Our Lady of the Nile
A Novel
by Scholastique Mukasonga
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Pub Date Sep 16 2014 | Archive Date Sep 16 2014
Steerforth Press | Archipelago
Description
Scholastique Mukasonga drops us into an elite Catholic boarding school for young women perched on the edge of the Nile. Parents send their daughters to Our Lady of the Nile to be molded into respectable citizens and to escape the dangers of the outside world. Fifteen years prior to the 1994 Rwandan genocide, we watch as these girls try on their parents’ preconceptions and attitudes, transforming the lycée into a microcosm of the country’s mounting racial tensions and violence. In the midst of the interminable rainy season, everything unfolds behind the closed doors of the school: friendship, curiosity, fear, deceit, prejudice, and persecution. With masterful prose that is at once subtle and penetrating, Mukasonga captures a society hurtling towards horror.
Advance Praise
"In a writing style both rough and tender, Our Lady of the Nile depicts a society inevitably heading towards horror. [...] Poignant and tenacious." - Christine Rousseau, Le Monde
"Whoever has loved Africa will be touched by this story [...] It is the very essence of Africa, an immense Africa that will absorb even this terrible genocide." - Joël Prieur, Minute
"Strangely, it is in this incredibly light novel, that one best understands the ethnic, political, and religious reasons behind the massacre of the mysterious Tutsis." - Arnaud Viviant, Regards
"[After she was awarded the Prix Renaudot] I went out and procured every work by Scholastique Mukasonga. [...] Never has a prize been more merited." - Frédéric Beigbeder, Lire
Marketing Plan
US author tour: New York (Brooklyn Book Festival), San Francisco Bay area, and elsewhere.
Nationally broadcast author interviews.
Thursday, Sept. 18, 7:00 PM City Lights – Conversation w/ Scott Esposito, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133 (415) 362-8193 interpreter: Aubrey Gabel
Friday, Sept. 19, 5:00 PM Event at University of California – Berkeley, Library of French Thought, 4229 Dwinelle Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720, interpreter: Aubrey Gabel, Reception to follow @ 6:30 PM, Dinner w/ Jill & QUs @ Gather Restaurant, 2200 Oxford Street, Berkeley, CA 94704
Sunday, Sept. 21, Brooklyn Book Fair
Tuesday, Sept. 23, 9:45AM visit to the Spence School, 22 East 91st Street, New York, NY 10128
Tuesday, Sept. 23, 7:00 PM Cocktail Party + Conversation w/ Bhakti Shringarpure at Dumbo Sky, 10 Jay Street #903, New York, NY 11201, interpreter: Lucinda Karter
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780914671039 |
| PRICE | $20.00 (USD) |
Average rating from 5 members
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