Rewriting someone else's fiction

As the Helen story line in Dinaw Mengestu's All Our Names (sorry to have the title wrong in earlier posts; now corrected) kind of meanders the Isaac story line gets more engaging - as Isaac witnesses a revolutionary uprising in Uganda, eventually things become far to dangerous for him and, with the tacit permission of the leader of the uprising he leaves for a remote village in the countryside. The scenes of fighting and the atmospheric scenes of the soldiers gathering and preparing for their attack on the government are pretty well drawn, but what's missing, as throughout this somewhat frustrating novel, is any sense of engagement. Yes, Isaac witnesses the uprising, he brings us an insider's perspective, to a degree - but he's not in the innermost circle so the descriptions he gives us are not hugely revelatory - compare for example with Achebe's Anthills of the Savannah and you'll see the difference between a description of a revolution from the inside and one such as this which seems sadly generic. More important, Isaac doesn't actually do anything other than live to tell the tale - he doesn't particularly seem like a writer, though that's his aspiration. Can you imagine how this novel would be a hundred times more powerful if, say, Isaac was forced to take some violent action, or did so by choice, or even by accident - and then really had to escape, and carried with guilt or shame with him? How this could affect his settlement in America - always looking over his shoulder, perhaps? Or doubting his ability to be an attentive lover and partner with Helen? This is a novel of missed opportunities. We might say the same about the Helen chapters: as we build toward the end of the novel, she persuades Isaac to go away with her to Chicago - but what's the big deal, it's just a weekend jaunt. The stakes would be so much higher if she and Isaac had to leave the small town for good, for some reason. Similarly, she brings Isaac at last to her home, the house she shares with her mother; she has indicated many times that her mother is quite intolerant and would be shocked that she is dating an African man. Isaac at last comes into the house - and everything is nice and polite and friendly. It's not that I necessarily wanted to see a melodramatic shouting match - but the very fact that Helen underestimated her mother's tolerance is significant, but is left totally unexamined, unexplored. Once again, much plot and character potential here, but the story feels as if it's not fully imagined and rendered.