Janika Oza’s A History of Burning is my first 5-star read of the year – off to a great start! I normally rate books a 5 when I suspect they’ll stay with me a while. In the case of Oza’s debut novel I was frequently a little choked up at the end as the family members whose history she narrates navigate their trauma. But I’ve also never read anything set in Uganda during Amin’s regime; it’s not a history I know well. The novel is beautifully and often viscerally written. I’ll look forward to Oza’s next.

5/5