Orange for the Sunsets

Read for pleasure. This is something I say very often. Read, not to learn something, but for the joy of it. That’s how I curate books for my book clubs; that’s how I choose what I want to read next.

Yet, I can’t help noticing how often I learn something new from what I read. Books like Orange for the Sunsets remind me that I know so little about the world. We’re in our own bubbles, vaguely aware of turmoil in other nations, somehow continuing to make sense of the world around us.

Orange for the Sunsets is set in Uganda in 1972. The president of Uganda had a dream in which “God spoke to him and told him to kick all foreign Indians out of Uganda.” In the aftermath of his dream, around 500,000 people were killed.

Against the backdrop of this expulsion of Indians, we meet Asha and Yesofu, best friends of a sort. Yesofu is African; Asha is Indian. Both see themselves as Ugandan. When the president Idi Amin announces that all foreign Indians must leave Uganda in ninety days, they believe that this doesn’t affect them. Soon, however, there’s violence on the streets and everyone must choose sides.

What I loved about Orange for the Sunsets is that it doesn’t try to give us neat answers. Asha is hugely privileged, living in a bubble of her own. Yesofu lives in a tiny house, and his mother cooks and cleans for Asha’s family. When the president promises that this disparity will vanish once the Indians leave, how can Yesofu not believe?

Right through the story, we see the children making difficult decisions. Author Tina Athaide shows us time and again how our biases slip in, conditioning us to respond in particular ways before we can take the time to think. I did feel like it could have been a little briefer, but the story kept me reading anyway.

An eye-opening work of historical fiction, Orange for the Sunsets reminds us of how complex the journey to equality is after historical discrimination. More, it shows us how radicalisation and violence are born and bred when injustice prevails for too long–and this is something well worth remembering.