Running the Rift

Benaron, Naomi

  0 Reviews

Jean Patrick Nkuba was born to run. He has his sights set on becoming an Olympic champion and his athletic prowess will be his saving grace when it comes to surviving the oncoming catastrophe. For Jean Patrick is a Tutsi, and his country is on the brink of tragedy.

Sensitively written, this novel presents a powerful coming of age story in its recounting of a nation and its citizens in bloody tumult while offering a tender and buoyant tribute to the people of Rwanda.

Winner of the Bellwether prize for fiction. [Small font]

Comments from Groups

It took a little while to get into the story for those that read it. A lot of detail which made it seem slow. We loved hearing about what daily life was like for the families. Several people chose not to read it because the subject matter was so upsetting. Waikanae 008

It was an emotional read. We enjoyed the way we were kept in suspense as to whether Jean would ever reach his dream. It was distressing to read about the atrocities of the war between the two tribes - with seemingly no reason for who was on which side, and having to identify themselves with an identity card. Auckland 255

Members enjoyed the book - one member thought it was the best book we'd had so far this year. It certainly provoked much discussion, as we could all recall what was happening in Rwanda at that time. Tauranga 023

We all found the book gave us greater insight into the Rwandan catastrophe, and the lives of the two factions. Sensitively written, but we found the middle part too long. Good discussion. Christchurch 043

Great book. Rather slow moving, but lovely to read. A few struggled to finish it. Auckland 281

A good discussion - about the author, war and the attitude of the West. Some felt that the ending with the main characters finding each other, was a bit of a stretch. All enjoyed the way family bonds were depicted in the book. Wellington 016

Tragic, but a great read. Hamilton 047

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