Reviews with content warning for Violence - We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda

Sad but informative book on the Rwandan genocide. The personal stories are heartrending, but Gourevitch does a good job of presenting them without being a trauma voyeur. He also provides plenty of succinct, easy to follow explanations of the roots of the genocide, as well as the local and regional politics that came into play before and after the 1994 genocide. Gourevitch is very unforgiving of western opinions and non intervention and I really appreciated his discussion of these topics, which he engaged in without softening the blow for white/western feelings.

Content Warnings

piabo's review

Go to review page

4.0

After living in Rwanda for more than a year (over the span of 4 years), visiting the genocide memorial in Kigali, attending Kwibuka, listening to a genocide podcast, and reading two books about the genocide, I thought there is not much more I can learn. Especially not from a book written by some white dude from the US.
But I was wrong.

This book is actually great. It does not only talk about the genocide itself but situates in well into its context of its time. Not just before, but also in the years after 1994.

I think the author did a good job. Really.

What I found especially interesting was the attempt to humanize the events during and around the genocide. The killings were not an abstract thing, they really happened. And the people of Rwanda are real people. Just like you and me. It is very important to never forget that.

Content Warnings

valeria_gzz's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

I give this book 3,5 stars not because I didn’t like it or because it was too sad to be enjoyable but because it is outdated. Reading this was hard because I had to constantly remind myself that these were real people most of who are still alive today and still remember seeing their families being murdered by friends and neighbors. Reading about all the guilty people denying anything happened was depressing as well. Overall I am glad I read it though because I only knew that the genocide happened, not how, why, or what happened afterwards.Also I want to add that this book made me very angry at times, because of how everyone that could help ignored this, and the way Rwandans who could help others chose not to or chose to kill.

Content Warnings

laurabarrett's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.5

Content Warnings

More...