Sometimes we read books to escape, but sometimes we read books to larn. And that'southward mostly what this listing of books about Rwanda is for. Rwanda is a fascinating state with a traumatic history. You probably best know it for the 1994 genocide, where Hutus murdered their Tsutsi neighbors in massive numbers. (If y'all are unfamiliar with that result, aside from these books I also highly recommend the Frontline documentary Ghosts of Rwanda, which I think I watched in about three different high school classes.)

But of course the history is deeper than simply that event. And the civilisation and geography of Rwanda also offers the stories of mount gorillas and African folktales. If yous want to larn more than nigh Rwanda, so this volume list is a great place to showtime.

Fiction Fix in Rwanda

Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin

In Kigali, Angel's kitchen becomes the center of her family and customs. And for those that get together to swallow her cakes and heed to Affections's wisdom, unexpected events brainstorm to take place and their lives are changed. For fans of warm, big-hearted novels that also bargain with serious issues.

A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali by Gil Courtemanche, Translated by Patricia Claxton

Bernard Valcourt is a foreign journalist at a hotel in Kigali who begins a relationship with hotel waitress Gentille, a Tutsi woman. When the genocide begins, Bernard tries to help Gentille escape. But things don't go as planned. For fans of contemporary and literary fiction.

Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga

Gear up 15 years before Rwanda'south genocide, this boarding school novel reveals the Hutu and Tutsi tensions as reflected in the lives of young women at the school. There are Hutus learning prejudice, Tutsis trying to discover their place in a school where they are discriminated against, and a country heading toward ceremonious war. For fans of literary fiction and boarding school novels.

Minor Country by Gaël Faye

While this novel is technically set in Burundi, Rwanda is an important part of this story. Gabriel is 10 years old and has a happy babyhood in Republic of burundi with his Rwandan female parent and French father. But before long Republic of burundi, and and then Rwanda, erupt in war and unrest and Gabriel'southward life is upended. For fans of literary fiction.

Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron

Jean Patrick Nkuba is determined to be an Olympic runner, and he spends his days running across his country. Just he is a Tutsi in a Rwanda that is growing increasingly hostile to his ethnic group, and his dedication to his sport just might save him. For fans of contemporary novels.

In the Shadow of ten,000 Hills by Jennifer Haupt

This novel begins with the Civil Rights Motility in Atlanta, when a woman moves to Africa after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, and then takes us all the way to post-genocide Rwanda, when another adult female travels to Rwanda searching for her begetter. This novel brings together iii women and their history in a state trying to heal. For fans of literary and historical fiction.

Not-Fiction Books Nigh Rwanda

Cockroaches by Scholastique Mukasonga, Translated by Jordan Stump

Rwandan-born author Scholastique Mukasonga has go a well-known literary vocalisation when it comes to the genocide. In this brief volume she tells non just her family'southward story of that consequence, simply delves into her family'southward exile in Rwanda in the 1960s. This is for readers who desire brusk and reflective books and don't mind trauma.

The Barefoot Woman past Scholastique Mukasonga, Translated by Jordan Stump

Another book from Mukasonga, this short non-fiction title focuses on the life of her mother and the strength to survive she showed during their exile within Rwanda. She tells about life in the exile village, from the way women banded together to how they grew the crops they needed. While it is bookended with mentions of the genocide, this book is good for readers who want to learn more than about Rwanda but aren't sure they tin handle the trauma found in the pages of Mukasonga's Cockroaches.

Gorillas in the Mist by Dian Fossey

Beginning in 1967, Dian Fossey dedicated her life to studying Rwanda's mountain gorillas. She founded the Karisoke Research Center and spent her time contacting gorillas groups and working to stop poaching. This is her memoir of her time in Rwanda, and is both a fascinating story of a woman'southward dedication and the beliefs of gorillas. The fact that this book was written both before Fossey was murdered in 1985 and before the genocide of 1994 lends a bit of foreboding to this reading feel. This book is for fans of animals and books most subjects you didn't know you wanted to know then much about.

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After by Clemantine Wamariya and Elizabeth Weil

Clemantine Wamariya escaped the 1994 genocide with her sister, Claire. Merely their future afterwards had its own share of hardships: poverty, abuse, and refugee camps. Somewhen they made their way to the U.S., and Clemantine went on to notice a loving family and graduate from Yale. This is a story about immigration and what it takes to rebuild your life after unthinkable tragedy. For fans of memoirs

We Wish to Inform Y'all That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch

In this accolade winning book, Gourevitch collects stories of the 1994 genocide, both from the victims and the perpetrators. There are chilling accounts, simply he likewise looks into the future, wondering what will become of Rwanda post-genocide and if the nation can find a hopeful futurity. (And if you read information technology, it's of import to notation it was published in 1999, so Rwanda has at present had more than 2 decades to answer this question.) For fans of non-fiction and existent-life accounts of true events.

A Grand Hills: Rwanda'due south Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed Information technology by Stephen Kinzer

This book focuses on the life on Rwanda's President, Paul Kagame, beginning when he was almost killed with his family in the "practice genocide" of 1959. And while it details his life, it is also an business relationship of Rwanda'due south history, the years of tension that led to genocide, and what Rwanda's time to come may look like. For fans of biographies and politics.

Machete Season: The Killers in Rwanda Speak past Jean Hatzfeld

Several years later the 1994 genocide, Jean Hatzfeld traveled to Rwanda and spent fourth dimension interviewing Hutus who had participated in the massacres, trying to sympathize how humanity broke down then fully. Readers describe this book equally spooky, and it'south definitely for people who tin confront the worst of humanity.

Life Laid Bare: The Survivors in Rwanda Speak past Jean Hatzfeld, Translated by Linda Coverdale

In a follow-up to Machete Season, here Hatzfeld speaks to survivors of the genocide, recounting their horrifying tales. He focuses on one area of Rwanda in-particular, the Bugesera, which was i of the hardest hit with the killings. This book is for y'all if you want real-life accounts of what living through the genocide was like.

The Antelope's Strategy: Living in Rwanda After the Genocide by Jean Hatzfeld, Translated past Linda Coverdale

Another book by Hatzfeld, in this ane nosotros get stories from both Tutsis and Hutus who are living together side-past-side in a post-genocide Rwanda. Hatzfeld's interviews with these Rwandans reveal the challenges they face in trying to find reconciliation and whether or not they will be able to move on. (Notation that this was released in 2010.) For readers interested in humanity, folklore, and what it takes to live into the future later on trauma.

Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda by Roméo Dallaire

Before the genocide happened, the United nations sent peacekeepers to the land hoping to ease tensions. Despite their efforts, the mission largely failed. Dallaire was the force commander for the Un during the genocide, and in this memoir he conveys what he witnessed, the efforts he fabricated to salvage people while beingness denied resource, and his PTSD that resulted from his experience at that place. For fans of military-related memoirs.

Inside the Hotel Rwanda: The Surprising Truthful Story…and Why It Matters Today by Edouard Kayihura and Kerry Zukus

If yous saw the movie Hotel Rwanda, this book is a good example why it's important to take the history we learn from Hollywood with a grain of salt. Many genocide survivors who were at the famous Hotel des Milles Collines have issues with the way their feel, and the life of the man who ran the hotel, were portrayed. For readers who want to dig deeper into this historical event.

Land of a Thousand Hills: My Life in Rwanda by Rosamond Halsey Carr

In 1949, Rosamond Halsey Carr moved to Africa with her married man. When they divorced some years afterwards, she bought a flower plantation in Rwanda and continued living there. In this business relationship of her life and her time in Rwanda we get everything from wild animals encounters, her friendship with Dian Fossey, her experience in the genocide, and the orphanage she ran after the genocide. For fans of autobiography and memoir.

Road Trip Rwanda: A Journey Into the New Heart of Africa by Volition Ferguson

Twenty years after the genocide, Volition Ferguson travels to Rwanda along with a friend who had escaped the country just before the genocide began. They spend their time traveling beyond the state, seeing how information technology has changed since the historic massacres. For fans of travel memoirs.

"A Problem from Hell": America and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power

If you desire to understand more about genocide and America's failure to act to cease genocides in other countries, you lot'll desire to read this book from Samantha Power. Here she focuses on both the genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda and examines where and why America failed to intervene. For fans of political books.

Children's Books Most Rwanda

Sebgugugu the Glutton: A Bantu Tale from Rwanda by Verna Aardema, Illustrated by Nancy L. Clouse

Finding children'due south books near Rwanda is not an easy claiming, but this older volume (which, interestingly, came out earlier the genocide) offers a traditional folktale from Rwanda for kids about a greedy man who won't listen to his wife. Recommended ages: 5-8 years.

Gorillas – Gentle Giants of the Forest by Joyce Milton, Illustrated by Bryn Barnard

If you want to teach your kids about Rwanda, gorillas are a great kid-friendly place to go. This book shares interesting gorilla facts in text that parents can either read aloud or newly contained readers tin can read for themselves. Recommended ages: 5-8 years.

Middle Grade and YA Books About Rwanda

Unforgotten -The Wild Life of Dian Fossey and Her Relentless Quest to Save Mountain Gorillas by Anita Silvey

This National Geographic Kids book explores the life of Dian Fossey and her decision to study and save mountain gorillas in Rwanda. The book includes photographs kids volition love and tells the story of her work and connexion with the gorillas. Recommended ages: 8-12 years.

Primates -The Fearless Science of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Biruté Galdikas past Jim Ottaviani, Illustrated by Maris Wicks

While this book isn't entirely most Rwanda, a good chunk of it, the office post-obit Dian Fossey, is. This graphic novel follows these three famous primatologists as they embark on their enquiry, face challenges, and make important scientific discoveries. Recommended ages: 12-18 years.

Cleaved Memory: A Novel of Rwanda by Elisabeth Combres

Young adult novels virtually Rwanda are (like children'southward books) a little hard to notice. But this 1, about a daughter who escapes later her mother is killed and must larn to heal from the trauma she has witnessed, might fit the pecker if you are looking for a Rwanda book for teenagers. Recommended ages: 13-17 years.

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