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923 reviews for:
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
Clemantine Wamariya, Elizabeth Weil
4.25 AVERAGE
923 reviews for:
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
Clemantine Wamariya, Elizabeth Weil
4.25 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This is how I like to learn about history and the world, personal experiences. Clemantine walks you through her life experiences and how she felt. It is not a news report of world events, but a personal understanding and involvement of the impact.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
One of the best memoirs I’ve read. The non-linear storytelling worked great. I think some books on refugees leaving their home country and resettling in another country can add to a white saviour (not saying this is intentional), which is something this book managed to challenge well. it also really showed that things aren’t just fixed as soon as you arrive at a ‘safer’ country
Clemantine is a survivor of the Rwandan genocide. She shares her story of fleeing violence, living in African refugee camps for years, and processing the trauma of her childhood. It is beautifully written and so deeply vulnerable; it’s impossible to not become entirely engrossed in her journey. It also feels very painfully timely when you consider the violence currently upending lives in Palestine.
I wanted to like this more than I did. The importance of this story being told is so critical; the genocide is something that I was very removed from, both as it was happening and even as an adult. I remember the first I even became aware of it was when the movie Hotel Rwanda came out when I was in high school. But even after that, it didn't feel like something that was discussed enough, at least in my household (and shame on me for not doing my own homework). Despite the horrific events that Clementine experienced, the prose didn't do it for me. It sometimes felt disconnected and randomly jumpy. Sometimes I would get really invested in a particular storyline or thought she was developing and then it would cut. I don't know... so much to unpack here but ultimately it left me a little underwhelmed.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced