Everything Is Fine Here: A Novel

by Iryn Tushabe

Overview

A tender coming of age novel set in Uganda in which a young woman grapples with the truth about her sister in a country that punishes gay people.

Eighteen-year-old Aine Kamara has been anticipating a reunion with her older sister, Mbabazi, for months. But when Mbabazi shows up with an unexpected guest, Aine must confront an old fear: her beloved sister is gay in a country with tight anti-homosexuality laws.

Over a weekend at Aine’s all girls’ boarding school, sisterly bonds strengthen, and a new friendship emerges between Aine and her sister’s partner, Achen. Later, a sudden death in the family brings Achen to Mbabazi’s and Aine’s home village, resulting in tensions that put Mrs. Kamara’s Christian beliefs to the test. She issues an ultimatum, forcing Mbabazi to make a difficult choice, but Aine must too. Unable to convince Mama to reconsider, Aine runs away to Mbabazi’s and Achen’s home in Kampala. There she reconnects with Elia, the sophomore at Makerere Universityshe’s had a crush on for a while.

Acclaimed writer Iryn Tushabe’s dazzling debut novel, Everything Is Fine Here, explores the choice Aine must make, and its inevitable and harrowing results.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487013134
Publisher:	House of Anansi Press
Publication date:	04/22/2025
Pages:	328
Product dimensions:	5.25(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

IRYN TUSHABE is a Ugandan-Canadian writer and journalist. Her creative nonfiction has appeared in Briarpatch Magazine, Adda, Prairies North, The Walrus and on CBC Saskatchewan. Her short fiction has been published in Grain Magazine, the Carter V. Cooper Short Fiction Anthology, and the Journey Prize Stories. She won the City of Regina writing award in 2020 and 2024, was a finalist for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2021, and won the 2023 Writers’ Trust McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. She lives in Regina with her partner, filmmaker Robin Schlaht, and two children.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“At once tender and defiant, Everything Is Fine Here sparkles with humour and warmth … This is a big-hearted debut about the small graces we offer each other in the face of injustice.” —Janika Oza, author of A History of Burning

“Tender and heartfelt, lush and evocative in its depiction of a country riven by cultural conflict, Tushabe’s transformative novel pierces the heart and stirs the soul.” —David Demchuk, author of The Bone Mother and RED X

“This is a gorgeous and tender portrayal of a young person who must decide between the familial, cultural, and religious mores of a beautiful country pulsating with memories of a rough history that resonate in the present.” —Otoniya J Okot Bitek, author of We, the Kindling

“I love this novel and the ardent young woman at its heart. Aine is a heroine for our times; a natural truth-teller with a volatile secret, she comes of age in a world shimmering with promise and pain. ‘What are you made of?’ that world demands, and Aine rises to respond. As long as we have hearts and minds like hers—and her creator’s—everything might be fine here after all.” —Alissa York, author of Far Cry

“Everything Is Fine Here is an utter pleasure … This novel reads like a gesture of faith; it moved me to tears, of both laughter and compassion.” —francesca ekwuyasi, author of Butter Honey Pig Bread

“Everything Is Fine Here is an utter pleasure to read. Iryn Tushabe’s exquisite prose strikes at the heart of its characters and their desires to be their truest selves in a country at odds with their identities. Caught in the tensions between personal freedom and familial, cultural, and societal expectations, Aine’s fierce love for her sister makes this story so alive, so moving, so triumphant in its realness. This novel reads like a gesture of faith; it moved me to tears, of both laughter and compassion.” —francesca ekwuyasi, author of Butter Honey Pig Bread