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bookmanity's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
katie_greenwinginmymouth's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
socorrobaptista's review against another edition
emotional
informative
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Acho que foi um dos livros mais difíceis de ler que encontrei em minha jornada de leitora, por ser não ficção e por ser tão cruelmente factual. Fiquei até me sentindo mal. Embora a autora não descreva todas as violências cometidas, elas são claras, evidenciadas nas palavras escolhidas, nas entrelinhas. Eu sempre quero manter minha fá na humanidade, mas isso fica bem difícil algumas vezes.
chillcox15's review
4.0
In turn a memoir of the author memories of her mother and a more ethnographic depiction of life in communities of displaced Tutsis. Mukasonga's authorial voice is excellent, weaving together different aspects of the feminine life that her mother, along with the other women in her community, navigated on a daily basis. I do think we lose her mother a bit as the book goes on, leaning more into the communal in place of the specific, but I acknowledge that may be my own societal expectation of individuality bearing some weight.
jessianekelly_'s review against another edition
5.0
Que livro bom!! Me faz lembrar o quanto a Literatura e a memória são formas de resistência diante de contextos tão difíceis quanto o de guerra e de genocídio. Conhecer os costumes culturais, a percepção de tempo, as histórias e as crenças dos tutsis me trouxe um encanto e autocrítica de uma forma inesperada. Por que eu não leio com frequência autores africanos? Como eu ainda não tinha lido nada da Scholastique Mukasonga?
pearloz's review
4.0
Less than the description suggests "moving, unforgettable tribute to a Tutsi woman who did everything to protect her children from the Rwandan genocide" or "story of the author's mother, a fierce, loving woman who for years protected her family from the violence encroaching upon them in pre-genocide Rwanda." It felt more like a first-hand sociological breakdown of a forming society within a refugee camp. Everything is described--from matchmaking to pooping, rituals, rites, curses, cures, are all explored with an almost detached eye. And maybe, I'll concede, that detached eye is allowed to be observant and detached because of the safety suggested by the books description. To me, it felt like the book was about continuing traditions in the face of adversity, in a new home, new space, about trying to retain your customs and traditions in the face of a coming tragedy.