This memoir is my introduction to author Scholastique Mukasonga, instead of one of her more famous works of fiction. It is a book about life, and about lives lived. It is written about her childhood, before the massacre in Rwanda in 1967, at a time when her family was living essentially in a labour camp.

Despite the heartbreaking backdrop, the moments of happiness shine through. Mukasonga also manages a critique of western principles and a conversation on the myths of progress and tradition. In the end it is short and touching, and ultimately sad.