BOOKS THEY READ: Emmeline Bisiikwa

Emmeline Bisiikwa is an avid reader and compulsive writer. PHOTO BY Beatrice Lamwaka

Emmeline Bisiikwa is a compulsive writer and reader who studies at Makerere University Business School. She recently participated in the writivism competition, where her short story, The Shadow, got shortlisted. It will be published in an anthology with 13 other shortlisted stories come July. She spoke to Beatrice Lamwaka about her passion.

Describe your ideal reading experience.
I like to read at night in bed, snuggled between the covers after a long tiring day.
I prefer soft books at this time, nothing political or educational. Something like supernatural books such as the Fallen series by Lauren Kate, romance by Judith McNaught, thrillers by Tess Gerristen. Other times I like to be challenged, so immerse myself in Hannibal Lector’s Silence of the Lambs and The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. Propped up on pillows and with soft music in the background I lose myself in the world the books offer.

What kinds of stories are you drawn to? And which ones do you keep away from?
Stories that draw me in and make me turn page after page are the best. Add a little tragedy, enough to bring me to my knees with heart wrenching sadness and I am hooked. I recently read
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and had to keep reading, if only to end the agony of a love that could never be between two magician’s apprentices.
I am drawn to science fiction and the supernatural as well, maybe because my mind likes to contemplate such things as cannot exist in the daily tread.

I avoid anything cheesy or preachy, since they put my mind to sleep and also anger me sometimes.

Who are your favourite novelists?
I recently discovered African writing and this dispelled my earlier bias that it was all bleak. I have enjoyed stories by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Ukamaka Olisakwe, Abubaker Adam Ibrahim, Zukiswa Wanner, Novuyo Rosa Tshuma and Julius Ocwinyo. I like the passion and heartfelt sincerity that pours out of their writing and it fills me with desire to read more from them.

What books about Uganda would you recommend?
I would recommend Tropical Fish by Doreen Baingana and The First Daughter by Goretti Kyomuhendo to someone that wanted to read about Uganda.

What book has had the greatest impact on you?
As a child, I read everything I came across, such was my love for reading. As opposed to playing with other children my age, I curled up in a corner reading short stories and novels. The First Daughter by Goretti Kyomuhendo was something I read while growing up and I remember crying. It was the first African book I read and I remember screaming in outrage and sobbing for Kasemiire’s lost innocence, shattered dreams and her mother’s pain. This book even today shows what the girl child has to go through and struggles that transcend time and place.

Do you have a favourite literary character?
This is a tough one, but I will have to go with Jane Eyre from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. She is the contemporary unlucky young woman who has to make do with average looks, no fortune and no family.
This does not keep her down since she is enterprising and hardworking. They say every girl dreams of her wedding and she is no exception. She falls in love with her seemingly heartless employer, Mr Rochester and their wedding is foiled by news that he is already married.

She shows strength and courage by leaving him for her unknown cousins and almost marries John out of duty but instead returns to Rochester after an epiphany. He is disfigured and depressed, but she decides to stay. Now that is what a woman is made of.

What book are you reading?
I am reading The Plague by Albert Camus. It is the book we are reading in my Readers and Writers Club. It is vividly descriptive from two view points and shows how people in Oran react when death is suddenly thrust upon them in an unprecedented plague. The focus is on the doctor and both insiders and outsiders as they cope with the outbreak.