1.     Why does Kyomuhendo chose the thirteen-year-old Alinda as her narrator? What is the effect

1.     Why does Kyomuhendo chose the thirteen-year-old Alinda as her narrator? What is the effect of this choice on what we learn and don’t learn in the course of the novel (since she becomes the filter through which all data in the fiction come to us)? Think, for instance, of how different the story would be if Kyomuhendo had decided to tell the story from the point of view of Alinda’s father.
2.     Think about the novel’s title. Who among the characters is waiting and for what? What in particular is Alinda waiting for?
3.     Think about closure in this novel (the way the narrative knits up its various threads at the end). Consider all that has changed, especially with these families, Alinda’s particularly. Her father is setting off for the city again and she and Maya look to resume school when the new term begins. What changes has the war brought? What changes has the Amin regime brought? Do you think the future looks bright for Alinda and her country? If the novel were to continue for a chapter or two, what do you think those chapters would contain?
4.     What remaining questions do you have about the novel? Post them, along with your provisional answers, and we’ll pool our collective wisdom in responding to them.