This sadly didn't work for me: choppy and unevenly paced, with shallow characterisation and the kind of ending that makes you flip back a page and say "wait, that's it?" I will admit that it's possible that I bounced off A Fledgling Abiba because I didn't have much pre-existing knowledge of or emotional attachment to the mythology and story-telling of the African Great Lakes region (modern Uganda, Rwanda, etc) and so I'm sure some of the resonances were lost on me. I was also never sure whether Dilman Dila wanted the reader to take some elements of the book in earnest or whether they were supposed to be comical (e.g. the farting/pooping fire parts), or even if the tone was consistent. Those who have a greater grounding in the storytelling rhythms of this part of east Africa may find more to enjoy in this book than I did. ( )