This book, named by the New York Times as a bestseller and Editors' Choice is an absolute must- read. It teaches about the history of Africa, and more specifically Rwanda before European colonization, during European colonization, and after European colonization. This book gives its readers an inside look into the minds of those who commit acts of terror and genocide. Prior to reading this book, I had very little knowledge about the genocide in Rwanda. This book opened up my eyese to what happened there a little less than twenty years ago. The only complaint that I have about this book would be the lack of transitions from chapter to chapter. You would be sitting reading one chapter that was purely about the Belgians taking over the country in the mid 1900s, and then the next chapter would be following somebody's story who had survived the genocide. These lacking transitions made the book hard to follow at first, but I think it sent a very good message to its readers. The book, like Rwanda, is chaotic, there is no real order and it seems as if chapters were thrown together. However, I believe that a well organized book would have made the genocide seemlike one continuous process coming from one source. What I have learned from this book was that the genocide in Rwanda did not start with one event and everything followed continuously after that, rather the genocide occured because of Rwanda's entire history. This book opened up my eyes to what life was and still is like in Africa.
-Jacqueline Kennedy
This book sounds like a very interesting read. It is very scary to think that something like this happened with in the last 20 years. Also, it is interesting to note that the lack of transitions kept the book moving.
ReplyDelete---Evita
This books sounds extremely interesting. Africa has been through so much torture at the hands of foreigners, and it's time that people come to terms with what our ancestors have caused/done in the past. We need to repair ties with victims so we can begin reconciling the past, and focus on creating a peaceful future.
ReplyDelete-Nelson Mandela
This book looks really fascinating. The genocide in Rwanda is upsetting and the fact that it happened fairly recently is even that much more disturbing. Hearing about genocide and the things that so many people went through continues to disturb me. How anyone can treat another human being so poorly is beyond my understanding.
ReplyDelete- Queen Isabel
This is a great review. I especially like how you point out that the chaos of the book parallels the chaos of Rwanda. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteRamses the Great
This book sounds very interesting, it sounds like it talks about Rwanda's whole history which would educate the reader on the specific beginnings of the genocide.
ReplyDelete- Betty Crocker
I like that the book is kind of chaotic because it sounds like it signifies the chaos of that time period. It is scary that a genocide could not be well known even though it has happened within the past couple of decades. Also, it is unfortunate to hear that murders and horrible occurences are still happening in Africa today, but this sounds like a fascinating book to read.
ReplyDelete-Princess Diana
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ReplyDeleteThis book seems similar to the apartheid that took place in South Africa. Do you think horrible things like this will soon come to an end in Africa?
ReplyDelete-Fidel Castro
The story of the Rwandan genocide is complicated, and the names don't help. I thought Gourevitch did a good job of describing certain scenes -- like the church at the beginning, the fate of the people who wrote the note that gave the book its title, and the parts with Paul Rusesabagina, but the rest can be tough to understand.
ReplyDeleteNice job.
Mrs. McCabe