"Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. It was 1994, and in 100 days more than 800,000 people would be murdered in Rwanda and millions more displaced. Clemantine and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, ran and spent the next six years wandering through seven African countries searching for safety. They did not know whether their parents were alive. At age twelve, Clemantine and Claire were granted asylum in the United States. Raw, urgent, yet disarmingly beautiful, this book captures the true costs and aftershocks of war: what is forever lost, what can be repaired, the fragility and importance of memory. A riveting story of dislocation, survival."--
“The Girl Who Smiled Beads” is a memoir about a young girl who survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide.
The plot shifts from past and present while we get a glimpse of Clemantine’s experience as a refugee in Africa and the US. This type of narrative style usually works for me but it felt a little disjointed with this one. I think chronological order would have made this particular book easier to follow.
I also (shamefully) admit that I had no previous knowledge of this war and it’s impact, which might explain why I was expecting more historical background as well.
Regardless, the book still felt authentic and necessary. Personal stories such as this need to be heard and Clemantine’s account is an important one that should be told.
