Gaile Parkin

Rendered a confidant and supportive friend for her willingness to listen to her neighbors in genocide-stricken Rwanda, baker Angel Tungaraza provides decadent confections and transforming counsel to a series of troubled customers. A first novel.

Baking Cakes in Kigali

“All the sun and magic of Africa are baked into Gaile Parkin’s debut novel. . . . We peek into a warm and practical community as colorful as [the heroine’s] dazzling confections.”—The Christian Science Monitor This soaring novel introduces us to Angel Tungaraza: mother, cake baker, pillar of her community, keeper of secrets big and small. Angel’s kitchen is an oasis in the heart of Rwanda, where visitors stop to order cakes but end up sharing their stories, transforming their lives, leaving with new hope. In this vibrant, powerful setting, unexpected things are beginning to happen: A most unusual wedding is planned, a heartbreaking mystery involving Angel’s own family unravels, and extraordinary connections are made—as a chain of events unfolds that will change Angel’s life and the lives of those around her in the most astonishing ways. BONUS: This edition contains a Baking Cakes in Kigali discussion guide. Praise for Baking Cakes in Kigali “Everyone needs a neighbor like Angel Tungaraza . . . whose warmth and coolheaded cleverness might remind some readers of Precious Ramotswe from the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series.”—Entertainment Weekly “Remarkable . . . a powerful, thought-provoking work . . . filled with heartbreak but also with hope.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Sweet and satisfying . . . gently draws readers into the daily rhythms of African life . . . Compassion and wisdom light up each page.”—Ventura County Star “Will leave you feeling well satisfied.”—O: The Oprah Magazine (South Africa)

A Novel

With gentle humour and a gift for detail, [Gaile Parkin] brings Rwanda to life, with its physical beauty, food and customs... [Baking Cakes in Kigali] is fluent and deeply moving - Independent From the author of Baking Cakes in Kigali comes the irresistible story of Benedict Tungazara, a ten-year-old boy in Swaziland who loves beautiful birds, his mother's cakes, and making people happy... Ten-year-old Benedict is feeling happy. His family's new home in Swaziland has the most beautiful garden in the whole entire world, teeming with insects, frogs and his favourite cinnamon-coloured birds. Here, crouched in the cool shade of the lucky-bean tree, it's easy to forget the loneliness that comes from his siblings playing without him, easy to stop himself fretting about how to fix his Mama's failing cake-baking business. Of course, there are many things in Africa that cannot be put right by a boy who isn't yet big. But in Benedict's wonder-filled world, even the ugliest situation has a certain magic. Warm, funny and brimming with life, Where Hoopoes Go to Heaven paints a fresh and compelling picture of life in Swaziland that will capture your imagination and restore your faith in humanity.

Gaile Parkin

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