Rwanda Means the Universe: A Native's Memoir of Blood and Bloodlines

by Louise Mushikiwabo, Jack Kramer

Mushikiwabo is a Rwandan working as a translator in Washington when she learns that most of her family back home has been killed in a conspiracy meticulously planned by the state. First comes shock, then aftershock, three months of it, during which her worst fears are The same state apparatus has duped millions of Rwandans into butchering nearly a million of their neighbors.
Years earlier, her brother Lando wrote her a letter she never got until now. Urged on by it, she rummages into their farm childhood, and into family corners alternately dark, loving, and humorous. She searches for stray mementos of the lost, then for their roots. What she finds is that and more---hints, roots, of the 1994 crime that killed her family. Her narrative takes the reader on a journey from the days the world and Rwanda discovered each other back to colonial period when pseudoscientific ideas about race put the nation on a highway bound for the 1994 genocide.
Seven years of full-time collaboration by two writers---and the faith of family and friends---went into this emotionally charged work. Rwanda Means the Universe is at once a celebration of the lives of the lost and homage to their past, but it's no comfortable tribute. It's an expression of dogged hope in the face of modern evil.

Genres: Nonfiction, Africa, Rwanda, History, Memoir, Biography

384 pages, Hardcover

First published April 4, 2006

Reviews

[Gakunzi]

MUSHIKIWABO Louise

[Louisa Bifano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow. An amazing introduction to the history of Rwanda, from colonial times through the 1994 genocide. Plus the true story, quite moving, of a family and its development over the same time period. Highly recommended if you are interested in learning more about Rwanda/Central Africa and the political and social context leading up to the atrocities of '94.

[Joey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book that I read was Rwanda Means the Universe. The book is about the Rwandan genocide. The author, Louise Mushikiwabo, does a good job in telling the story of what happened there, albeit from an outside perspective. The story is told from the perspective of her family members, since she was in the U.S. during the time of the genocide, which I believe is a weak point in the story, since it’s not coming from a primary source. The way that she narrates the story is, in my opinion, difficult to follow along with. She has a unique use of metaphors to describe things, which can make it easy to become lost in a wall of description. There are positive points to the use of this way of describing, though, in that some parts of the book can seem very surreal, especially the darker, grittier parts of the genocide. Another thing that I would call a weak point is her frequent use of words outside of the English language, which, unless you speak a few other languages need to be looked up to find the meaning. Now, this is partially negated because the way that she wrote the book makes it very easy to read between the lines if need be. One of the best things about this book, is that it takes the perspective of different people throughout the genocide, so that it’s just focused on one small part of it, which gives the reader a much broader understanding of the events that unfolded. So in the end, I had a hard time reading this book, due to her style of writing. I would recommend it for the quality of the information contained in the story but it takes a certain commitment to really understand what is going on.

[Steve Wehling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great compliment to "Shake Hands with the Devil" by Romeo Dallaire. This book provides a history of the political and social development of Rwanda. Mushikiwabo has a really compelling writing style. Where Dallaire's book provides a step-by-step account of the genocide, Mushikiwabo's book provides a description of the events, some by fate and others by design, which culminated in the 1994 genocide and the continuing strife in neighboring countries. The tone is often sadly nostalgic, and the wounds are obviously fresh as she tells the intimate stories of her friends, relatives and neighbors that fell under machetes, and worse.

Romeo Dallaire's book is an idictment of the UN, and the western powers (particularly Belgium, France, and the US) Mushikiwabo's book, on the other hand, acknowledges these influences, but also puts some primacy on internal events in Rwanda such as the regicide at the end of the 19th century which set up a power structure that was ripe for influence by colonial powers in order to shore up its own power and influence.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after watching the films Sometimes in April, Hotel Rwanda and reading the book Shake Hands with the Devil. Rwanda means the universe added so much context and history to the tragedy of Rwanda, and from an African storyteller that one can see why and how things unfolded as they did.