Some 800,000 people massacred in three months, most by machete-wielding neighbors: that was the horror which began 20 years ago today in Rwanda. The conflict was ostensibly between ethnic groups, the majority Hutu and the minority Tutsi. But lines were blurred since many moderate Hutus were killed and anyone who has looked closely at the history of the African Great Lakes Region sees that the groups were often related and their differences were used by European powers to divide and conquer.Gil Courtemanche's Sunday at the Pool in Kigali tells the story of people caught up in the conflict in an extremely affecting way. He first went to Rwanda at the beginning of the 1990s to work on a film about AIDS in the region, but decided he must write something about the genocide when it occured. His first idea was a book of straight reporting, but he was persuaded that novel would convey the tragedy better, and probably reach more people. The result--first published in French but a winner of several prizes in English translation--was made into a successful film, A Sunday in Kigali, but the novel is much better. It is painful reading, but well worth the sorrow it might bring.Like so many others, I was deeply troubled by what happened in Rwanda, and looked around for something I might do to help or understand. What I discovered quickly was that Rwanda has a twin, Burundi, where the same sort of conflict had been going on for decades. The year before the outbreak of the Rwandan genocide, a massacre which escaped the attention of the outside world also killed thousands. After much reflection and quite a lot of library research, I ended up writing a novel about a Canadian politician who goes missing in 1997 in Burundi when on an international fact-finding mission to the camps set up to shelter refugees.The Violets of Usambara took eight years to write. Published in 2008, I did a blog explaining the book's background and the trip I took to East Africa to research the novel. The trip, funded by a generous grant from the Conseil des arts et lettres du Québec, was life-changing for me and, I think, was money well spent by the Quebec government's arts agency. The novel, I'd like to think also, explores the motivations of people who want to make the world a better place. They may fail but they are admirable in their attempts
In the progress of reading:I am a little over half-way through this book and have mixed feelings about it. The voice it is written in gives the sense of a beauty in a country descending into absolute horror; the thought processes of the story teller (Bernard) are interesting and seem quite human.On the other hand, so far this book has been about sex and AIDS, and how all of these men don't seem to care about infecting everybody else, as long as they have sex... I find this to be a slightly disturbing portrayal of Black Rwandans. I want to call it dehumanizing, which ends up bringing up the interesting idea of paralleling these dehumanized, sex-crazed Rwandans with the dehumanized corpses of the Tutsis and moderate Hutus. Which I'm expecting to be reading about soon, as the story is leading up to the mass genocide. Leaning toward a 3 star rating for now; we'll see how it goes. Finished:I had to give myself a day to get over the shock I went through near the end of this book (something around the last 60 or so pages?). I did, in my in-progress review, mention that there was an over-abundant representation of sex-crazed, HIV positive Rwandans. I do stand by that, but the contrast between the life shown in the first two thirds of the book and that in the last third is almost indescribable. I was unsure of whether or not I'd end up liking this book (there was way too much graphic sex for me) but now I have to say I think it's pretty brilliant. The relationship between Gentille and Valcourt is, to me, a little odd and I wasn't too fond of the age gap between them and how everybody so readily accepted their union... but their love amidst the chaotic background of the genocide was perfect. The way the various characters coped with the situation was interesting, and the scenes described (such as everybody hiding out at the hotel) were heartbreaking. Still not too sure of how I feel about what happened at the end with Valcourt/Gentille, though the obvious parallel between what she says to Valcourt and the genocide was a nice touch. Overall, I'd say prepare for a big shock right when you think you've had enough of this book. It is brilliant (never thought I'd say that) and thought provoking.
Do You like book A Sunday At The Pool In Kigali (2004)?
Valcourt is a Quebecois living in Rwanda. He truly loves the land and has found his place in life. Staying at the Mille Collines, he meets and falls in love with Gentille. Gentille is a Hutu who looks like a Tutsis. She is in grave danger during the genocide. Valcourt wants to marry her but sees no reason to leave the country. Despite seeing the bodies of his friends who have been murdered, he continues to stay.The reader is really stretched in understanding why someone would put a person he is in love with in such danger. I found some of the philosophizing very well done. At one point Valcourt states that each country has a sickness. The sickness attributed to Canada was complacency. This is so true. Also interesting was the fact that the UN did nothing even though some of their personnel was murdered.This is an excellent story but not for someone with a weak stomach.
—Dana
Very raw, very explicit. Not only covers the build-up to the Rwandan genocide, but also the AIDS-epidemic. Even though they are two totally different books, there are some very clear similarities I noticed after reading Baking Cakes in Kigali prior to this one: The Rwandan men are depicted as sex driven beasts; it seems that's all they can think about and they don't give two shits if they happen to infect women with AIDS. Some of them do it deliberately, because "everyone is going to die anyways", either from a machete, malaria or AIDS. I refuse to believe that the first part of this depiction applies to the majority of Rwandan men. Practically all Western men I've met are sex driven, but to this Rwandan extent, making it seem as if this and only this contains their entire personality seems a bit harsh and unrealistic. The lack of caring about dying of AIDS however, I can totally understand in a country where not many people make it over fifty anyways. The brainwashed induced violence, I can understand as well; it's not like that kind of stuff only happens in Africa. As for the story itself, I first thought it was mainly autobiographical, but then after finishing it, found out that Gil Courtemanche was in Paris during the time of the genocide in 1994. He did meet Gentille, but there was never a love story there. After discovering this, I only got more frustrated about Valcourt refusing to leave Rwanda when shit was already hitting the fan. I believe this was written so to depict the love for Rwanda as a country. Also, if Valcourt had left, we wouldn't have been able to 'see' the genocide from up close. Still, frustrating! I gave this one 4 stars, because it was so intense and shocked me to the core. The numerous sexual explicities didn't have to be so, well, numerous for me, but I guess when you're going for raw storytelling as an author, you'll get the most of out it when you can. Highly recommended to people who heard about the Hutus and the Tutsis, but don't really know what was truly going on. Not so recommended to people who don't like/want to read about women getting raped in the most brutal ways. Neither do I, by the way, but if you truly want to know about the horrors that happened, you can't just read about the landscape for 300 pages.
—Anne
This book definitely rudely shook me out of my emotional comfort zone and gave me improved insight into the genocide and the resulting and ongoing physical and mental suffering in Rwanda. I still do not quite understand what drove apparently ordinary people to commit those over-the-top violent acts? I found the style of writing stilted and artificial, but that could be due to awkward translation. I also thought the sexual content was at times too much, too explicit and confronting; probably unnecessary for the plot and the purpose of the book.
—Annalie
