The Africa Book Centre Reading Group

24th August 2004

The first meeting was a great success. We met up in Café Nero in Covent Garden and had an interesting time chatting about Yvonne Adhiambo’s story The Weight of Whispers. Set in Rwanda and Kenya during the Genocide in 1994, it tells the story of a man escaping with his family to Kenya as the killing and chaos begins.

Some of the issues raised included how much sympathy the reader felt for the main character. As a prince who escapes on the last flight from Kigali and checks into the Nairobi Hilton, do we feel sorry for him? Another interesting point raised was the use of whispers and rumours in the story to create a sense of suspicion and menace.

The story can be accessed via the following link

http://www.kwani.org/whispers.htm

If you want to learn more about the Rwandan Genocide you can browse in the Rwanda section in the shop or on the web-site.

For a good introduction to the events we recommend Season of Blood: A Rwandan Journey by Fergal Keane.

---

The next meeting will take place on Tuesday 21st September 2004 and we will be discussing The Squatter's Tale by Ike Oguine.

It’s the story of a young Nigerian who flees Lagos for America following the collapse of the economy and all his business deals. As an economic migrant in California he has to cope with his new life and a very different lifestyle. It’s a great novel about the modern experience of emigration.

All new updates will be posted on this site. However, if you wish to be sent regular updates by post or by email please contact us at the shop.

saara@africabookcentre.com