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Content Warning: death (including in childbirth), violence, murder, racism, misogyny, genocide, rape, pedophilia, grooming, racial slurs.
At the Belgian Catholic school Notre-Dame du Nil, they are meant to be raising up "Rwanda's Female Elite." These young women are in the middle not only of discovering themselves, but also of discovering what exactly Rwanda's revolution means for them. The only two Tutsi girls at the school, Veronica and Virginia, are particularly afraid of the lessons they'll be forced to learn -- and of what it means to be a "true Rwandan," as they struggle to come to terms with the ethnic hatred and tension building between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples.
Considered a modern classic, Our Lady of the Nile is a bit hard to summarize -- part coming-of-age, part analysis of colonization, genocide and misogyny, it deals with many heavy topics, often with a hint of dark humor. There's a satirical element to Mukasonga's clever, on the nose writing style, but unlike some books I've read that use levity when discussing serious matters, it never cheapens the horror of what's happening in these early days of the Rwandan genocide.
All of the girls have their own unique personalities, although the piece's villain, Gloriosa, perhaps suffers a bit from being rather shallow. I don't list this as a criticism, however; Gloriosa, with her belligerent, blind hatred of all Tutsi, serves as a mouthpiece for the violent beliefs of the Hutu who are intent on wiping out every trace of Tutsi from the nation. Each chapter provides an insight into one of the girls' inner lives, but Veronica and Virginia operate as the heart of the story, providing us with an opportunity to see what it's like to live in a world that is set against your very existence.
Mukasonga's ruthless examination of Rwanda's colonization stands out brilliantly, even amongst the many other issues tackled here -- in fact, she does an excellent job of showing just how colonization has not only inflamed the problems between the Hutu majority and Tutsi minority, but also how it has been encouraged by Rwanda's white intruders.
Although I'm a white American, Mukasonga transports you into the world of these young women, and allows you to get an inside look on Rwanda's genocide, its politics, and its cultural innerworkings. The only reason I have not given this novel a full five stars is that the language is, every once in a while, a bit strange; perhaps this is merely an error of translation but, nonetheless, it sometimes kept me from feeling fully engaged. The girls' individual narratives could also have benefited from being a touch more personal; I think that an insight into their lives away from the lycée would've added great depth.
All in all, highly recommended. Touching, sometimes funny, with an ending that will leave you thinking.
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