Point of View

The novel is told entirely in the third-person point of view. However, the narrator shifts numerous times throughout the novel, both from character to character, and from an omniscient, unknown narrator to limited by the characters themselves. At times, the narrator feels like a storyteller who is sharing this information to a crowd. At other times, they feel like they only know as much as the characters do. However, this does not make the narrator unreliable. Instead, it makes them and the characters relatable.

Language and Meaning

The language of Kintu is quite complicated and requires significant knowledge of the culture to fully grasp. While the author does provide many context clues, some culture specific words - such as “mawemuko” (407) and “Ppookino” (11) are not explained right away. However, when one considers that “this novel was written for Ugandans” (II), this is not entirely unexpected. There...