Smaller Country by Gael Faye

Small Country - Gael Faye

Small Country is a  harrowing

 tale of coming-of-age in the face of civil war, race relations, expansionism, class institutional rights' , colonialism. 

French-Rwandan Gael Fayeis  influences- rap laced with soul and jazz, semba, Congolese rumba... 

Small Countryis his first novel. It was a huge bestseller in France, winning the Prix Goncourt des Lyceens 2016, and is being published in thirty territories worldwide.
'A luminous debut novel...Faye dramatises the terrible nostalgia of having lost not only a childhood but also a whole world to war' Guardian

Burundi, 1992.For ten-year-old Gabriel, life in his comfortable expat neighborhood French father, Rwandan mother and little sister, Ana, is something close to paradise. These are happy, carefree days spent with his friends.

'Unforgettable... Gael Faye's talent is breathtaking

A happy childhood combusts when confronted with a world gone hey wire . Their country, and soon their peaceful idyll will shatter when Burundi and neighbouring Rwanda are brutally hit by war. Words such as Hutu, Tutsis, indentured servant ,slave, not as part of my common nomenclature gave me a new lens to examine the world. The simple becoming complex, and kindness and mercy being lost for evil and revenge. We need to live well so Christ will come, not the apocalypse to get rid of evil. 

"French-Rwandan Gael Faye-is an author, composer and hip hop artist. He was born in 1982 has a Rwandan mother and French father. In 1995, after the outbreak of the civil war and the Rwandan genocide, the family moved to France. Gael studied finance and worked in London for two years for an investment fund, then he left London to embark on a career of writing and music."

"He is as influenced by Creole literature as he is by hip hop culture, and released an album in 2010 with the group Milk Coffee & Sugar. In 2013, his first solo album, Pili Pili sur un Croissant au Beurre, appeared. It was recorded between Bujumbura and Paris, and is filled with a plethora of musical influences- rap laced with soul and jazz, semba, Congolese rumba... In 2018 he received the prestigious Victoires de la Musique Award.

Small Countryis his first novel. It was a huge  bestseller in France, winning the Prix Goncourt des Lyceens 2016, and is being published in thirty territories worldwide."

I've avoided most genocide books because reality is a little tough to swallow . Though just the other day I recommended The Rent Collector , which only changes the country not the impact or desolateness,of genocide.

A Far Country by Daniel Mason

A Far Country by Daniel Mason 

A coming of age type novel of a young girl's journey through a vast, unnamed country (I started with Brazil, shifted to Burundi  and settled on India) in search of her brother . When drought and war grip the backlands, her brother Isaias joins a great exodus to a teeming city in the south. Soon Isabel must follow, forsaking the only home she’s ever known, her sole consolation the thought of being with her brother again.  They have a stupendous relationship that has deeper connection than the normal bro/sis - Kinetic vibrant neural network. 

The core exploration captures the fun, excitement and fear which are  normal migrant emotions. Being scourged by the elements  assisted though eventually always exploited by the 'horse' bringing them in; which in turns drives reinvention of the fringe-livers. Its as though she took a snap shot in time across the globe- of migrant experiences and  - US/Mexico, Sn Diego/ Tijuana Greece /Albania Bolivia/Venezuela. (If this interest you (see p 246) describing the Cambodian community which structured its-Caste structure, its society and even its survival within - "Trash" in Cambodia - Pol Po was as bad / evil as they get demonstrated in The Rent Collector by Cameron Wright ).

Wasn't aware of the of all the trials these people lives. Theirs is truly. rough and tumble existence, and in turn take  desire to survive. A worthy read

The White Book. by Han Kang

The White Book By Han Kang I really should spend more time pre-reading books and then my time spent reading books would be less for naught .I was a big advocate of this book on the basis I had read probably half of it and Han turns a lovely translated phrase. Then as finishing the last, I realized that reviews found online are fairly accurate: -ultimately a letter from Kang to her sister--offers powerful philosophy and personal psychology on the tenacity and fragility of the human spirit, and our attempts to graft new life from the ashes of destruction. A less than subtle hint the text may meander or plunge deep into the ashes of destruction. I kept expecting turning the corner and a smile surfacing- generally not to be. Perchance a silver lining behind the dark cloudy day. It’s well written and I enjoyed reading - I’m looking for a larger seeing of hope and happiness. The sad and painful is entirely too quickly at our disposal. Hope is what I carry with me. In the meantime a few bon mots: First one is way too personal about dealing with pain; as are all the other subsequently marked as I was reading the book. And looking back I don’t want to capture them , and hold them as my personal captives. I don’t them appended to my book of life. I’ll keep things that were positive, without denying the existence of the other-I simply prefer to advocate the other view.