Gaël Faye

Already an international sensation and prize-winning bestseller in France, an evocative coming-of-age story of a young boy, a lost childhood and a shattered homeland. SHORTLISTED FOR THE ALBERTINE PRIZE * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE * LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR EXCELLENCE IN FICTION * LONGLISTED FOR THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE Burundi, 1992. For ten-year-old Gabriel, life in his comfortable expatriate neighborhood of Bujumbura with his French father, Rwandan mother and little sister Ana, is something close to paradise. These are carefree days of laughter and adventure - sneaking Supermatch cigarettes and gorging on stolen mangoes - as he and his mischievous gang of friends transform their tiny cul-de-sac into their kingdom. But dark clouds are gathering over this small country, and soon their peaceful existence will shatter when Burundi, and neighboring Rwanda, are brutally hit by civil war and genocide. A novel of extraordinary power and beauty, Small Country describes an end of innocence as seen through the eyes of a child caught in the maelstrom of history. Shot through with shadows and light, tragedy and humor, it is a stirring tribute not only to a dark chapter in Africa's past, but also to the bright days that preceded it.

A Novel

Small Country

Marion

Mamie berated Maman for not speaking to us in Kinyarwanda. She believed that the language would allow us to hold onto our identity, despite living in exile, otherwise we would never become good Banyarwandas ('those who come from Rwanda'). Maman didn't buy those arguments: in her eyes we were white kids, with skin the colour of pale caramel, but white all the same.

Whenever we spoke a few words of Kinyarwanda, she immediately made fun of our accent. So it's hardly surprising I showed little interest in Rwanda, its monarchy, its cows, its mountains, its moons, its milk, its honey and its rotten mead.

'Oh no, no, no, no, no... My country is Rwanda! Over there, right in front of you. Rwanda. I'm a refugee, Michel.

And I always have been, in Burundian eyes. They make it very clear, with their insults and insinuations, their quotas for foreigners and restricted intakes in schools. So allow me to have my own opinion on Burundi!'

War always takes it upon itself, unsolicited, to find us an enemy. I wanted to remain neutral, but I couldn't. I was born with this story. It ran in my blood. I belonged to it.

Small Country quotes

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