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Our Lady of the Nile
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
For her most recent work and first novel - Notre-Dame du Nil, originally published in March 2012 with Gallimard in French - Mukasonga immerses us in a school for young girls, called "Notre-Dame du Nil." The girls are sent to this high school perched on the ridge of the Nile in order to become the feminine elite of the country and to escape the dangers of the outside world. The book is a prelude to the Rwandan genocide and unfolds behind the closed doors of the school, in the interminable rainy season. Friendships, desires, hatred, political fights, incitation to racial violence, persecutions... The school soon becomes a fascinating existential microcosm of the true 1970s Rwanda.
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review
TheKidUpstairs
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
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Pickpick

A compelling and chilling account of a group of young women at an elite boarding school in Rwanda in the 1970s. Through a year in the life of these girls, Mukasonga examines prejudice, colonialism, religious missionaries, racial tensions, and the simmering undercurrent of Hutu/Tutsi aggressions that led to the horrors of the 1990s. This one will stay with me for a while.

Cuilin Looks interesting, stacked. 1y
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review
mirnas
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
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Action is set in a catholic boarding school for girls in Rwanda during 1970s. Conflicts between Hutu majority and Tutsi minority are already in place. A snapshot of racial conflifcts that will lead to a terrible genocide in 1994.

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zaza03
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
Pickpick

Heart-wrenching.

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Andrew65
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
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Day 12 #AdventRecommends June Book 2

Loved this book set in Rwanda in the 1970s in the prelude to the Genocide that took place. It‘s set in a high school for elite girls, as the events leading up to the Genocide start to take an impact on relationships and friendships in the school, and leads to racial hatred, persecutions and worse. Must reading.

Another book made the list due to #ReadingAfrica2022 @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

@emilyrose_x

Librarybelle ❤️❤️❤️ 2y
BarbaraBB Happy the challenge brought you some great reads 🤍 2y
Andrew65 @BarbaraBB Thanks for your time spent on these and looking forward to next year‘s travels. 2y
BarbaraBB Me too! 2y
66 likes2 stack adds4 comments
review
Andrew65
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
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I wasn‘t sure about this book going into it but really enjoyed it. Shows clearly how some ethnic groups are treated horrendously by those who have the power and can see how the genocide blew up in Rwanda. Made me look further into the history 😭 A good read for #Rwanda for #ReadingAfrica2022

2nd Book finished for #Joys of June, 9th book for #BigJuneReadathon

@Clwojick @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB

Librarybelle I like books that make me want to learn more about the topic discussed. 2y
Andrew65 @Librarybelle Me too. I was shocked at the numbers, over 500,00 Tutsi deaths in around 100 days in 1994. (edited) 2y
BarbaraBB I‘ve been reading a lot about Rwanda and Burundi lately too and it‘s beyond belief what happened there in the war 💔 2y
Andrew65 @BarbaraBB i know and i thoughts it was bad enough when reading about Somalia, Eritrean and Sudan. Still to read a Burundi book. 2y
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blurb
Andrew65
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
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Starting the tagged book for the #ReadingAfrica2022 Challenge, for which it should cover #Rwanda

#JoysOfJune #BigJuneReadathon

@Clwojick @BarbaraBB @Librarybelle

Clwojick Hope you enjoy it! 2y
BarbaraBB Me too! Great cover 😍 2y
58 likes2 comments
review
bromeliad
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
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Coming-of-age novels about girls are usually written in rosy, nostalgic style, and this boarding school novel is no different. What's different is how these girls come of age: rather than maturing and accepting responsibility, this documents the transformation of girls who innocently/thoughtlessly parrot their parents' genocidal rhetoric into women who have internalized the rhetoric as their own. 👇👇👇

bromeliad I think coming-of-age novels are supposed to show how a child slowly accepts and adopts to the role society has given them...or doesn't. The difference here is that the societal role is a genocidal one. And that most of the girls don't say no. 5y
bromeliad This needs to be a book club read. It deserves discussion. #Rwanda #WITmonth #readaroundtheworld #readingintranslation #BFCr3 #HSreadathon (edited) 5y
Megabooks Definitely stacking this!! 5y
bromeliad @Megabooks Awesome! For being such a short book, it really is powerful! 5y
batsy Great review! I would definitely like to read this. 5y
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bromeliad
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
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When you head to the library and browse specifically for #WITmonth ♥️ #bookhaul #HSreadathon @rmaclean4 see any that look good? 🙂 I've heard great things about most of these so I'm excited to dig in!

rmaclean4 Convenience Store Woman is on my TBR! I will be excited to hear what you think. I have not read the White Book but Human Acts was beautifully written so I can only imagine it will be great! Wonderful library haul. 5y
AutumnRLS Convenience store woman has been on my TBR forever. 5y
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batsy What a great stack! The top book has been TBR for awhile 😁 5y
bromeliad @batsy so far it's really good! I'll probably be finishing it today or tomorrow. 5y
bromeliad @RealBooks4ever oh good! It's next up for me to read, so I'm glad to hear it! 5y
59 likes1 stack add6 comments
blurb
Tove_Reads
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
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🦍 ❤️

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Bertha_Mason
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga

"You remember what they used to tell us in catechism: God roams the world, all day long, but every evening He returns home to Rwanda. Well, while God was traveling, Death took his place, and when He returned, She slammed the door in his face."

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Bertha_Mason
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
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Bertha_Mason
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
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LubicaP
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
Pickpick

I read this for my book club. A look at Rwanda in the sixties through the eyes of teenage girls studying at a prestigious lycée. Well worth a read.

Lacythebookworm I really enjoyed this one and the way each chapter was like a separate little story. 🙌😊 8y
6 likes1 comment
review
Lacythebookworm
Our Lady of the Nile: A Novel | Scholastique Mukasonga
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Mukasonga tells the story of a girls' school in Rwanda pre-genocide. The rising tension between the Hutus and Tutsis is evident from the beginning of the novel. Each chapter felt like it could stand alone, which made for an interesting reading experience. I enjoyed the variety of characters from the nuns at the school to the girls. (I would recommend almost anything Archipelago publishes!)

Mommamanzi Little sweet kitty! 8y
OrangeMooseReads Looks like my Izzy! So cute! 😻 8y
Joybishoptx Pretty kitty! 8y
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[DELETED] 206653737 Kitty baby!! 😻 8y
DebinHawaii 🐱❤️ 8y
Lacythebookworm @Mommamanzi @OrangeMooseReads @Joybishoptx @DebinHawaii Thank you! She's definitely a get in the way of Litsy pictures kitty 🐱❤ 8y
136 likes8 stack adds6 comments