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Hafsa Zayyan is a writer and dispute resolution lawyer based in London. She won the inaugural #Merky Books New Writers' Prize in 2019. We Are All Birds of Uganda is her debut novel, inspired by the mixed background from which she hails. She studied Law at the University of Cambridge and holds a masters' degree from the University of Oxford.
Rightfully tipped for greatness. * Sunday Times * Unflinchingly honest but tempered by its humanity, this is a novel for our times... * iPaper * An extremely readable and fascinating dual narrative about the expulsion of East African Ugandans under Idi Amin in the 70s and the journey taken by Sameer, born in modern day Leicester, to understand his familial legacy. * Pandora Sykes * [A] sprawling and epic dual narrative, spoke of her lived experience, but that which she'd seldom seen in the books she read: a story of cross-generational divides, and being both Black and South Asian ... It's woven together with gentle urgency; sensitive and with a rare perspective on how our mixed race backgrounds can help form feelings of both internal power and conflict.' * i-D Magazine * The issues and subjects it takes on are big ... All are explored with great intelligence and sensitivity ... Zayyan's writing finds the lightness and fluency of a much more experienced novelist ... It is an epic novel in terms of historical, geographic, and cultural scope. It has much to recommend it: the tone, the structure, the ambition, and the clarity that enables the story to cover so much ground without ever becoming confused or lost during its 360-pages. * BBC News * This moving tale of love and loss ... is well worth the wait. * Independent * What's distinctive is the modern, multi-ethnic vision of masculinity she presents and the solidarity that emerges from it ... the romance that evolves between Sameer and Maryam reads like a miracle, something good that might yet be salvaged from trauma. But Zayyan won't allow such easy relief: the anxieties that have simmered throughout the novel finally surface at its end, taking a sinister shape in the shadowy last lines. It's a daringly indeterminate way to end, and undeniably powerful too. -- Shahidha Bari * Guardian * [A] powerful debut exploring migration, identity and racial prejudice. * Mail on Sunday * It was stunning and took me on a journey that I didn't know I needed to take. A book that will stay with me for a long time. * Marie Claire * Sure to be a best-seller, this debut novel looks set to make big waves and is the perfect read for people looking to hear a familiar story told from an entirely new and fresh perspective. * Buzz Mag *
