A connected series of stories translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti. The stories take place in Rwanda in roughly the era of World War II (at which time the country was ruled by Belgium as a colony). White missionaries and anthropologists make appearances at critical moments in the stories, but for the most part we are left with the interactions of the Rwandans themselves as they tell stories about their past, argue over details, and reflect on these past stories' current meaning. Most of these stories revolve around religious belief: should people depend upon their traditional beliefs, or adopt the Christian practices pressed upon them by insistent missionaries and adopted by their traditional rulers?

Most fascinating to me was the book's reflection on oral tradition. Makusonga digs into the conflicting priorities for narrators, their competitiveness, desire to please, arguing over details, different motivations, and so on. She is not afraid to make your head spin or slam on the brakes; after one particular tale she writes "But maybe things didn't always go as badly as all that. There has always been spiteful gossip on the hills, and no one could say for sure" what had happened (page 49). It is a wonderful reminder of the complexity of oral history, and Makusonga's storytelling captures this complexity perfectly.