A luminous debut novel... This is a book that demanded to be written... With a light touch, Faye dramatises the terrible nostalgia of having lost not only a childhood but also a whole world to war' GuardianBurundi, 1992. For ten-year-old Gabriel, life in his comfortable expat neighbourhood of Bujumbura with his French father, Rwandan mother and little sister, Ana, is something close to paradise. These are happy, carefree days spent with his friends sneaking cigarettes and stealing mangoes, swimming in the river and riding bikes in the streets they have turned into their kingdom. But dark clouds are gathering over this small country, and soon their peaceful idyll will shatter when Burundi and neighbouring Rwanda are brutally hit by war and genocide. A haunting and luminous novel of extraordinary power, Small Country describes a devastating end of innocence as seen through the eyes of a young child caught in the maelstrom of history. It is a stirring tribute not only to a time of tragedy, but also to the bright days that came before it.

Autorentext
Gaël Faye was born in Burundi and now lives in Rwanda. His debut novel, Small Country, received thirteen literary awards, including the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens. It has been translated into forty languages and adapted for film, theatre, and graphic novel. In 2024, his second novel, Jacaranda, was awarded the Prix Renaudot and Choix Goncourt in 28 countries. An author, songwriter and hip-hop artist, he has also released several music albums, including Pili Pili sur un croissant au beurre (2013), Rythme et botanique(2017), Des fleurs (2018), Lundi méchant (2020), and Mauve Jacaranda (2022). Sarah Ardizzone is an award-winning translator of French-speaking voices. Her collaborations with Gaël Faye include Small Country (Petit Pays), producing a bilingual musical performance version for the Edinburgh International Book Festival and translating lyrics for Gaël's platinum album Lundi Méchant. To research Jacaranda, she **travelled across Rwanda with Gaël and the creators of the bande dessinée adaptations of his novels, Marzena Sowa and Sylvain Savoia. She was named Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2022, and made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2024.

Klappentext
French-Rwandan Ga Faye is an author, composer and hip hop artist. He was born in 1982 in Burundi, and has a Rwandan mother and French father. In 1995, after the outbreak of the civil war and the Rwandan genocide, the family moved to France. Ga studied finance and worked in London for two years for an investment fund, then he left London to embark on a career of writing and music.

He is as influenced by Creole literature as he is by hip hop culture, and released an album in 2010 with the group Milk Coffee & Sugar. In 2013, his first solo album, Pili Pili sur un Croissant au Beurre, appeared. It was recorded between Bujumbura and Paris, and is filled with a plethora of musical influences: rap laced with soul and jazz, semba, Congolese rumba... In 2018 he received the prestigious Victoires de la Musique Award.

Small Country is his first novel. It was a huge bestseller in France, winning the Prix Goncourt des Lyc s 2016, and is being published in thirty territories worldwide.

Zusammenfassung

An international sensation, Small Country is a beautiful but harrowing tale of coming-of-age in the face of civil war.

'A luminous debut novelFaye dramatises the terrible nostalgia of having lost not only a childhood but also a whole world to war' Guardian

Burundi, 1992. For ten-year-old Gabriel, life in his comfortable expat neighbourhood of Bujumbura with his French father, Rwandan mother and little sister, Ana, is something close to paradise. These are happy, carefree days spent with his friends sneaking cigarettes and stealing mangoes, swimming in the lake and riding bikes in the streets they have turned into their kingdom. But dark clouds are gathering over this small country, and soon their peaceful idyll will shatter when Burundi and neighbouring Rwanda are brutally hit by war.

'Unforgettable Gaël Faye's talent is breathtaking' Imbolo Mbue, author of Behold the Dreamers