Description
Book Synopsis"Timeless, vivid and utterly essential." Fergal Keane, author of The Madness
AN AWARD WINNING NOVEL FOLLOWING THREE GENERATIONS TORN APART BY THE TUTSI GENOCIDE
Blanche returns to Rwanda after building a life in Bordeaux with her husband and young son, Stokely. Reuniting with her mother Immaculata, old wounds are reopened for both mother and daughter while Stokely, caught between two countries, tries to understand where he comes from and where he belongs.
Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse’s unforgettable debut novel follows three generations torn apart by the genocide against the Tutsis, as they try to reconnect with one another, rebuild broken links and find their place in today’s world.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING
"Beautiful and breath-taking." Lizzy on Netgalley
"This is a book to read and re-read." Jo Ann on Goodreads
"This book was intense and filled me with emotion... Truly memorable and lyrical." Rachel on Netgalley
"Raw, heartfelt and full of pain [with] so many poetic and spine tingling quotes." Sharmila on Netgalley
"A literary feat through and through." Thomas on Goodreads
"I just can't recommend it enough." Kacey on Netgalley
"A beautiful and heartbreaking book." Elizabeth on Goodreads
Trade Review"Viscerally powerful."
* Financial Times *
“Searing… a poignant meditation on the violence that ruptured so many lives. Mairesse’s lyrical prose, translated by Alison Anderson, is mesmerising.”
* The Observer *
“Silence, muteness, buried pain, the guarding of long-held secrets, obfuscation and the disinclination to discuss traumatic experience – all inflect this lyrical, subtle narrative, which takes a sideways approach to “the shipwreck of a nation” in Rwanda after the genocide of the Tutsi in 1994. Focusing on female perspectives, All Your Children, Scattered ripples outwards from this central catastrophe, moving back and forth in time; Mairesse explores family matters with great specificity, while never diminishing the scale of the tragedy.”
* TLS *
“Clear-eyed, rich prose….. a book of deep sorrow and profound dignity, a commentary both on the violent legacy of colonisation and the pitilessness of human nature.”
* Irish Times *
