Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Algonquin Books (January 3, 2012)
- ISBN-13: 978-1616200428
Who and what is the book about (back-of-the-book blurb: Running the Rift follows Jean Patrick Nkuba, a gifted Rwandan boy, from the day he knows that running will be his life to the moment he must run to save his life, a ten-year span in which his country is undone by the Hutu-Tutsi tensions. Born a Tutsi, he is thrust into a world where it’s impossible to stay apolitical; yet in an environment increasingly restrictive for the Tutsi, he holds fast to his dream of becoming Rwanda’s first Olympic medal contender in track, a feat he believes might deliver him and his people from this violence.
Where and when does it take place: We meet Jean Patrick in 1984, a young Tutsi boy living with his family in Gihundwe. Even then there are tensions between the Hutu, and the Tutsi people - at school Jean Patrick is asked to stand and be counted in a census of Tutsi students; prior to this he had been sheltered from the “us” and “them” attitude. Tensions increase, violence is threatened, and the family moves to live with an uncle in a more rural area. The majority of the novel covers the period 1990 – 1994.
What would I say to a friend who asked me about it: This is a highly-recommended book which takes place in the decade leading up to the Rwandan genocide. It follows a talented young Tutsi boy who has dreams of becoming an Olympic athlete. When ethnic tensions increase, he’s on the minority side, and has to make decisions that affect him and his own future, as well as that of his family and friends. It’s a difficult book at times – the author writes so that we get to know (and care about) the characters, and she doesn’t gloss over the violence; she eases us into seeing and confronting something very uncomfortable. That same difficulty (discomfort) is one reason I will push it into your hands.
Why did I read it: Back in May 2010, Running the Rift was one of the books at the Editor’s Buzz panel at BEA – a book that the publisher was “handselling” to all the booksellers in attendance. Algonquin Books tend to be very a good fit for my reading personality, and this was perfect.
A few favorite passages: Jean Patrick must make choices that affect his future; he feels guilty about following his life-long heart’s desire and potentially turning his back on his ethnicity (p 111):
… in a flash of insight, he realized that he needn’t feel shame for his choices. [His friends] chose to fight with bullets. He had chosen to fight with his legs. As Uncle told him, each time he won, he carried all Tutsi with him. And maybe it wasn’t a matter of choice. Maybe, since birth, Ukubo kw’Imana, the Arm of God, had set them spinning one way or the other.
One of the people who befriends Jean Patrick is an American geology professor named Jonathan. Benaron inserts a few clever geologic metaphors as Jean Patrick compares the physical landscape to the political landscape (p 176):
In the purplish light, Jean Patrick could just make out the stripes of pale and dark rocks, the abruptly discordant layers. In class, Jonathan had spoken of tectonic upheaval. Rwanda, he said, was a landscape twisted and folded, tied in knots by a history of pressure and heat. Its insides heaved and shifted, disgorging their molten contents.
What else can I add: Running the Rift won the 2010 Bellwether Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction. Author Barbara Kingsolver established the Prize, which “was created to promote fiction that addresses issues of social justice and the impact of culture and politics on human relationships.” The biennial award has recently been re-named the PEN/Bellwether Prize; previous winners include Donna Gershten (Kissing the Virgin’s Mouth, 2000), Gayle Brandeis (The Book of Dead Birds, 2002), Marjorie Kowalski Cole (Correcting the Landscape, 2004), Hillary Jordan (Mudbound, 2006), and Heidi W. Durrow (The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, 2008).
A sure sign of a novel that clicked with me is that it gets me interested in reading more about the subject (reading both more fiction set in the same time/place, and reading non-fiction about historical events that are central to the novel). Baking Cakes in Kigali (Gaile Parkin) has been suggested as a novel for me to read; do you have any suggestions for non-fiction?
I have this one and look forward to it. I am drawn to social justice books. Left To Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza was very good and is also on this subject.
I read An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina last year. His story inspired the movie Hotel Rwanda. It was really powerful.
Good stuff, Maynard!
After thoroughly enjoying Hotel Rwanda, this seems like a must read for me. WOnderul review Dawn.
I think this is one of those books you have to force yourself to start because you know it is going to be tough. But there are payoffs. I did enjoy (?) Hotel Rwanda, and introduced me to a part of history that I knew virtually nothing about.
Philip Gourevitch’s We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families is *very* difficult to read, but gives a good historical background and covers the events of 94-95.
I just watched Hotel Rwanda the other night, and was shocked and stunned. It was such a powerful story, and though I had heard a bit about the war between the Hutus and the Tutsis, I had no idea that all those things were going on in such a large scale. I need to read this book. Though it’s probably a little less disturbing than the movie, but it sounds like it tells a very important story. Great review today, Dawn!
This book is on my list, and while I know it will be an emotional read, I’m looking forward to cracking the spine.
I need to read this soon! One of Vance’s close high school friends escaped from Rwanda with his family during that genocide, so books like this always feel a little bit personal to me.
Thanks! I’ve added this to my TBR list. Looks good!
Thank you for the great review. Here are some book suggestions:
Poetry: EJO: Poems Rwanda 1991 – 1993 by Derick Burleson These are beautiful, heart-wrenching poems by a peace corps volunteer
Non Fiction:
MACHETE SEASON and LIFE LAID BARE by Jean Hatzfeld. Chilling interviews with survivors (Life Laid Bare) and killers (Machete Season)
SEASON of BLOOD by Fergal Keane description of a journalists journey through the genocide. Beautifully written
LEAVE NONE TO TELL THE STORY by Human Rights Watch/Alison Des Forges The ultimate history and analysis of the Rwandan genocide. Detailed and readable.
THE SHADOW OF IMANA by Véronique Tadjo One womans experience traveling through Rwanda, post genocide. Reads like a prose poem. Exquisite.
Fiction:
MURAMBI, THE BOOK OF BONES by Boubacar Boris Diop about a Rwandan who escaped the genocide and returns post genocide to discover secrets of his father.
This is definitely one that I am interested in!
I’ve preordered this one for my Kindle and cannot wait for it to download tomorrow! I’m so glad to hear you loved it and that it piqued your interest in the area too. I’ve become a devotee of the Bellwether Prize and plan to read all of its winners in 2012, beginning with this one. Great review!
This book is high on my reading list for this year. Great review and happy new year.
For the past few months I’ve been giving the unrequested books on my shelf to one of my husband’s co-workers, who reads just about anything. I wasn’t sure about this one, so I passed it on to her. Now I’m thinking I should have kept it! Ah, well. Happy new year!!
I like your review format! I always find it useful to “answer questions” to help me get what I really want to say about a book.
This was another Algonquin winner. I too really like the format of this review. Nicely done.
yes, I am shallow, but it is a lovely cover.
Didn’t know this book and now I want to read it. Thanks for the review!
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