Already an international sensation and prize-winning bestseller in
France, an evocative coming-of-age story of a young boy, a lost
childhood and a shattered homeland.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ALBERTINE PRIZE - NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF
THE YEAR BY ESQUIRE - LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL FOR
EXCELLENCE IN FICTION - LONGLISTED FOR THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE
Burundi, 1992. For ten-year-old Gabriel, life in his comfortable
expatriate neighborhood of Bujumbura with his French father, Rwandan
mother and little sister Ana, is something close to paradise.
These are carefree days of laughter and adventure - sneaking Supermatch
cigarettes and gorging on stolen mangoes - as he and his mischievous
gang of friends transform their tiny cul-de-sac into their kingdom.
But dark clouds are gathering over this small country, and soon their
peaceful existence will shatter when Burundi, and neighboring Rwanda,
are brutally hit by civil war and genocide.
A novel of extraordinary power and beauty, Small Country describes an
end of innocence as seen through the eyes of a child caught in the
maelstrom of history. Shot through with shadows and light, tragedy and
humor, it is a stirring tribute not only to a dark chapter in Africa's
past, but also to the bright days that preceded it.
