Serubiri Moses-Judith Namala: A Novella, Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA)

“Judith Namala: A Novella” is a striking and intellectually ambitious fiction debut by the Ugandan curator, editor, and scholar, Serubiri Moses published by Center for Art, Research and Alliances (CARA). Blending storytelling with criticism and translation, the novella unfolds through a series of fragmented vignettes set in Uganda between the late 1970s and early 2000s.

The narrative centers on the fraught relationship between Judith Namala, a maid, and her employer, Esther Nambi. Rather than relying on conventional plot, Moses builds meaning through silences, partial insights, and emotional distance. The result is a subtle but powerful exploration of class, labor, and intimacy, where much of the tension lies in what remains unspoken.

Moses’s hybrid style—drawing from oral tradition, folklore, and cultural analysis—gives the text a layered, almost cinematic quality. The domestic sphere becomes a lens for examining broader inequalities, particularly in the stark contrast between deprivation and excess within the same household.

While its experimental form and dense imagery may challenge readers seeking a linear narrative, the novella rewards careful attention. As the first title in CARA’s Practice series, it stands out as a thoughtful, unconventional work that reimagines what fiction can do.

The book is the first title in CARA’s publication series, Practice. Each season features newly commissioned texts, writing in translation, expansive conversations, and rigorous and experimental approaches to research and inquiry that model new ways of thinking and making beyond disciplinary frameworks and genres. The series supports practices that challenge dominant narratives, expand historical records, and foreground process, care, and embodied forms of knowing. –Dimitris Lempesis