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alexaisreading's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Translated from the French, this compact, haunting little book explores the plight of Tutsi families trying to survive in a war- and genocide-ravaged Rwanda— or as stateless peoples in exile as hunger, fear, grief, even beauty, challenge their right to exist in their homeland. Each story lingers, Mukasonga’s beautiful prose washing over the reader with a kind of seductive destruction. The last story in particular— “Grief”— is devastating, told from the POV of a woman in exile in France who faces the death of her entire family, save one brother, and an inability to grieve in a way that brings closure, and brought tears to my eyes. Other stories, like “The Glorious Cow,” paint a picture of what it means to have and be forced to relinquish pieces of an identity, Belgium’s lasting colonial effects in Rwanda and Burundi, and the ability to hold on to cultural roots as others threaten to rip them up and destroy them. Highly recommend Igifu.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Death, Genocide, Murder, and Violence
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