A review by dukegregory
Kibogo by Scholastique Mukasonga

4.0

Ironically witty beyond the other Mukasonga works I've read. Not as emotionally investing due to its distancing tactics (and almost mythic/oral narrative qualities), but Mukasonga's thematic depth is totally present. The Kibogo mythology fosters various stories which collide with colonial missionaries, leading to the convergence of local Rwandan history and Catholic encroachment, and then, in some characters' hybrid martyr ideology encapsulating both Kibogo and Jesus, lines blur as time goes on and stories merge, are revised, and completely rewritten to appeal to the white academic gaze. Trying to perceive history through an academic gaze (historical materialist, structuralist, anthropological, etc.) leads to wanting new narratives to fulfill pre-ordained archetypes. And the Kibogo narrative at the heart of the novel is somehow both distorted beyond belief yet remains essential to the core of the community depicted. There are also nods to neocolonial expectations in tourism (dress up and perform like ye old tribal drummers to bring tourists in, like in This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga). It's like if Audrey Magee's The Colony actually had an original perspective to offer.