Description
Book SynopsisAn international sensation, Small Country is a beautiful but harrowing tale of coming-of-age in the face of civil war.
'A luminous debut novel…Faye dramatises the terrible nostalgia of having lost not only a childhood but also a whole world to war' Guardian
Burundi, 1992. For ten-year-old Gabriel, life in his comfortable expat neighbourhood of Bujumbura with his French father, Rwandan mother and little sister, Ana, is something close to paradise. These are happy, carefree days spent with his friends sneaking cigarettes and stealing mangoes, swimming in the lake and riding bikes in the streets they have turned into their kingdom. But dark clouds are gathering over this small country, and soon their peaceful idyll will shatter when Burundi and neighbouring Rwanda are brutally hit by war.
‘Unforgettable… Gaël Faye’s talent is breathtaking’ Imbolo Mbue, author of Behold the Dreamers
Trade Reviewan excellent novel, a model of restraint and quiet literary sophistication * Sunday Times *
[A]
luminous debut novel… This is a book that demanded to be written... With a light touch, Faye dramatises
the terrible nostalgia of having lost not only a childhood but also a whole world to war -- Nadifa Mohamed * Guardian *
An evocative portrait of what it means to lose one’s freedom and innocence. Gaël Faye’s literary powers lie in his unbridled honesty and his effortless prose. He is
a writer of great promise and grace -- Chigozie Obioma, author of The Fishermen
Unforgettable… Gaël Faye’s talent is breathtaking; no country that can give the world a writer like him should ever be called small -- Imbolo Mbue, author of Behold the Dreamers
as beautiful as it is painful... It's easy to see why it set the French literary scene alight. This is one you won't be abandoning in the hotel library when you leave. -- Sam Baker * The Pool *
