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robyn1998's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
I think this is the most hard-hitting book I've ever read. Scholastique Mukasonga's perspective as a Tutsi growing up in Rwanda in the 60's and her struggles to find safety and a living illustrates the rising ethnic tensions at the time. I think the detached narration made it all the more chilling. Mukasonga manages to focus on the identities of the victims rather than the brutal torture they suffered whilst still conveying the utter horror that she and her community went through.
dreamloft's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
This book is very informative on the rwandan genocide which i never really learned about.
lren1983's review
dark
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
I have read a few things about the Rwandan genocide and it was interesting to hear about the history of the country and its people from the pov of a Rwandan instead of an outsider/journalist.
There was so much love for the landscape, towns and villages, customs and family dynamics.
You just don’t get that warmth and sense of (be)longing from anything else than a memoir.
The other difference of this book to others is the focus. The majority of the book doesn’t focus on 1994, it’s all prior. It informs us of all the previous attempts of the Hutus to carry out ethnic cleansing (1961/1982) and how her family is displaced continuously as a result of those campaigns. Often over borders.
Another chilling detail was how the family decided who should be prioritised. Her brother (as a man who’d fathered many boys) was chosen as the most important member of the family who should have the opportunity to survive. It’s a terrible revelation that all of her family are eventually murdered; she is the only survivor.
There was so much love for the landscape, towns and villages, customs and family dynamics.
You just don’t get that warmth and sense of (be)longing from anything else than a memoir.
The other difference of this book to others is the focus. The majority of the book doesn’t focus on 1994, it’s all prior. It informs us of all the previous attempts of the Hutus to carry out ethnic cleansing (1961/1982) and how her family is displaced continuously as a result of those campaigns. Often over borders.
Another chilling detail was how the family decided who should be prioritised. Her brother (as a man who’d fathered many boys) was chosen as the most important member of the family who should have the opportunity to survive. It’s a terrible revelation that all of her family are eventually murdered; she is the only survivor.
ursulamonarch's review against another edition
5.0
"Harrowing" falls far short to me to describe this book - but it also sells it surprisingly short. This book is also evocative, playful, and just beautiful, which makes the contrast the horrors even greater.
litanydeshincoe's review against another edition
This book has a real problem of the telling vs showing issue. The tone is emotionally restrained, reads more like a list. the style of writing didn't work for me, I wanted richness and depth and was left dragging myself to the end and wondering what the point was.