 "Ominous Title, Important Subject, Excellent Book" | 2009-09-23 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1D8BC9UD8LTHJ |
You will have a remarkably better understanding of the Rwandan genocide after you read this book. Gourevitch has done humanity a great service with this fine piece of investigative journalism. The book could have been called "The Slaughter: 100 Days of Hutu Power", but it goes beyond the killing. It successfully puts the puzzle together by looking at the ignition points, outlining the historical context of Rwandan society, debunking the misconceptions, and fingering the enablers. The book also explains various mopping-up efforts and events in the aftermath of genocide, and illuminates the subsequent (and still significant) situation across the border in the eastern Congo.
The abatement of genocide, its causes and consequences, and finding justice afterwards continues to humble the better angels of humankind. Like Bosnia and Darfur, Rwanda illustrates the abysmal results of misguided policies and half-hearted efforts put forth by powerful nations (like the US and France) and international organizations (like the UN). The subject is enormous and will probably surface again in our ever more crowded and cranky world. If we could only nip it in the bud. If not, we will ultimately come face to face with the gruesome monster again.
If you are interested in this horrific subject, I also suggest reading these books:
The impotent UN: Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda
Treatise on genocide: A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (P.S.)
Bosnia torn apart: Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War |
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| ""power largely consists in the ability to make others inhabit your story of their reality"" | 2009-08-22 |
| - Reviewed By frumiousb |
Very difficult book to review, at least for me. Difficult subject. Gourevitch keeps an excellent balance between the personal stories and the political context of the Rwandan massacre. He provides sympathetic and balanced commentary as to the root causes-- unpeeling them like an onion rather than pointing fingers.
Can you say well done about a book like this? Important to read, in any case. The world failed once as a witness. Read as a companion to The Key to My Neighbor's House. |
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| "A heart wrenching account" | 2009-07-29 |
| - Reviewed By jkambalame |
| The first time I saw this book, I was so lazy to pick it up because I thought it was too long. Fortunately, I came across an audio version in my local library. This is the best account of events in Rwanda on issues surrounding the genocide. There have been stories written about personal experiences which I have read but nothing beats Gourevitch's description of events in the country. |
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| "Detailing The Tragedies of Genocide" | 2009-06-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2BE3MTUT0YBF0 |
"We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our Families" by Phillip Gourevitch shares several personal stories from the survivors of the Rwandan genocide and should be required reading for students of political conflict. In Rwanda, no one Hutu or Tutsi were immune from the blade of a machete or the barrel of a gun, in a mad, hatred driven quest for blood and power. Then once a person has killed a few times they become conditioned to kill and they become machines of murder that will kill anything that steps in their path including brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, even their own children if need be. In Rwanda, death was around every corner and had penetrated every aspect of Rwandan life. Gourevitch provides the reader with a moving and engaging account of the costs of genocide from the eyes of survivors of the bloodbath in Rwanda.
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| "We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda" | 2009-06-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2KYENEDQAC9OE |
| I have read a few of the reviews and see his most critical review gives him three stars and still rates the book highly. I think that is everying that needs to be said about this book - compulsory reading for anybody considering working in the humanitarian or 'development' sectors. It is a real eye opener and nowhere near as graphic as made out to be. |
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| "Wrenching, compelling... a tour of the dark side of human nature..." | 2009-05-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3EFR6E22KYJIM |
There are honestly few books that I would say that EVERYONE should be required to read, but this is one of them...I read this book for the first time almost a year ago, and it is still as haunting now as it was then.. it's truly both a consuming and provoking book. You can feel the effect that the experience had on the author on almost every page. The madness of hatred that fueled this genocide, but also the ambiguity and lack of interest from the rest of the world that abbetted it. I disagree with the reviews that say he lost focus midway through the book. I think that something like a genocide is just as complex as the reporting of it.. There are so many individual parts and stories, and the descriptions of the 'relief' efforts and their breakdowns are a vital part of the story. People are horrified at the Holocaust but don't even seem to notice that the Rawandan genocide occured with blinding speed by comparison. The world's view of the event resonates with the very prejudice at the heart of the genocide itself.
The book is not simply a reporting of events, it is an attempt to delve into the moral complexity of it all.. How someone could slaughter their neighbor with a machete, and then how the survivors could go on living next to the killers after it happened. What makes this book so vital and so frightening, is how easy it is for something like this to happen, and how likely that it will probably happen again... it's a look both into the dark heart of the abyss, but also a look into ourselves, and how we can stand of the edge of a moral cliff... |
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