Broken Memory, A Novel of Rwanda
Combres, Elisabeth (au.) & Tanaka, Shelley (tr.) ; Broken Memory, A Novel of Rwanda. Toronto, ON: Groundwood Books, 2009. $17.95, ISBN 9780888998927 / 0888998929 ISBN Paper 9780888998934 / 0888998937.

Note: "Hiding behind a chair, five year-old Emma can't see her mother being murdered, but she hears everything. When the assassins finally leave, the terrified girl stumbles away from the scene, motivated only by the memory of her mother's last words: "You must not die, Emma!"

Broken Memory: A Novel of Rwanda by French author Éisabeth Combres takes place nine years after the 1994 genocide; the primary focus is on the Tutsi victims of the genocide. The main character is Emma, a fourteen-year-old Tutsi girl who lived a comfortable, happy life until the genocide claimed her family. Like other genocide victims, Emma struggles to overcome the horror of the past and move on. She is helped to achieve peace with her past (131) by the elderly Hutu woman who risked her life to save Emma and the kindly man from the clinic who helps Emma confront her suppressed memories. Scholar Barbara Anderson was impressed with the author's handling of the genocide but expressed reservations about using the novel with American students: I like the fact that the genocide itself is not overly sensationalized here (there are too many genocide books that focus human bones, blood-stained clothing, machetes, etc., inadvertently adding to the othering of Rwandans and all Africans). However, I'm not sure how useful the book is in understanding contemporary Africa. Teachers would need much context to use this for a unit on human rights, and the potential for misusing the book is so great. Scholar Lee Ann Fujii questioned the depiction of Emma's interactions with the clinic therapist which she described as not the dominant model in Rwanda but a Western way of dealing with trauma, i.e. talking out one's troubles to a professional. Anthropologist Jennie Burnet concurred: The cultural norm for dealing with bad experiences in Rwanda is to avoid talking about them and avoid remembering them. When Rwandans do talk about them, they tend to choose to talk to a family member or close friend who went through similar experiences. Western talk therapy treatments have increased in Rwanda and some trauma counselors use drawing therapy as Emma's therapist uses with her but such treatments are rare. (Sankofa Journal vol.9, 2010:56)

Copyright Sankofa Journal, 2010



Rating: Advisory Grade: H Type: Book

Reviewed by:

Subject: East Africa / Rwanda / War / Genocide