I think I am in a reading trend right now...over the past several weeks I have found myself being drawn towards the refugee story in literature. So when I saw this book offered through Book of the Month, I knew I wanted to read it. P.S. if you want to subscribe to Book of the Month, you can do so here. When I picked this book I did not know how much I may or may not like it, but I was pleasantly surprised with how much it held its own with some of the other books of this type I have read. The book focuses on the story of Gaby, a preteen growing up in Burundi. His parents are from France and Rwanda, so he never feels like he is exactly home. Early on in the book, fighting begins to break out again in Rwanda. Gaby knows a little about this, but the novel leaves some details out, citing Gaby's father's protectiveness as the reasoning behind his ignorance. Not much more time passes before fighting breaks out in Burundi, and Gaby's world view is quickly challenged. How do we say we want to love and care for people regardless of the appearance of their nose when the threat is right outside your door, impacting your friends, neighbors, and employees? These are all questions Gaby must face as he grows up in this region of the world, and I must say that I am fortunate to have never had to experience this first hand. I think this is why I really appreciate being able to read these accounts; they help me to better understand the pain that people feel as a result of all the terrible things that happen in this world. The challenging questions Gaby grapples with are so far out of my life experience, but I am able to learn more and become more sympathetic by reading stories like these. Many of the refugee stories that are coming out right now are memoirs, which is very powerful, but this book is actually a novel. For me, though, this did not take away from the impact because the author, Gael Faye, is from the region, though he grew up in France. The lessons to be learned from this novel are certainly not lessened by its fiction. One thing that was a challenge for me was that some of the chapters seemed a bit jumpy at times. Often, I think this choice was made intentionally and stylistically, but I did occasionally find it distracting. Overall, I recommend this book if you are, like me, currently taken by the refugee stories and stories of life in countries quite unfamiliar to you. I like to learn something when I read, and this is absolutely a book you will learn a lot from. I hope you give it a chance. Happy reading!
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