Gaël Faye: Petit Pays

Un grand merci à Romain Devaux, qui m'a offert le livre 'Petit Pays' par Gaël Faye.  I read it all in one go today and I can see why it was awarded the Prix Goncourt des lycéens.  I suggest that it would be an excellent recommendation to any serious students of French who want to expand their knowledge of language and francophone history and culture.  

Written in the first person, Gabriel/Gaby recalls his childhood in Burundi as the son of a French father and a Tutsi mother (a refugee from Rwanda), describing nature, friendships, neighbours, servants, family and recounting everyday life, including incidents of class, race and  political conflict.  Although not autobiographical, we know that the fictional Gaby is a contemporary of the author, Gaël Faye, and it must surely be this lived experience which makes the narrative so real and compelling, seeing the impact of the horrors of the 1994 genocide through the eyes of someone who was affected by it and experienced its consequences.