Fall is the best time to cozy up to a good book, pumpkin spice latte and chill by the fire. I added hundreds of books to my goodreads that I wanted to get to this summer, so now I am playing major catch up. Small Country by Gaël Faye (translated by Sarah Ardizzone) was one of those books that I was waiting for to come out. I bought it as soon as it came out, and just now got around to reading it.
"In 1992, Gabriel, ten years old, lives in Burundi in a comfortable expatriate neighborhood with his French father, his Rwandan mother and his little sister, Ana. In this joyful idyll, Gabriel spends the better part of his time with his mischievous band of friends, in a tiny cul-de-sac they have turned into their kingdom. But their peaceful existence will suddenly shatter when this small African country is brutally battered by history.
In this magnificent coming-of-age story, Gael Faye describes an end of innocence and drives deep into the heart and mind of a young child caught in the maelstrom of history."
This book would have had a five star review from me, but I do think it did lose something in translation for me. The book was originally done in French, and like most books that are translated it felt like I was missing piece of the puzzle. Outside of that, this was a great read. The story is wonderful and filled with amazing detail and it absolutely tugged at my heart.
Have you read it?
