I struggled with a good chunk of this book, almost calling it quits when a third of the way in I still wasn’t feeling compelled to pick it up, but ultimately I’m glad I stuck with it. It hits its stride somewhere near the middle, and the last third, where Stokely begins to have a say, had me captivated. It tells the story of Immaculata and Blanche, a mother and daughter, and through them examines the horrors of the Rwandan genocide. Immaculata remains in Rwanda, while the country struggles to pick up the pieces after thousands of Tutsis were massacred by Hutus, their countrymen. Blanche moves to France where she faces her own set of struggles, meets and marries her husband and has a child, Stokely. The arrival of the child is the start of an attempt to bridge the gap between Rwanda and France.

I almost want to read it again now that a first read has the story and characters established in my mind. Given the strength of the last part, I feel like my inability to connect with the first part was an issue on my end, not the book’s, and a second reading might be useful.