of personal relationships which renders her fearful of falling in love with Dona.

Her life and days are seemingly beclouded. Within a year, she has had to mourn the death of her lover and her son through AIDS and has learnt to come to terms with her own imminent demise.

The surprising twist at the end, when she is found to be HIV negative gives her a new lease of life. A life made richer by having shed the conscious burdens of eternity. show less