Small Country is a novel set in Burundi by the Franco-Rwandan rapper, songwriter and novelist, Gaël Faye. Set in Burundi and Rwanda from 1993 onwards, the novel is narrated by ten-year-old Gaby, who lives with his French father and Rwandan mother in an impasse in a comfortable district of Bujumbura. Gabriel's sheltered upbringing leaves him oblivious to the increasing tensions between the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority (to which he, through his mother, belongs). The novel was very well-received upon its publication in France, selling 700,000 copies. It was shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt in 2016, as well as for awards by Fémina, Médicis, Interallié, the Académie française and Renaudot.
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Upcoming months' books:
August - Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt)
September - Scheherazade Goes West by Fatema Mernissi (Morocco)
October - Breasts and Eggs by Meiko Kawakami (Japan)