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31 years ago on this day (April, 7), the genocide against the Tutsi started in #Rwanda.
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Pic of the memorial in Geneva by MHM55, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

It is impossible to judge a memoir of a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. Mukasonga had escaped through Burundi, married a French man and was living in France when 27 of her family members were murdered. She is a survivor, and with that comes guilt and a desire to tell her story.
I think it is helpful to know about this time and place before going in, she does not attempt to explain the politics or landscape (I had a map open while reading)
4/5⭐

Reading about how the Rwandan regime made the Tutsi people dig up food to plant coffee plants that the government would sell and keep the money from as I sit drinking coffee halfway across the world and 60 years later.
This is not a pleasant book but so important, especially today and thinking that I had believed that the '96 Genocide happened pretty much overnight but learning it was a 40 year battle.

This should be required reading. The pain the author feels for her family, fellow Tutsi, and Rwanda is beyond comprehension. Her strength and honor are a gift to her heritage. I pray that some day, we humans learn to cherish each other, instead of hate.

A sad book, difficult subject matter. Full of so much humanity leading up to moment of so much dehumanizing. This was one of two books in the month's #boxwalla book box.

Today's #augustisatrip photo challenge is #hell
I thought of this.
@vkois88 and @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

"Where are they? Somewhere deep in the anonymous crowd of the genocide' victims. A million of them, their lives stolen, their names lost. What's the point of counting up our dead again and again? From the thousand hills of Rwanda, a million shades answer my call."
Surreal to be reading a first hand account of genocide while having tea. Mukasonga lost 37 family members. Acknowledging the safety of my privilege while my heart is breaking...????

"This will be another sleepless night. I have so many dead to sit up with."

Hoping to squeeze one mor in for #Womenintranslationmonth

Rearranging shelves & pulled out this stack of irregularly sized books.

Wow, I do have an intriguing personal library. I should probably start reading some of these instead of fighting the public library loan grind.

Nearly 40 members of Mukasonga's family were massacred in the Rwandan genocide. In this short memoir, she documents the years of violence and discrimination that led to that atrocity. Her loved ones's deaths were "black holes and fragments of horror;" their otherwise perfectly ordinary lives are narrated with joy and dignity. Their killings were almost unbearable to write, but her keeping them alive on the page offers at least faint solace.

Best excuse for being late for—or skipping—school, EVER!

💔💔 I found my way to this book today. It's going to be intense and heartbreaking. I'm ready.

(The stained-glass window is in the Kigali Genocide Memorial Center in Rwanda: http://www.traveladventures.org/continents/africa/kigali-genocide-memorial-centr...

And here are my picks for #readjanuary #bestofjanuary. Several of these can be used to fulfill multiple categories for the #ReadHarder2017 challenge if you are still looking for books. 📚

I've heard this is a very difficult read. If I can get through it, I'll use it for the "creature" category for the #EclecticReaders challenge.

This is one of the hardest books I have ever read, but it needs to be read. It is devastating. It is the memoir of a woman who lost almost all of her family in the Rwanda genocide of 1994. She describes growing up Tutsi, being forcibly relocated, and living in constant fear through the '60's and '70's. She remembers friends, family, and neighbors, all lost to atrocities. This was translated from the original French. #micropress #ReadHarder17

This memoir written by a woman who lost most of her family to the Rwandan genocide is heartbreaking. Scholastique Mukasonga writes very simply and starkly about terror and grief, making it just bearable to keep reading. 5 stars - I highly recommend.

The sight of the book is deceiving. It is a small book with less than 200 pages. At first glance, the language is so 'bare' and minimal that I didn't expect it to be so powerful. Mukasonga's matter of fact description of life in Rwanda for the tutsis leading up to the Rwandan genocide is heartbreaking. I cried like I've never cried before for this book..

This book is really packing a punch. The author doesn't beat around the bush or sugar coat the atrocities that happened pre-Rwandan genocide.. I don't know if 'enjoy' is the right word to describe what I'm feeling as I read this book..

Back from a book break with a translated gen from my favorite publisher - archipelago books. Cockroaches is Scholastique Mukasonga's autobiographical work translated from French. It is an account of growing up in Rwanda in the years leading up to the Rwandan genocide. The writing is haunting!

Comes out in Oct. I'm reading the galley. A totally gripping account of the Rwandan genocide. Heartbreaking and deeply moving.

This book is sad, awful and so necessary. Full review at doddyaboutbooks.wordpress.com
Be aware that due to the nature of the material, this book has all the triggers. ❤️

Next up. This is going to be heart wrenching. 😔

This is the hardest book I have ever read. I had no idea the racial violence against Tutsis was happening decades before 1994. This memoir names the names and chronicles the losses of one woman, her family, her community. I had to take breaks after each chapter, just devastating.