Reviews

Possibly Mukasonga's best novel -- it's a mysterious and spare drama about a hillside in Rwanda, where the legend of a messianic Kibogo abounds and conflicts with the teachings of the Catholic padris who represent European colonization, but its more about the way that people resist being colonized, even without realizing it, by holding onto their myths and traditions. The ending is particularly elliptical and strange, which makes this, to my memory, Mukasonga's most oblique (and enchanting) novel. She is one of the most interesting francophone writers accessible to an English-speaking market, and this book might be my favorite of hers (though Our Lady of the Nile is due for a reread).

megpancoast's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

marjolina's review against another edition

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4.0

“The story of Kibogo was a children’s fairytale. Even the last diehard pagans no longer believed in it. Or rather, had forgotten it. It was one of those pagan tales that the padri had decreed should be expunged. And yet, certain priests jotted it down in their notebooks.”

From: Kibogo by Scholastique Mukasonga

This was a beautiful story about stories and I won’t be able to this book justice in this short review. It is about how stories are influenced by the personal experience, baggage and interpretation of the teller but also by the aspiration to entertain the listener/reader.

“You need stories for every kind of ear”

Mukasonga’s writing beautifully creates a setting where she portrays this sad part in the history of Rwanda where colonialism and Christianity are forcing out Rwanda’s own cultural heritage. She shows that oral history is the only way for those stories to survive.

I hated reading about the Bazungu (white people) forcing Rwandan people to let go of their own beliefs and rituals, and to grow crops that would fail during a famine and even the good intentioned researchers have such an arrogant way of approaching the Rwandan people. L Mukasonga writes about all this in a light and often funny way while still perfectly conveying the horridness of it.

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