Small Country | 
pickA good read, but another sad book set in an African country that descends into war and chaos with an overspill of the genocide that occurred in neighbouring Rwanda. Seems even worse when told through the eyes off a child. Nevertheless an important read. #Burundi #ReadingAfrica2022
@Librarybelle @BarbaraBB
I really don‘t know how this story began.
#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl
Starting this book which takes me to #Burundi for #ReadingAfrica2022. This will be my 22nd country for this challenge.
@BarbaraBB @Librarybelle
pickGaby is a relatively carefree boy in #Burundi, but then the country descends into war. He initially remains a bit sheltered from it until the Rwandan genocide begins (his mother is from there) and killing creeps into both his family and home city. I‘m not big on stories of children, so I didn‘t love the first half, but it‘s needed to juxtapose the brutality to come.
#ReadingAfrica2022
pickI read this book for the #Burundi prompt for #ReadingAfrica2022. This is a poetic and heart-breaking story of a young boy and his friends just before and at the beginning of the Rwandan civil war and genocide which coincided with a political and military coup in neighboring Burundi. A semi-autobiographical story that makes you feel a small part of the terror and anxiety the people must have felt as their world collapsed.
4⭐️
pickHeartbreaking story about civil war, genocide in #Burundi and #Rwanda told through the eyes of a growing up boy who is dealing with his family falling apart, his gang of friends started to be more interesting in different things than he is, his country becomes more and more dangerous … Sad story, but at the same time - very warm.
#ReadingAfrica2022
#19822022 #2016
“I really don‘t know how this story began.
Papa tried explaining it to us one day in the pick-up truck.
“In Burundi, you see, it‘s like in Rwanda. There are three different ethnic groups. The Hutu form the biggest group, and they‘re short with wide noses.”
“Like Donatien?” I asked.
“No, he‘s from Zaire, that‘s different. Like our cook, Prothé, for instance. There are also the Twa pygmies…”. #FirstLineFridays
So close yet so, so far.
No bingos this month, but not surprised at the lack of reading as real world life was a lot this month. 9 books off my TBR and both #bookspins read though. Not the worst month ever!
pickBeautiful, heartbreaking, poetic and tragic. The Rwandan genocide was a horror that the entire world stood by and ignored. Small Country is a well written, small and impactful book that lets you meet a few of the types of people who were effected, giving faces and families to the terror. Shocking but also not as heavy as I thought it would be because much of the book is watching Gabby grow up as the war is coming.
Listening on audio, this book is heartbreaking, and poetic.
pickI‘m not too sure what to say about this one. A semi-autobiographical look at a young boy‘s joyful childhood growing up in Burundi, and its rapid descent into horror as war and genocide tear his world apart.
I loved the depictions of his childhood friendships and some of the writing is quite beautiful, never laboured, and evocative. And then devastating. And it leaves you with so many questions.
pickI found this small book to be incredible. I loved the lens through which we learn about the Rwandan and Burundian genocides and wars. What a unique perspective from the eyes of a boy coming of age during this terrible time. This gem really elucidates the many ways that war affects individuals directly and for decades after a war is over. I strongly recommend this one!
This was one of many gems gathered in my library book haul yesterday. I needed a large bag to get them all to the car! 🤦♀️📚📚📚❤️
pickHeartbreaking book about the impact of civil war in Burundi and genocide in Rwanda on a young boy growing up in Burundi. I purchased this beautiful basket at the International Folk Art Market here in Santa Fe from a Rwandan woman who was representing a collective of Hutu and Tutsi women who started weaving and selling baskets as a means of supporting their families as most of their men were killed during the war/genocide in Rwanda.
6 pages in and oh my gosh...this coming of age book set against the backdrop of Rwanda genocide and Burundi civil war is likely to tear my heart out I fear. “So...why are they (Tutsis and Hutus) at war? Because they don‘t have the same nose.” Sometimes hatred is nonsensical to those outside the conflict. And this...”Poetry may not be news. But it is all that human beings retain from their journey on this earth.”
This coming-of-age story that was a previous #BOTM selection is currently on sale for the Kindle for only $1.99!
#kindledeals
so-soPhew. For me this is a “should” book.
I should have liked it more. It should have touched and moved me more.
But it didn‘t. Only the last 20-40 minutes left a mark in me that will last a while. It‘s not that Faye can‘t narrate, it‘s just that the plot felt so distant to me despite of his flowery tone.
I had problems keeping the characters apart until the very end.
Yes, an important book, especially for the author. But it‘s not for me.
I read good things about this here on Litsy and was eager to be the next in my library‘s row. I‘m in now about 1,5 hours – and until now I just can shrug 🤷🏽♀️. It‘s not bad at all. But I‘m not hooked at all, either.
Might just be me. Given the fact that it surely deals with in important topic I think I just expected it to grip me more and from the beginning.
But it has about 3 more hours to convince and move me.
pickThis is a harrowing read, one that doesn‘t shy away from the horrific truth it sets out to tell. It‘s an incredibly important one too, both for the people represented by the book to see the reality of their lives given voice and for many of us around the world who ought to know more about it. The writing is often beautiful, too. But I did find that at times it felt more like an essay than a novel, & being so short it felt pretty rushed. 3/5 ⭐️
“Of course a book can change you. It can even change your life. It‘s like falling in love. And you never know when such an encounter might happen. You should beware of books, they‘re sleeping genies.”
But the Rwanda of milk and honey had disappeared. It was now a mass grave, open to the skies.
Beneath the calm appearance, behind the facade of smiles and optimistic speeches, dark underground forces were continuously at work, fomenting violence and destruction that returned for successive periods, like bad winds: 1965, 1972, 1988. A glowering, uninvited ghost showing up at regular intervals to remind us that peace is merely a brief interlude between two wars.
[Here is an example of why I really want the character limit increased on Litsy: when you want to post a long quote and it goes from one page to the next and you have to do some shitty cobbled together pic where you can‘t get the brightness to match no matter what you do.]
I usually don‘t like child narrators, but I imagine it might work well in a story like this. #nowreading
pickOh this was so good. I don't actually know much about Rwandan and Burundi history and civil war strife but it was so illuminating to follow the main character's arc as shit falls apart around him.
bailedSome fascinating geographical and cultural detail, but the writing/translation was just subpar. Decided not to continue after the 15% mark.
pickI really enjoyed this short novel set in 1990s Burundi. Though its plot is set against the war and genocide in neighboring Rwanda, Small Country uses its young narrator to balance the horror and tragedy with childhood adventure.
#readtheworld #botm #bookofthemonth #readdiversely #readdiversebooks #marchreads
As soon as I got home from work, I settled in on the deck with my book. Feels like spring today!
#springreads #botm #readingoutside #novel
Still drooling over my weekend #bookmail from FRANCE 🇫🇷Sent by a generous acquaintance who is teaching there. I‘m needing to brush up on my french for my upcoming trip in May. You may recognize a few titles: Small Country (Faye) and The Perfect Nanny (Slimani).
pickHow does the lighthearted universe of an 11 year old, full of laughter and play, come tumbling down because of political turmoil and ethnic violence? Small country describes the 1993 and 94 terrible events in Burundi and Rwanda (a bloodshed coup and a genocide) as seen through the eyes of Gabriel. Not sure the moods of Bujumbura evoked in the book can be felt as vividly by someone who has not been there, but this is definitely worth the read.
pickA beautiful novel written by a survivor of the Rwandan genocide in 1993, both autobiographical and fiction, Small Country illustrates perfectly how slow to boil a danger can be, and then suddenly the pot is spilling over. It‘s a chilling reminder, just a few days after Holocaust Remembrance Day and as our country slides into deeper tribalism with each passing moment. Or at least that‘s how it feels. It‘s a really hard fucking read. Read it anyway.
pickIn this little book Gabriel tells about how he was “exiled from his childhood” by the war between Hutu‘s and Tutsi‘s in his country, Burundi. A war I remember so well from the 90s but know so little about. The genocide based only on etnic differences. An impressive, sad read based on a true story.
Thanks again for choosing this book for me, @Moray_Reads , I am really glad to have read it 😘
Came across this at the library. Didn‘t borrow it but definitely going on my tbr list. Have you read it?
pickI gave this book 4/5 stars.
Some years ago, I had the privilege of meeting someone who lived through the Rwandan Genocide. I was able to hear her speak and give her a hug after the talk. So, when I heard about this book as one of my Book of the Month options, I had to pick it up.
Gael Faye speaks with a compelling voice and really has a gift for making you feel the burgeoning horror. It was moving and heartbreaking and beautiful.
pickThis book was small and immensely, heartbreakingly beautiful.
panThis story is so meandering and detached that I couldnt connect with any of the characters and was bored out of my skull! The writing is very simple and almost reads like YA. Perhaps I picked it up at the wrong time...
#booked2018
#diverseNF
A really nice day with lots of walking-couldn‘t wait to sink into the bath with my current read and an Aperol Spritz. #saturdaynight #bookandbath
so-soJust finished this for #LMPBC #GroupQ. A journey unexpected. I knew nothing of Burundi, nor Rwanda, before this. An interesting take on what war can do to a soul. Heading your way soon @mklong
I was pretty stoked to be part of the roll out for Book Riot‘s new initiative MyTBR. Answer a few questions and you‘ll be assigned a bibliologist who will tailor books recommendations just for you. These were mine - spot on for my reading life and none were on my radar. You can check it out here http://mytbr.co/friendsandfam
#getTBR #bookriot #readinglife #amreading
just started this one & enjoying it so far - will definitely be able to finish it over lunch tomorrow (if I don't end up bringing it home tonight) 📖
