A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche

A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali

Gil Courtemanche

A powerful and moving account of a small part of the slaughter of 800,000 Tutsis in 100 days. Courtemanche writes in the preface 'This novel is a novel. It is also a chronicle and eyewitness report. The characters all existed in reality, and in almost every case I have used their real names.' This book personalises the genocide and even finds some heroism and compassion alongside the killing.

Extract
'Monsieur, I beg you, Monsieur,' she whispered rather than said, 'the governor must be told that I'm not a Tutsi. I don't want to lose my job. I'm a real Hutu. I've got papers to prove it ....' She was crying softly, resolutely, avoiding his eyes as Rwandans often did.
Parallels
  • Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
  • Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
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Violence
Explicit sexual content