Many of Rwanda’s most recent books in English are centered around the 1994 genocide and aftermath. This is not not surprising given how strongly the genocide affected everyone’s lives in Rwanda. Its such an important story to tell, and its legacy is still really strong in Rwanda today. However it can be a difficult story to read about on multiple occasions. I’ve read a few personal accounts and they are indeed harrowing. Some of the tales of courage, hope, and survival are truly incredible and should continue to be told.
I tried to read a basic selection of works from and about Rwanda. I became a fan of ‘graphic novels’ a few years ago thanks to Guy Delisle‘s works mainly set in Asia. From there I looked for other similar work and found the harrowing tale of Deogratias by Jean-Philippe Stassen.
Sometimes other’s people’s words are better than anything I would be able to write. Here’s a description of Deogratias from Amazon:
“The 2000 winner of the Goscinny Prize for outstanding graphic novel script, this is the harrowing tale of the Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, as seen through the eyes of a boy named Deogratias. He is an ordinary teenager, in love with a girl named Bénigne, but Deogratias is a Hutu and Bénigne is a Tutsi who dies in the genocide, and Deogratias himself plays a part in her death. As the story circles around but never depicts the terror and brutality of an entire country descending into violence, we watch Deogratias in his pursuit of Bénigne, and we see his grief and descent into madness following her death, as he comes to believe he is a dog.
Told with great artistry and intelligence, this book offers a window into a dark chapter of recent human history and exposes the West’s role in the tragedy. Stassen’s interweaving of the aftermath of the genocide and the events leading up to it heightens the impact of the horror, giving powerful expression to the unspeakable, indescribable experience of ordinary Hutus caught up in the violence. Difficult, beautiful, honest, and heartbreaking, this is a major work by a masterful artist.”
A further extension of Rwanda’s history is told in Land of a Thousand Hills by Rosamond Carr. Set initially during the time when Rwanda was still part of the Belgium colonial empire it is a memoire of a woman who runs flower farms first in Congo, and then Rwanda. She witnesses independence through to the eventual tragedy of the genocide. Followed by the vast efforts to rebuild following the chaos and destruction. It really shows how connected this part of the world is – it is indeed hard to geographically separate parts of Rwanda from the eastern regions of its huge next door neighbour – the Democratic Republic of Congo. Again, the implications from genocide still continue to affect DRC stability in a significant way. Something I’ve started reading about already as part of my DR Congo reading series.
A much lighter and fun read but with some nice messaging is the popular Baking Cakes in Kigali. Angel is a Tanzanian who has moved to Rwanda and lives in an apartment in Kigali. She also bakes cakes for a living. The sweet story revolves around people in the apartment complex and Angel is the resident mother – providing advice and assistance to people around here. It also touches on the prevalence of HIV/AIDs and its impact in parts of Africa, together with the importance of continued post-genocide reconciliation. I recommend this as a nice entertaining read for those new to Rwanda.
Another book on my list of books to read on Rwanda is A Thousand Hills to Heaven. I’ve been to Heaven in Kigali – the cafe that this book is about – and wanted to read it to include in this post, but have a growing list of other books on other African countries to read so will save it for another day.
views of Kigali, the Rwandan countryside and the Genocide museum
A Journey Through the 55 countries of Africa through Books 