I assumed since it was a graphic novel, that it was geared toward adolescents. Well, I couldn’t have been more wrong! I have older Elementary age children and we are planning a trip to Rwanda. After reading the book, I am so glad I didn’t hand it over to them first. The book is a painfully real picture of the genocide and how it affected different groups of people in Rwanda. It does not paint a beautiful picture. It is raw and real and I appreciate the ugliness of the story because it doesn’t try to sugar-coat the atrocities of the genocide. The story was gripping and easy to read in one sitting. This is a book you will want to read over and over and concentrate on different perspectives.

I will never forget this novel. It was such a well written graphic novel, it went deep into the heart of the Rwandan atrocities, and laid the hardships bare. The world will never forget what unfolded, nor should they. By making the history of such a beautiful land so accessible through this storytelling format, Stassen is ensuring that it remains alive and vivid in our consciousness. Such hate, violence and destruction must never be forgotten to ensure it never, ever happens again.

A beautiful graphic novel about events that we don't usually hear about. Adopted for a high school library but not a middle school library because of interest level.

Originally, I requested this on NetGalley to read, but the PDF expired before I could get to it. It wasn't the book itself, but the content that made me hesitate to pick this one up. Deogratias isn't something you grab for a little light reading. The Rwandan genocide "lasted 100 days and took 800,000 lives." I decided to buy the book after stumbling across a copy, and I almost wish I hadn't.

I hate to say this, but I was disappointed with the overall story. The forward was the most interesting and informative part of the book, and it's only a few pages long. I felt like it really set the tone for the story, while also conveying the severity of the situation. The forward also mentions that Stassen didn't go to Rwanda with the intention of writing a book about the genocide, but he did, and he's profiting from it. I think this story needs to be told by those who were there and experienced what happened firsthand, or at least by someone who was affected by what happened. It seems like Stassen told his version of events through a character that he himself is unable to relate to. How can you write about something like this as a white male with an outsider's perspective?

Speaking of perspective, the main character was an unreliable narrator. We see the boy he was before (someone only interested in having sex with girls), to the broken shell of a person he is after. When the Hutu started killing Tutsi, the author didn't show us how Deogratias felt, only that he chose to participate in what was happening around him. I couldn't connect with Deogratias and what he was experiencing, because it felt like everything that happened to him was out of his control. There was no depth to him or what he was feeling as the world fell apart around him.

It's clear that Deogratias has been through something traumatic, and it's impacted his mind and how he perceives himself and the world, but the author still uses him to mention female mutilation and dogs devouring bodies (always random and without warning). When we finally discover what happened to him, it's very choppy, and also disturbingly graphic. There's no explanation of his actions, and we're not given any information that would help us understand how certain parts of the story unfolded. We're just supposed to infer based on broken conversations, and images that I won't describe.

I have very little experience with this topic, so I went into this without any expectations. I do know that children were often made to do things they wouldn't normally do, and they did them to survive. I'm not sure how old the main character was supposed to be, but I think we're supposed to believe that his actions were mostly forced. However, the author doesn't even pretend to give him a choice, but makes one for him without giving us any relevant information.

None of the other characters were expanded on either, which made the story feel somewhat flat. The author has a full cast of diverse people, yet chooses to focus on other aspects of the story. The illustrations felt like caricatures of people, which felt wrong when the author was depicting graphic scenes from the genocide. The violence was often sudden and unexpected, and while it may be accurate, felt like it was included to shock an audience instead of inform them.

The Rwandan genocide is something that happened fairly recently, and I disagree with how this author chose to depict the horrific events that occurred. His story feels like an insult to the people who were there, and to those who lost loved ones to unfathomable cruelties.

Originally posted at Do You Dog-ear? on June 16, 2019.

The first time I heard about the Rwandan genocide was at an exhibit in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. I was devastated. Then I saw the heart-wrenching film Hotel Rwanda. This graphic novel doesn't delve as deeply into the tragedy, but it can serve as a starting point for people who are unfamiliar with it.

This had artwork that made it very difficult to follow the story, especially as the characters did not feel distinguished enough from each other. I wouldn't call it essential reading.

This was a really tough read for me. Deogratias's story starts out much like a Romeo & Juliet tale - he is crushing on a girl from the Tutsi clan, and he is Hutu - yep, the two opposing groups in the Rwandan Genocide. This book gives great background information, as well as putting Deogratias's heartbreaking story in the mix to build empathy. However, once the atrocities begin and Deogratias begins his psychologic decline, the book holds no punches.
I will say that I approached this text thinking I could use it to help middle/high school students gain an access point into the Rwandan Genocide, but this book is VERY INTENSE. I would NOT make it available for middle school students, since violence and rape are depicted. Deogratias' breakdown could also be triggering (or simply hard to understand the nuances of) for an immature reader. After all, this book is about a genocide, and this author doesn't shy away from any part of it. I would possibly use it as an optional read in a high school unit.

This book was an interesting way to introduce the history of the Rwandan genocide to a slightly younger audience. Doing it as a graphic novel with a "regular" story, and the war as a background, will probably make this an easier read for some, despite the content. The main story itself isn't complicated and the book is short, but it gets the point across well. Recommended for the right audience.

Heart-wrenching and depicting a story that is still not well known. Highly recommended for all young adult collections.

I’m a little confused about Deogratias by Jean-Philippe Stassen. It could be because it’s a graphic novel and I don’t usually read graphic novels.
Deogratias is an award-winning story of a teenaged boy during the Rwandan genocide. While the backdrop is war, what stuck out to me was that it was a story of a boy in love with a girl, and race, and addiction. This is why the story has confused me, because the war appears to be an aside.

Before the graphic novel starts, we have a long back history on the Rwandan war, and the sides, and what caused it. It was interesting but I’m not sure it contributed to telling Deogratias’ story. Then we get into the story.

As I mentioned, Huti Deogratias has a crush on Tutsi Benigne. It’s kind of Romeo and Juliet, with Deogratias’ friends being against the match. Benigne’s parentage is also in question. After they kill Benigne for being Tutsi, Deogratias falls deeper into a madness where he believes he is a dog.

The story jumps back and forth from Deogratias’ happy pursuit of the girl, to war and tribal conflict making the match taboo. The illustrations are perfectly simple. That’s not a criticism; it’s graphic novels.

This is probably one of the shortest book reviews I’ve written, but making longer would waste your time. You may get something more from Deogratias than I did. Maybe if I read the novel instead of the graphic novel, but these are my honest thought.

Originally published in the States 2000, Deogratias is a brutal tale of the Rwandan genocide. Deogratias is a young Hutu teen whose story is told in flashbacks. In love with Tutsi half-sisters, Apollinaria and Benina, he finds himself caught in the middle of a violent conflict when tensions between the two groups explodes. When he plays a part in Benina's death, he begins spiraling into alcoholism and insanity.

Deogratias is a hard read. There are panels depicting poverty, prostitution, and violence. The author doesn't shy away from coarse language, or the core subject matter of the book: genocide. It's painful to watch Deogratias' decline, but Deogratias remains a solid choice for putting a human face on the Rwandan genocide. This one is for mature teens and up. Deogratias has starred reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly and has received multiple awards, including the Goscinny Prize for outstanding graphic novel script (2000), and designations as one of the American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults, YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens, YALSA Great Graphic Novel for Teens, and ALA Best Books for Young Adults.

*RECEIVED FROM NETGALLEY

**TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE AND VIOLENCE


This book was wild. I did not understand the analogy between the main character and the dog until he said "They treat me like a dog" and I was like THIS MAKES SENSE NOW. This book is historical fiction but THIS IS NOT MEANT FOR IMMATURE PEOPLE! I learned about the Rwanda Genocide when I was 8th grade and it was so hard to watch because there are still people who are like that in this world. The book is very accurate when talking about the subject at hand and I appreciate the author for taking it seriously.

The riveting and dark tale is often too much for most readers but it's a necessary story that showcases the history and dysfunctionality of the country in one of the bleakest times. With the elements of magic to help understand the story in a way that Maus did, it brings an audience closer to a story that they wish to distance themselves from.

The illustrations do justice to the darkness and the coloring and font size are appropriate to the story that often don't interfere with the storytelling.

This book caught my attention because of its subject matter and format--I thought that a graphic novel about the Rwandan genocide would be a fascinating way to learn more about the feelings and emotions that unfolded during this horrific episode in history. I hoped for something that reminded me of Maus--a narrative that illuminated bigger narratives, that delved in to the lives of the people impacted by the events. What I read was something much different, and quite unexpected.

This book begins with a historical note that helps to frame the story. It is well-written and informative, though it does include quite a bit of opinion that masquerades as fact. If one is able to discern between the two, it is quite a helpful part of the book. I wish, however, that more of this history would have been woven into the story.

Deogratias is a young man who has witnessed horrific events and whose trauma is sending him spiraling into mental chaos. The story flashes between the present and the past, showing readers what led to Deogratias' current state of trauma.

I spent a lot of time confused while reading this--not because I didn't understand history, but because it was tough to discern time setting and characters. I also felt like there was a lot of vulgarity for the sake of vulgarity, but I recognize that part of this book's purpose is to shock readers and complicate assumptions. Perhaps confusion was the point. Regardless, this book was heartbreaking and powerful, though unexpected.

Powerful graphic novel about the genocide in Rwanda. The art in this is fantastic, and the story is compelling.

Hmm.... I'm not sure what to say of this book. I greatly appreciated the (author's?? it didn't say) note at the beginning, as it gave me some more background -- this is not a subject I knew much about. The book itself, I found to be dull and confusing up until the last few pages, "the reveal." The ending was redeeming, but it left me unfulfilled and confused ... which was possibly the point.

Ooof this is a hard one to review. It is impossible to "like" something that is so brutal and heartbreaking and just plain awful in its subject matter. This graphic novel follows one teenage boys decent into madness and murder in the wake of the Rwandan genocide of 1994. The book starts with a brief but very well done explanation of the history of Rwanda and what lead up to the genocide, as well as an overview of the genocide and its aftermath. That alone made me want to learn more about the history! But the novel itself, while appropriately dark and haunting, just didn't quite capture what it needed it, in my opinion. I think it just needed to be a bit longer - to flesh out the characters a bit more and get the reader invested in what was to happen.

To be honest, the foreword of this book was the most interesting part, and coincidentally the most informative. I actually learned something from that part, which contained a history of the Rwandan genocide which most people are unfamiliar with. I would suggest you read just that part of this novel, and then do more research and reading on your own on this topic.

I was completely unprepared for this novel. It was much darker and more violent than I was expecting, and I as definitely expecting some violence - it is a story of a boy in the middle of a genocide after all. But they way the grotesque violence was conveyed was just poorly done. It comes from places you don’t expect and really just feels gross. Which makes sense, the real life situation is disgusting. But this felt like the violence and gross behaviors were just there for shock value and did not do actual justice in conveying the real life situation. I won't go into specifics of the story-line for spoiler reasons in case any of you decides to pick it up.

The main character is apparently going through some serious mental trauma, and therefore his POV is unreliable and scattered. It made for a very jarring narrative. Yes it leaves an impression and is most definitely harrowing, but i’m just disappointed in the author’s choice of events and decision for this particular story to convey his message.

I also wish there was more POC representation in the creation of this novel. From what I can tell, the art and writing were both done by J.P. who is a white European traveler of Jewish descent. I wish there was actual African art in this, or that the author had collaborated with an African author to write the story.

I don’t know, I’m sure I’m not making any sense here, but really I was disappointed by this novel. It could have done much more important work, but ultimately did not manage to get through.

Wow. This book follows one man, Deogratias, through flashbacks as you learn about his part in the Rwanda Genocide. I was expecting this to be heavy, but there was rape, crude language, and sexual content that threw me for a loop. This took the approach of showing the impact of the large scale war on individuals which made it more realistic but much more graphic. I appreciated the introduction with historical context more than I liked the story.

This is an incredibly difficult work to review because of the subject matter it captures. A hateful, disgusting, chaotic, filthy novel, Deogratias brilliantly captures the horrors and visceral abhorrence of the Rwandan genocide. An important novel but one that is very difficult to read.