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Small Country A Novel Gaël Faye 9781524759872 Books

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Small Country A Novel Gaël Faye 9781524759872 Books

“I was born with this story. It ran in my blood. I belonged to it.”

Gael Faye, born to a French father and Rwandan mother, surely lived with this story, which is about how the banal face of everyday existence, as delineated by a senseless war, lays waste to what is left of childhood.

In senseless genocides, the “players” always change and in this case, it’s between two ethnic groups – the Hutus who are “short with wide noses” and the Tutsi who are tall and skinny with long noses.” For young Gaby—and for his father, who explains the difference to him—it all boils down to that. Both Tutsis and Hutus have the same country speak the same language worship the same deity, and yet the Hutus are intent on annihilating the Tutsis.

In accessible language that often soars to poetry, Gael Faye first lets up Burundi through the eyes of a boy who has not yet reached his teenage years – stealing mangos from an unsuspecting neighbor, coming of age in a lush country with warm tropical nights, riding his BMX bike and dining on crocodile meat.

But storm clouds are gathering and one of the greatest horrors of recent years is about to unfold. What should have been a rather typical coming-of-age narrative takes on whole new meaning as Gaby is robbed of his childhood and his innocence.

If I have one quibble, it’s that from time to time, I felt as if Gael Faye was actually inhabiting Gaby instead of empowering his character to express himself from his young point-of-view. It is, admittedly, difficult to totally capture what one’s former self would think and say. Still, this is a most worthy addition to man’s inhumanity to man. 4.5 stars.


Tags : Small Country: A Novel [Gaël Faye] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b><b><b><b>*Longlisted for the<b> Aspen Words Literary Prize*</b></b></b> *Longlisted for the 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction*  Already an international sensation and prize-winning bestseller in France,Gaël Faye,Small Country: A Novel,Hogarth,1524759872,Coming Of Age,Literary,Political,Burundi - History - Civil War, 1993-2005,Burundian literature (French),Children and war,Civil war;Burundi;Fiction.,Genocide - Rawanda,Genocide;Burundi;Fiction.,Identity (Philosophical concept);Fiction.,War fiction,Burundi;Rwanda;genocide;civil war;race;immigration;Paris;debut;coming of age;literary fiction;drama;politics;fiction;political books;novels;fiction books;literature;books fiction;realistic fiction books;election;political;war;journalism;autobiography;revolution;vietnam war;refugees;refugee;trauma;survival;family;communism;protest;book club recommendations;chaos;military;army;historical;betrayal;vietnamese;totalitarianism;fathers and sons;immigrants;socialism;photography;violence,Central Africa,East Africa,FICTION Coming of Age,FICTION Literary,FICTION Political,FRENCH (LANGUAGE) CONTEMPORARY FICTION,Fiction,Fiction-Coming of Age,FictionComing of Age,FictionPolitical,GENERAL,General Adult,United States,Burundi; Rwanda; genocide; civil war; race; immigration; Paris; debut; literary fiction; coming of age; politics; political books; fiction; fiction books; literature; political; communism; war; historical; book club; family; trauma; socialism; revolution; protest; immigrants; survival; biography; betrayal; immigrant; journalism; autobiography; apartheid; vietnam war; refugees; refugee; book club recommendations; veterans; chaos; army; vietnamese; military; wwii; violence; drama; election; novels; realistic fiction books; books fiction

Small Country A Novel Gaël Faye 9781524759872 Books Reviews

I found this book intriguing. I know nothing about the African countries he speaks of. Nor do I know, and never heard of the massive genocide that he describes. It's more than sad that we in America do not know, I thank the author for his strength and grace in writing this book which must have brought hell again and again to him as he put down these words.
A short book that will tear at your heartstrings. My wife found the French version incredibly moving after a one-day read. I am looking forward to reading the English version.
I found myself routing for this boy who is living in a very dangerous time in this country's history. I remember learning about the current events via the US news coverage but this book gives a first hand account of what it was like through a boy's eyes. I was so invested in his life that I am still routing for him as an adult. I am hopeful there will be more from this author.
I don't write reviews so this is a first. Well written and discriptive of life in Bujumbura Burundi. To understand the present is to understand the past. But even if you are not especially interested in present Burundi it's a wonderfully written and entertaining book. Highly recommend.
Great book and well written story. The translation is very well done too. I haven’t read a better book that captures the feelings of diasporic exile. Beautiful work.
This one was one of those can't put down novels that grabs you from the very first page. It was easy to have empathy with Gaby - where do the loyalties begin, where do they end?. So much for such a young child to absorb when childhood should be filled with fun and adventure. This novel certainly caused me to think back on those terrible days and beyond during the Rwandan genocide and this novel could very well mirror the trauma and pain experienced by so many families. Unforgettable.
I knew nothing about the author nor did I have any deep knowledge of Burundi going into this book but it is a magnificently crafted novella. The author writes profoundly about his thoughts on the meaning of home, identity, family and friends. These concepts are examined through the lens of the narrator who is a half French, half Rwandan Tutsi growing up in Burundi in the time of genocide.

At one point the narrator befriends an older Greek woman who introduces young Gaby to literature "I started to tell her about how the book had made me feel, about the questions it had prompted me to ask, and about my opinion of the author and the characters." Indeed, this book will do exactly that.

On refugees who flee their home to find "El Dorado" "what about the country inside of them?"

On love, specifically his parents "they had confused desire with love, and that each of them had invented qualities in the other...it turned out they hadnt shared dreams, merely illusions."

On identity "So why are they at war? Because they dont have the same nose."

Gaby finds himself living on the axis of the Great Rift, "the precise spot where Africa fractures."
“I was born with this story. It ran in my blood. I belonged to it.”

Gael Faye, born to a French father and Rwandan mother, surely lived with this story, which is about how the banal face of everyday existence, as delineated by a senseless war, lays waste to what is left of childhood.

In senseless genocides, the “players” always change and in this case, it’s between two ethnic groups – the Hutus who are “short with wide noses” and the Tutsi who are tall and skinny with long noses.” For young Gaby—and for his father, who explains the difference to him—it all boils down to that. Both Tutsis and Hutus have the same country speak the same language worship the same deity, and yet the Hutus are intent on annihilating the Tutsis.

In accessible language that often soars to poetry, Gael Faye first lets up Burundi through the eyes of a boy who has not yet reached his teenage years – stealing mangos from an unsuspecting neighbor, coming of age in a lush country with warm tropical nights, riding his BMX bike and dining on crocodile meat.

But storm clouds are gathering and one of the greatest horrors of recent years is about to unfold. What should have been a rather typical coming-of-age narrative takes on whole new meaning as Gaby is robbed of his childhood and his innocence.

If I have one quibble, it’s that from time to time, I felt as if Gael Faye was actually inhabiting Gaby instead of empowering his character to express himself from his young point-of-view. It is, admittedly, difficult to totally capture what one’s former self would think and say. Still, this is a most worthy addition to man’s inhumanity to man. 4.5 stars.