Scan barcode
izzysz's review
4.0
Since the book is written by a journalist the writing is to the point and brings across all the issues without getting too much into the authors emotions and personal struggles.
With nonfiction even sometimes it can be a bit personal and only about the author and how he experienced something , but rather than making it about his experience alone it really felt universal for the country Rwanda and the whole population there.
I think its fascinating to see how dictatorships work and what the consequences for the people are and also how other contries are complicit with the situation and even advancing it when they don't have other interests that would drive them to intervene or at least stop the funding.
It is difficult to imagine that this is real life for someone and being denied basic human rights is something I hopefully will never have to experience that way.
With nonfiction even sometimes it can be a bit personal and only about the author and how he experienced something , but rather than making it about his experience alone it really felt universal for the country Rwanda and the whole population there.
I think its fascinating to see how dictatorships work and what the consequences for the people are and also how other contries are complicit with the situation and even advancing it when they don't have other interests that would drive them to intervene or at least stop the funding.
It is difficult to imagine that this is real life for someone and being denied basic human rights is something I hopefully will never have to experience that way.
erinvdmast's review
3.0
Finally decided to give it 3 rather than 4 stars. It's a compelling read for sure: Sundaram knows how to write and draw a reader in. He provides a chilling account of how free press and media are increasingly shut down in Rwanda and how the international community does nothing. In that respect I thought the book was very interesting, well written and I had difficulty putting it down.
However, as an advocate of professional journalism, I found it strange that Sundaram chose not to provide any sources. Particularly for sections that give a more historical account of Rwanda, its 1994 genocide and Kagame's advent to power. Now it felt as a sometimes overly subjective account and, having read a bit more on Rwanda in other books, I sometimes questioned what - or better how - Sundaram chose to describe certain historical developments. But I suppose that the lack of sources is perhaps more reflective of the type of book, which I would describe as memoires/an accessible read rather than hard non-fiction, than of a lack of professionalism.
Sometimes a bit too focused on the author himself, the book is nonetheless a worthy testament to those journalists who tried to resist the regime.
However, as an advocate of professional journalism, I found it strange that Sundaram chose not to provide any sources. Particularly for sections that give a more historical account of Rwanda, its 1994 genocide and Kagame's advent to power. Now it felt as a sometimes overly subjective account and, having read a bit more on Rwanda in other books, I sometimes questioned what - or better how - Sundaram chose to describe certain historical developments. But I suppose that the lack of sources is perhaps more reflective of the type of book, which I would describe as memoires/an accessible read rather than hard non-fiction, than of a lack of professionalism.
Sometimes a bit too focused on the author himself, the book is nonetheless a worthy testament to those journalists who tried to resist the regime.
More...