Small Country

By Gaël Faye,

Book cover of Small Country

Book description

An 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…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Small Country as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Sometimes fiction, with its knack for getting under the skin, is the best way of grasping the human impact of something as psychologically earth-shaking as mass murder. Set in the early 1990s, this novel’s narrator is the son of a French father and Rwandan mother, living in Bujumbura, just across the border from Rwanda. Inevitably the mass killings spill over into Burundi, exacerbating existing tensions between Hutus and Tutsis there and shattering an already precariously-poised family. I get the impression this book sold well in both French and English, and I’m not surprised. Under its deceptively simple surface, it packs…

Want books like Small Country?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 88 books like Small Country.

Browse books like Small Country

Book cover of Congo: The Epic History of a People
Book cover of The Rwanda Crisis: History of a Genocide
Book cover of God Sleeps in Rwanda: A Journey of Transformation

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,188

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in war, genocide, and Rwanda?

War 2,052 books
Genocide 91 books
Rwanda 18 books