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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
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Thank you.
Those are the two words that come to mind after reading Clemantine Wamariya's memoir, co-authored by Elizabeth Weil. This story of her childhood in Rwanda, how she was a wandering refugee for years before coming to the United States and how she did not feel at home anywhere touched me.
Wamariya talks about what she remembers from before the Rwandan Civil War, her mother's garden, the way her nurse would tell her stories. She remembers her brother's favorite clothes and her friends. She remembers when the war came to their affluent neighborhood, when curfews were installed and people walked the streets less and less. She remembers leaving her home with only her sister at her side and the trials and tribulations that come with refugee camps, sickness and war. Wamariya rights of her struggle to identify with anyone, even her own sister who she imagines doesn't want her around anyway.
How can one be a person when one's beginning is so muddled?
I loved this narrative, it was real, raw and touching. No, I have never been in the middle of a Civil War; no, I've never not known if my family was alive or dead; no, I have never been forced into refugee camps with barely livable conditions. I am completely different from the author of this book, her story is not my story but her story is mine in this sense: What is one willing to do to feel real? To feel acknowledged? To know that you exist and that you matter at least to someone? As I read this book I realized that Wamariya's struggle was with her identity and that struggle was brought on by the Rwandan war and didn't stop just because she fled.
Those are the two words that come to mind after reading Clemantine Wamariya's memoir, co-authored by Elizabeth Weil. This story of her childhood in Rwanda, how she was a wandering refugee for years before coming to the United States and how she did not feel at home anywhere touched me.
Wamariya talks about what she remembers from before the Rwandan Civil War, her mother's garden, the way her nurse would tell her stories. She remembers her brother's favorite clothes and her friends. She remembers when the war came to their affluent neighborhood, when curfews were installed and people walked the streets less and less. She remembers leaving her home with only her sister at her side and the trials and tribulations that come with refugee camps, sickness and war. Wamariya rights of her struggle to identify with anyone, even her own sister who she imagines doesn't want her around anyway.
How can one be a person when one's beginning is so muddled?
I loved this narrative, it was real, raw and touching. No, I have never been in the middle of a Civil War; no, I've never not known if my family was alive or dead; no, I have never been forced into refugee camps with barely livable conditions. I am completely different from the author of this book, her story is not my story but her story is mine in this sense: What is one willing to do to feel real? To feel acknowledged? To know that you exist and that you matter at least to someone? As I read this book I realized that Wamariya's struggle was with her identity and that struggle was brought on by the Rwandan war and didn't stop just because she fled.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I have been gravitating toward memoirs this year and this one did not disappoint. Clemantine's story of survival during the Rwandan genocide as well as her transition into life as American refugee moved me in so many ways. Before reading this account, I was sympathetic to the refugees coming to the United States for safety but I didn't really understand the process.
Clemantine didn't willy-nilly decide to come to the United States (or any other "safe" country) and leave her home, she was forced to; her life and survival depended on it. On a personal level, I cannot even imagine being forced out of my home country and to a foreign place.
I thoroughly enjoyed this heart breaking story of survival.
Clemantine didn't willy-nilly decide to come to the United States (or any other "safe" country) and leave her home, she was forced to; her life and survival depended on it. On a personal level, I cannot even imagine being forced out of my home country and to a foreign place.
I thoroughly enjoyed this heart breaking story of survival.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
I lost track of who I was. I’d become a negative, a receptacle of need. I was hungry, I was thirsty, I needed a bathroom, I needed a place to sleep.
How would you cope if you were a happy six-year-old, but then one day your entire world is turned upside down when everyone in your country starts killing each other? Without much warning you are left without a home, family and no country. For the next six years you are an exile, a sub-human, just trying to survive by fulfilling your most basic needs. This is Clementine’s story – but as she constantly reminds us throughout the book, not only hers but thousands and thousands of other refugees as well.
By sharing her story, as well as her sister Clare’s, we can also see, as with everything in life, people react very differently to the same situation. A reminder that every refugee is a unique individual and wants to be seen and treated as such.
I admire people who can share their lives while allowing us to see their insecurities, vulnerabilities and doubts about themselves and their relationships. I don’t think that I could be that brave.
Thinking of all the millions of children who has never had a childhood, safety, care or the opportunity to just be seen as a unique human being, and the effect this will have on them as an adult, is deeply distressing.
This is a deeply personal account of a young girl who is trying to make peace with all she has lost and can never regain, trying to braid her different lives into one narrative. The Girl Who Smiled Beads is also a timely reminder that these devastating events – war/genocide – happens to individuals and not to a country.
I've read more than 130 books in the last 3 years and have felt compelled to write a review for exactly two. This is one of those rare books that is truly transformative. Wamariya expertly captures in words her feeling and perspective. She describes her struggle with identity, forgiveness and belonging. When you finish this book, you will question what you know about refugees and aid. One of the author's repeated reminders, that each person's experience is different and you can never fully understand someone's experience, is a relevant reminder as we seek to enter into difficult conversations with our fellow humans. This book is worth your time. Enjoy!
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
I picked this up after reading Small Country by Gael Faye to further educate myself about the Rwandan genocide and its impact on so many people and countries. Clementine's stories were devastating and hopeful and raw. She talks about how her core relationships changed as the years went on and how security can result in each family member needing different things. I listened to the audio, which was wonderfully narrated by Robin Miles.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the Rwandan genocide of the 90s, and the cost of refuge, and its impact on families after finding security in other countries.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know more about the Rwandan genocide of the 90s, and the cost of refuge, and its impact on families after finding security in other countries.