Tropical Fish (book)

Tropical Fish is a short story collection, published in 2005, by Ugandan author Doreen Baingana. It revolves around the lives of a family based in Entebbe, Uganda. It follows Christine, Patti and Rosa the daughters of a relatively well off family whose father, a senior government official, becomes an alcoholic and loses everything starting with his job. Through it all the mother has to support her family on her own. It follows the lives of the three sisters. It touches religious influence in Africa, boarding school life in missionary schools, first love, superstition, inevitably AIDS, love across the colour with a sugar daddy syndrome, the sense of alienation that comes with migrating to another country (USA) and that of displacement after coming back home. Rosa, the eldest sister, was promiscuous, she died of AIDS. Patti the middle sister, turned into a born-again Christian. And Christine the youngest went to Los Angeles, came back eight years later to pick up a job amidst the struggles of discovering her inner self.