Status
Available
Publication
Crown (2018), Edition: 1st edition, 288 pages
Description
"Clemantine Wamariya was six years old when her mother and father began to speak in whispers, when neighbors began to disappear, and when she heard the loud, ugly sounds her brother said were thunder. It was 1994, and in 100 days more than 800,000 people would be murdered in Rwanda and millions more displaced. Clemantine and her fifteen-year-old sister, Claire, ran and spent the next six years wandering through seven African countries searching for safety. They did not know whether their parents were alive. At age twelve, Clemantine and Claire were granted asylum in the United States. Raw, urgent, yet disarmingly beautiful, this book captures the true costs and aftershocks of war: what is forever lost, what can be repaired, the fragility and importance of memory. A riveting story of dislocation, survival."--… (more)
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member chrisblocker
From the opening pages of The Girl Who Smiled Beads, Clemantine Wamariya creates an image of being the most privileged refugee to have come out of Rwanda. I knew I was being judgmental, but it bothered me that even in this—genocide—it is the privileged who are given the opportunity to tell
And still, mixed in with all the examples of extravagance are times when it's clear that Wamariya is your “everyday” refugee. The moment this first became clear to me was nearly 100 pages in, when Wamariya examines the word genocide. “The word genocide cannot articulate the one-person experience—the real experience of each of the millions it purports to describe.” As she tears apart the word over the next two pages, I understood that even though she was a very small child, even though the trauma may be significantly different than it was for those much older, the brutality must have touched her. Throughout the book there are these moments of insight, padded by tales of extravagance. I was torn, both by the heartache and by my true feelings about this book.
To her credit, Wamariya never denies the extraordinary outcome of her situation. She knows she is an exception and this is refreshing. Because she accepts this, there's some degree of humility in her narrative. Add to this her introspection, so articulately rendering the horrors of mass murder, that one may assume she understood more than her age might have let on.
Weeks after finishing this book, I still have these mixed feelings. On one hand, here is a voice of the conflict in Rwanda, a small child who flees to become a young woman who's handed the so-called “American Dream,” and I think, why does it have to be her? On the other hand, here is a refugee whose entire childhood was torn apart by a ridiculous war, a young woman who is trying to make something of her life while battling these demons, and I think to myself, why did it have to be her?
Millions of lives were torn apart by the short-lived, but brutal conflict in Rwanda. The Girl Who Smiled Beads may not offer the most common of these stories, but it does present one voice of the millions. And despite her age, despite her distance from the most brutal moments of the genocide, and despite being placed in a very affluent situation while still young, Wamariya has not escaped the struggles. This is a story of girl who was given a piece of the world, but who had peace of mind ripped away from her. It, too, is an important story. I'm glad she told it.
Show More
their stories. I tried to shake this animosity. Good for her, I told myself, though I wasn't sure I completely believed it. But the more I read, the “better” her situation became. Wamariya left Rwanda too young to really comprehend what was going on; by the end of the book, she has told the reader all about her extravagant shopping sprees, her acceptance to Yale, and her appearance on The Oprah Show. It was frustrating, because I had wanted to hear the story of a refugee sans celebrity status.And still, mixed in with all the examples of extravagance are times when it's clear that Wamariya is your “everyday” refugee. The moment this first became clear to me was nearly 100 pages in, when Wamariya examines the word genocide. “The word genocide cannot articulate the one-person experience—the real experience of each of the millions it purports to describe.” As she tears apart the word over the next two pages, I understood that even though she was a very small child, even though the trauma may be significantly different than it was for those much older, the brutality must have touched her. Throughout the book there are these moments of insight, padded by tales of extravagance. I was torn, both by the heartache and by my true feelings about this book.
To her credit, Wamariya never denies the extraordinary outcome of her situation. She knows she is an exception and this is refreshing. Because she accepts this, there's some degree of humility in her narrative. Add to this her introspection, so articulately rendering the horrors of mass murder, that one may assume she understood more than her age might have let on.
Weeks after finishing this book, I still have these mixed feelings. On one hand, here is a voice of the conflict in Rwanda, a small child who flees to become a young woman who's handed the so-called “American Dream,” and I think, why does it have to be her? On the other hand, here is a refugee whose entire childhood was torn apart by a ridiculous war, a young woman who is trying to make something of her life while battling these demons, and I think to myself, why did it have to be her?
Millions of lives were torn apart by the short-lived, but brutal conflict in Rwanda. The Girl Who Smiled Beads may not offer the most common of these stories, but it does present one voice of the millions. And despite her age, despite her distance from the most brutal moments of the genocide, and despite being placed in a very affluent situation while still young, Wamariya has not escaped the struggles. This is a story of girl who was given a piece of the world, but who had peace of mind ripped away from her. It, too, is an important story. I'm glad she told it.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Cariola
This is the true story of a young girl who survived the Rwandan genocide. When she was only six, Clemantine and her teenage sister were sent to live with their grandmother when trouble broke out, leaving her parents, two a brother, and another sister behind. When the carnage came closer, the two
The memoir begins with a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show: the girls had finally settled in Chicago, Claire on her own with three children and Clemantine with a kind family. I have to admit that I found the book a bit hard to stick with, mainly because of its structure. Not only do the chapters alternate between the past and the relative present, but the two threads of the timeline are each presented somewhat non-chronologically. I imagine this was intentional, to demonstrate both the confusion that surrounded the girls for six years and the effect their ordeal had and still has on them. Still, it's a worthy read, especially in what it reveals about a person living in constant fear and hardship, separated from family with no place to call home and not many places willing to take them in. Clemantine notes, for the rest of the world, that the word "genocide" takes the individual out of the experience. Her memoir is an effort to correct that mindset.
Show More
girls went on the run, finally arriving at the first of several refugee camps they made their way to in their six-year search for safety and freedom. While she describes the brutality of the war and the hard conditions in the camps, Clemantine's main focus is on her older sister, whose resourcefulness carried them through. From marrying an aid worker at age 17 because he promised to get the girls out to setting up a number of businesses within the refugee camps (selling eggs, clothing, halal goat meat, etc.), Claire never gave up. Although it seemed at times that she resented having to be responsible for her younger sister, once she had a baby, Clemantine proved to be an asset--more of a mother to young Mariette than Claire herself.The memoir begins with a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show: the girls had finally settled in Chicago, Claire on her own with three children and Clemantine with a kind family. I have to admit that I found the book a bit hard to stick with, mainly because of its structure. Not only do the chapters alternate between the past and the relative present, but the two threads of the timeline are each presented somewhat non-chronologically. I imagine this was intentional, to demonstrate both the confusion that surrounded the girls for six years and the effect their ordeal had and still has on them. Still, it's a worthy read, especially in what it reveals about a person living in constant fear and hardship, separated from family with no place to call home and not many places willing to take them in. Clemantine notes, for the rest of the world, that the word "genocide" takes the individual out of the experience. Her memoir is an effort to correct that mindset.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
4.5 The genocide in Rawanda, another subject that I knew little about. I knew it happened, knew it was a terrible atrocity, saw bits and pieces on the news, but that's about the extent of my knowledge. Now after reading this memoir about a young girl who experienced this herself, I know more.
After those long six years, both sisters, with husband and children in tow were given permission to enter the US. A land they had heard marvelous things about, but the Clemantine who was, is now a completely different person, her experiences have hardened her. She feels alone, not seen, not understood. And indeed how can those who have not suffered as she understand?
"This---Rwanda, my life---is a different, specific, personal tragedy, just as each of those horrors was a different, specific tragedy, and inside all those tidily labeled boxes are 6 million, or 1.7 million or 100,000 lives destroyed.
You cannot line up atrocities, like a matching set.
You cannot bear witness with a single word."
This was said in a response to people making the comparisons of Rwanda to the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia or the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. It is true, we can be empathetic, we can try to understand but can we really, when we only read words, watch the movies? We can't, we can't feel what it is like to live through something like this, to feel the disconnection between a new life and what one has suffered. She makes her struggles perfectly clear, but she does move on though always questioning, always anslyzing how she feels, how she thinks. She and her sister forge different paths, their will be some victories, quests, steps taken, personal losses but she never stops trying.
A moving, powerful story, a story about resilence and survival,but also about the toll taken on the human pysche after living through such horrific times.
ARC from Edelweiss.
Show More
Clemantine was only six when she and her older sister, Claire were told to run. They did and for a long six years they went from place to place, camp to camp, faced starvation, horrible and unsanitary camp conditions. Always fearing that her sister who refused to give up would leave her, finding her too much of a burden, but Claire never did. Not even when she marrys an aid eorker and has children of her own.After those long six years, both sisters, with husband and children in tow were given permission to enter the US. A land they had heard marvelous things about, but the Clemantine who was, is now a completely different person, her experiences have hardened her. She feels alone, not seen, not understood. And indeed how can those who have not suffered as she understand?
"This---Rwanda, my life---is a different, specific, personal tragedy, just as each of those horrors was a different, specific tragedy, and inside all those tidily labeled boxes are 6 million, or 1.7 million or 100,000 lives destroyed.
You cannot line up atrocities, like a matching set.
You cannot bear witness with a single word."
This was said in a response to people making the comparisons of Rwanda to the Holocaust, the killing fields of Cambodia or the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia. It is true, we can be empathetic, we can try to understand but can we really, when we only read words, watch the movies? We can't, we can't feel what it is like to live through something like this, to feel the disconnection between a new life and what one has suffered. She makes her struggles perfectly clear, but she does move on though always questioning, always anslyzing how she feels, how she thinks. She and her sister forge different paths, their will be some victories, quests, steps taken, personal losses but she never stops trying.
A moving, powerful story, a story about resilence and survival,but also about the toll taken on the human pysche after living through such horrific times.
ARC from Edelweiss.
Show Less
LibraryThing member itchyfeetreader
A painfully honest memoir filled with the anger and confusion of a young girl forced from her home in Rwanda at the beginning of the genocide at the age of just six, and into the struggles of refugee life under the care of only an older sister followed by her confusion and fight to ultimately make
There’s no label to peel and stick that absolves you, shows you’ve done your duty, you’ve completed the moral project of remembering. This – Rwanda, my life – is a different, specific personal tragedy, just as each of those horrors was a different, specific, personal tragedy, and inside all of those tidily labelled boxes are 6 million, or 1.7 million, or 100,000 or 100 billion lives destroyed.
You can not line up the atrocities like a matching set.
You can not bear witness with a single word.
In a nutshell
Clementine is just six when the genocide in Rwanda begins. Her parents send her away from her comfortable middle-class home to stay with her grandmother under the care of her sister Claire, not yet sixteen herself. Too quickly the troubles follow them, and Claire and Clementine set off again on what will prove to be a journey of six years up and down Africa sleeping in fields, refugee camps and poor accommodation. Ultimately, they secure sponsorship to move to the US where they continue to struggle to make peace with each other and their experiences and form new lives. The story follows Clementine through her schooling and into a career in activism and story telling.
Thoughts
The most powerful element of this memoir is that Wamariya and her co-author Elizabeth Weil tell her story through the eyes that Clementine first experienced the things she writes about. In so doing the emotion shoots off the page and is raw, painful to read and moving in turns. We see the confusion of a six-year-old who does not understand the dead bodies in a river; a child struggling to remember the numbers allocated to her and her temporary accommodation; a nine year old desperately ploughing her love and fears into her niece; a twelve year old fearful of male eyes; a high school student struggling with language and a need to articulate her experiences and pain, a young adult fearful of abandonment, an adult desperately trying to reconnect with her mother.
I found this to be an incredibly honest story. Wamariya does not hide her anger whether it be at her family, her school mates, aid workers or even the Rwandan governments attempts to recognise and move past the genocide. It makes for uncomfortable reading at times but was all the more powerful for it – it brought to mind some of the ideas I read about last year in The Good Immigrant about assumptions that people have about first and second generation immigrants or refugees.
The story is not told chronologically, it jumps between the authors experiences in Africa and the US. I thought that this was incredibly effective – it hints at the possibility of a safe resolution in the midst of devastation but also underlines the refugee plight of finding somewhere to fit in and put down roots.
I could prattle on about all that I loved in this book for hours but rather in conclusion I would say this is a beautifully written insight into a set of experiences we would not wish on any child which is unfortunately still too many children’s story. Go read it, be moved and figure out how you we bear witness.
Show More
a life in the US. There is little historical context to Clemantine’s story just the experiences of a child and its all the more powerful for it. A story of survival but survival at an incredibly high personal cost. There’s no label to peel and stick that absolves you, shows you’ve done your duty, you’ve completed the moral project of remembering. This – Rwanda, my life – is a different, specific personal tragedy, just as each of those horrors was a different, specific, personal tragedy, and inside all of those tidily labelled boxes are 6 million, or 1.7 million, or 100,000 or 100 billion lives destroyed.
You can not line up the atrocities like a matching set.
You can not bear witness with a single word.
In a nutshell
Clementine is just six when the genocide in Rwanda begins. Her parents send her away from her comfortable middle-class home to stay with her grandmother under the care of her sister Claire, not yet sixteen herself. Too quickly the troubles follow them, and Claire and Clementine set off again on what will prove to be a journey of six years up and down Africa sleeping in fields, refugee camps and poor accommodation. Ultimately, they secure sponsorship to move to the US where they continue to struggle to make peace with each other and their experiences and form new lives. The story follows Clementine through her schooling and into a career in activism and story telling.
Thoughts
The most powerful element of this memoir is that Wamariya and her co-author Elizabeth Weil tell her story through the eyes that Clementine first experienced the things she writes about. In so doing the emotion shoots off the page and is raw, painful to read and moving in turns. We see the confusion of a six-year-old who does not understand the dead bodies in a river; a child struggling to remember the numbers allocated to her and her temporary accommodation; a nine year old desperately ploughing her love and fears into her niece; a twelve year old fearful of male eyes; a high school student struggling with language and a need to articulate her experiences and pain, a young adult fearful of abandonment, an adult desperately trying to reconnect with her mother.
I found this to be an incredibly honest story. Wamariya does not hide her anger whether it be at her family, her school mates, aid workers or even the Rwandan governments attempts to recognise and move past the genocide. It makes for uncomfortable reading at times but was all the more powerful for it – it brought to mind some of the ideas I read about last year in The Good Immigrant about assumptions that people have about first and second generation immigrants or refugees.
The story is not told chronologically, it jumps between the authors experiences in Africa and the US. I thought that this was incredibly effective – it hints at the possibility of a safe resolution in the midst of devastation but also underlines the refugee plight of finding somewhere to fit in and put down roots.
I could prattle on about all that I loved in this book for hours but rather in conclusion I would say this is a beautifully written insight into a set of experiences we would not wish on any child which is unfortunately still too many children’s story. Go read it, be moved and figure out how you we bear witness.
Show Less
LibraryThing member msf59
Clemantine Wamariya was a six year old girl, living a good life in Rwanda, when in 1994, her life upended, as the Rwandan massacre began and she was forced to flee the country with her fifteen year old sister. They spent the next six years, wandering through many African countries, struggling to
How the sisters found asylum in the United States, and went on to create new lives in America, is the rest of this amazing journey. This is a beautifully written memoir, by a very strong and courageous young woman. It gives the reader an insider's look at the consequences of a brutal war and the ensuing refugee crisis, which is a continuing plight for many dispossessed people. Highly recommended.
Show More
survive, in refugee camps, or in any shelter that was available. They had no idea if their parents, or other siblings, had survived the genocide.How the sisters found asylum in the United States, and went on to create new lives in America, is the rest of this amazing journey. This is a beautifully written memoir, by a very strong and courageous young woman. It gives the reader an insider's look at the consequences of a brutal war and the ensuing refugee crisis, which is a continuing plight for many dispossessed people. Highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member thewanderingjew
The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya, Elizabeth Weil, authors; Robin Miles, narrator
Although Clemantine is still relatively young, she has lived a lifetime in that brief time, and her memoir is inspiring. In the face of enormous terror and danger, she survived, and actually, she
Both sisters grew up during the Rwandan uprisings. The majority government was made up of Hutus who were murdering the Tutsis without reason. They called them cockroaches and said they had to be eliminated. If someone was not willing to kill them, they too were labeled cockroaches and marked for death. To protect them, their parents sent them to live with their grandmother where they believed they would be safer. Their parents remained behind with their youngest brother.
When the revolution spread, their grandmother sent them running, alone, with no adults, but hoped that they would be able to escape the horror and survive. She entrusted them to G-d’s hands. What followed was more than a half dozen years of escaping from place to place, country to country, until they settled finally in the United States where Clemantine, because of her youth, was awarded all benefits possible. Claire, on the other hand, had married an aide worker at one of the camps they found themselves and had already had two children with a third on the way. Her husband was a no account who tended to violence because of deep feelings of insecurity brought about by his loss of a future because of the war.
Claire does not seem to blame anyone but herself, if they don’t survive. She is very resourceful and looks for ways to support them and feed them, to house them and clothe them, no matter where they wind up, and usually she finds a way. She never gives up, although Clemantine has to be her maid which she resents, although, caring for the children and taking care of all chores that have to be done enables Claire to hustle while on the run, and, even in America.
When, finally, Clemantine is placed in a series of foster homes with several women who change her life, providings her with material comfort and a wonderful education, supporting her emotionally and physically, she improves and begins to be a bit more trusting of others. She is sent to a reputable boarding school, and although one of the few black students, she makes friends and achieves success. She adapts to each situation she faces with deftness. She somehow knows what is expected of her and she performs.
When Clemantine speaks of Rwanda, it is touching. It is hard not to picture the peace and beauty of her early life. Her father owned a car service. She describes her home as lovely, with gardens and laughter. Although they did not show affection or emotion, as was the custom in Rwanda, since women were taught to be very reserved, not even expressing emotion at funerals, she knew she was loved. Food was plentiful and life was good. She was young, she played outdoors and was a happy child. However, although girls were valued and were able to get land and other valuables because they were child-bearing, they could have their lives ruined if they were raped which rendered them valueless.
When the uprisings came, she was too young to understand what was happening. She never adjusted to the way they were treated by Rwandans or the world. She experienced so many years of suffering that she believed that no one could truly identify with her pain, unless they were there with her. She resented their empathy.and compared her experience to those who survived the horrors of the Holocaust after reading Elie Wiesel’s night. Clemantine blames the Rwandan Genocide on the colonization of the country by Belgium. She believes that they created divisiveness. The tribes used to live together, work together and get along. After Belgium left and the economy worsened, the tribes went into their corners, no longer working together. A violent, terrifying war was launched. People were hacked to death, murdered in their beds; they were being forced out of their country. She arrived in America, emotionally scarred from her devastating experiences, but she did not dwell on them and quickly adapted to her situation. She accepted it and was determined to conquer it. Her sister was not given the same opportunity since she was an adult, now with children.
In the end, she was afforded every advantage that even Americans were not given. She had a fine education, full freight at Yale, first class travel to conferences, and was invited to speak and tell her story at various venues. Still, she was often angry and arrogant because she felt misunderstood, abandoned by the world.
The title refers to a story told to Clemantine. She considers herself the girl who smiles beads, the girl who fits in, makes the best of situations.
Although Clemantine is still relatively young, she has lived a lifetime in that brief time, and her memoir is inspiring. In the face of enormous terror and danger, she survived, and actually, she
Show More
eventually achieved great success. Somehow, she was always able to morph into the person she perceived she had to be in each traumatic situation, even when just a young child, barely kindergarten age. She managed to survive with the help of her sister Claire, who, 9 year older, always managed to figure out a way out of difficult situations, to keep them safe, although not always clean and fed. Often lice infested and starving, living under the sky, if no shelter was available, they lived from hand to mouth, lived on the good graces of kind people. They did not find freedom for 7 years and did not see their parents again for 8, when they appeared on an Oprah Winfrey show honoring winners of an essay contest. Clemantine had entered and won a place. Oprah surprised them with their parents whom she brought in for a weekend visit. Eventually, Claire was able to bring them back to America.Both sisters grew up during the Rwandan uprisings. The majority government was made up of Hutus who were murdering the Tutsis without reason. They called them cockroaches and said they had to be eliminated. If someone was not willing to kill them, they too were labeled cockroaches and marked for death. To protect them, their parents sent them to live with their grandmother where they believed they would be safer. Their parents remained behind with their youngest brother.
When the revolution spread, their grandmother sent them running, alone, with no adults, but hoped that they would be able to escape the horror and survive. She entrusted them to G-d’s hands. What followed was more than a half dozen years of escaping from place to place, country to country, until they settled finally in the United States where Clemantine, because of her youth, was awarded all benefits possible. Claire, on the other hand, had married an aide worker at one of the camps they found themselves and had already had two children with a third on the way. Her husband was a no account who tended to violence because of deep feelings of insecurity brought about by his loss of a future because of the war.
Claire does not seem to blame anyone but herself, if they don’t survive. She is very resourceful and looks for ways to support them and feed them, to house them and clothe them, no matter where they wind up, and usually she finds a way. She never gives up, although Clemantine has to be her maid which she resents, although, caring for the children and taking care of all chores that have to be done enables Claire to hustle while on the run, and, even in America.
When, finally, Clemantine is placed in a series of foster homes with several women who change her life, providings her with material comfort and a wonderful education, supporting her emotionally and physically, she improves and begins to be a bit more trusting of others. She is sent to a reputable boarding school, and although one of the few black students, she makes friends and achieves success. She adapts to each situation she faces with deftness. She somehow knows what is expected of her and she performs.
When Clemantine speaks of Rwanda, it is touching. It is hard not to picture the peace and beauty of her early life. Her father owned a car service. She describes her home as lovely, with gardens and laughter. Although they did not show affection or emotion, as was the custom in Rwanda, since women were taught to be very reserved, not even expressing emotion at funerals, she knew she was loved. Food was plentiful and life was good. She was young, she played outdoors and was a happy child. However, although girls were valued and were able to get land and other valuables because they were child-bearing, they could have their lives ruined if they were raped which rendered them valueless.
When the uprisings came, she was too young to understand what was happening. She never adjusted to the way they were treated by Rwandans or the world. She experienced so many years of suffering that she believed that no one could truly identify with her pain, unless they were there with her. She resented their empathy.and compared her experience to those who survived the horrors of the Holocaust after reading Elie Wiesel’s night. Clemantine blames the Rwandan Genocide on the colonization of the country by Belgium. She believes that they created divisiveness. The tribes used to live together, work together and get along. After Belgium left and the economy worsened, the tribes went into their corners, no longer working together. A violent, terrifying war was launched. People were hacked to death, murdered in their beds; they were being forced out of their country. She arrived in America, emotionally scarred from her devastating experiences, but she did not dwell on them and quickly adapted to her situation. She accepted it and was determined to conquer it. Her sister was not given the same opportunity since she was an adult, now with children.
In the end, she was afforded every advantage that even Americans were not given. She had a fine education, full freight at Yale, first class travel to conferences, and was invited to speak and tell her story at various venues. Still, she was often angry and arrogant because she felt misunderstood, abandoned by the world.
The title refers to a story told to Clemantine. She considers herself the girl who smiles beads, the girl who fits in, makes the best of situations.
Show Less
LibraryThing member maryreinert
I heard the author interviewed on the NYT Book Review podcast and was eager to read her book. I got a slightly different impression of her from the book than from the interview. I assuming that the book is the truthful telling of her story and her feelings. In the interview she becomes the "girl
Clemantine (Clement -teen) was six years old when the Rwandan war broke out. Her life had been one of privilege before the war and she was sent for safety reasons to her grandmother's house. But soon she and her older sister, Claire were forced to flee leading to six more years of traveling eastern Africa (Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zaire) as refugees. The descriptions of the refugee camps, food, physical harm, and travels are hard to read. Yet, along the way, sometimes they are met with warmth and support from individuals who really have nothing more than they do.
The chapters vary between the African story and the American story--her experiences and feelings after arriving in America. There is a lot of introspection especially in the American stories. Her feelings toward those that are attempting to help are often mixed. There is a sense that people help only from guilt or to gain something for themselves. Who am I to judge?
I didn't find the book quite as gripping as I had hoped. And, I felt there were many unanswered questions. Her path from refugee to Yale is not straight, but at other times she seems to have become a "typical" American girl - being a cheerleader, manager of a soccer team, marching band, etc. There seems to be too much taken for granted.
Still, I'm glad I read the book. It gives no answers to the terrible mess the world is in, but I will try to remember the story of her mother dividing an orange. If there is not enough pieces of orange for everyone, cut them in smaller pieces -- sharing what we have is essential.
Show More
who smiles beads" - the Rwandan folk story of the beautiful girl whose smile was so lovely that she leaves a trail of beads. Clemantine (Clement -teen) was six years old when the Rwandan war broke out. Her life had been one of privilege before the war and she was sent for safety reasons to her grandmother's house. But soon she and her older sister, Claire were forced to flee leading to six more years of traveling eastern Africa (Burundi, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zaire) as refugees. The descriptions of the refugee camps, food, physical harm, and travels are hard to read. Yet, along the way, sometimes they are met with warmth and support from individuals who really have nothing more than they do.
The chapters vary between the African story and the American story--her experiences and feelings after arriving in America. There is a lot of introspection especially in the American stories. Her feelings toward those that are attempting to help are often mixed. There is a sense that people help only from guilt or to gain something for themselves. Who am I to judge?
I didn't find the book quite as gripping as I had hoped. And, I felt there were many unanswered questions. Her path from refugee to Yale is not straight, but at other times she seems to have become a "typical" American girl - being a cheerleader, manager of a soccer team, marching band, etc. There seems to be too much taken for granted.
Still, I'm glad I read the book. It gives no answers to the terrible mess the world is in, but I will try to remember the story of her mother dividing an orange. If there is not enough pieces of orange for everyone, cut them in smaller pieces -- sharing what we have is essential.
Show Less
LibraryThing member sensitivemuse
It’s not an easy subject to write and review about. What can you really say about it when it’s filled with tragedy, mass displacement, and human suffering. It’s definitely an eye opener and if you’re wanting a book to read and discuss this would be an ideal one.
What is prevalent all
I find the book interesting and shows how her behavior is like once she moves to the US. Clemantine constantly seeks new opportunities but it feels as if she’s doing so to learn more about herself or to constantly fill herself so she can feel wholesome. Every time she accomplishes something, she goes out to do more. It’s never ending. It’s an admirable trait if you look from another perspective but if you don’t know her real background, you would assume she’s a normal, overachieving teenager.
Claire’s strength is admirable throughout the story. Despite all the chaos going around her, she is constantly trying to improve so she can get out with Clemantine. The sad part is, because of what was happening around them, they didn’t really have the chance to be actual sisters. Claire looked out for everyone, Clemantine stayed home and held the fort.
No matter how hard you try you can’t really put yourself in their perspective. You can’t really know how it is until you’re actually there experiencing it too (and no one wants that obviously) you can only wish Clemantine and her family will continue to lead on successful and fulfilling lives like they rightly deserve just like everyone else.
What is prevalent all
Show More
throughout the novel is Clemantine’s feeling of displacement and how she’s not really entire ‘whole’ or she’s never really had a place to call ‘home’ considering all she’s been through. She’s gone through various countries through Africa only to be displaced time after time. It’s emotionally jarring and to even think that Clemantine was only a child during this period would be traumatizing to any child exposed to this world.I find the book interesting and shows how her behavior is like once she moves to the US. Clemantine constantly seeks new opportunities but it feels as if she’s doing so to learn more about herself or to constantly fill herself so she can feel wholesome. Every time she accomplishes something, she goes out to do more. It’s never ending. It’s an admirable trait if you look from another perspective but if you don’t know her real background, you would assume she’s a normal, overachieving teenager.
Claire’s strength is admirable throughout the story. Despite all the chaos going around her, she is constantly trying to improve so she can get out with Clemantine. The sad part is, because of what was happening around them, they didn’t really have the chance to be actual sisters. Claire looked out for everyone, Clemantine stayed home and held the fort.
No matter how hard you try you can’t really put yourself in their perspective. You can’t really know how it is until you’re actually there experiencing it too (and no one wants that obviously) you can only wish Clemantine and her family will continue to lead on successful and fulfilling lives like they rightly deserve just like everyone else.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Jessika.C
I find myself at an impasse wondering why I didn’t particularly enjoy this book. There are so many other memoire novels that even if I didn’t like the writing I found the story or stories engaging. In this case, it was hard to enjoy and I can’t pin point why. At one point I did notice how
The final part that I did like was how in the audiobook version Wamariya had a chapter she read on her own. Her accent was strong and thick along with pauses in the middle of her phrases that led to a certain authenticity I appreciated. Her reading her own book would not have worked for many but adding her voice at the end was exactly what I needed to understand why I got the sense that she didn’t like to be the spokesperson for many. It was a nice little touch that made it so I didn’t completely dislike this book.
Show More
Wamariya didn’t feel all that impressed with her own life and I felt like it was kind of like what I was feeling. She did go through a lot to get to America but she didn’t want her life to be celebrated for it. I’m left wondering why she agreed to write about her life if she had struggled so much with her decision to be featured on Oprah because she didn’t want any pity.The final part that I did like was how in the audiobook version Wamariya had a chapter she read on her own. Her accent was strong and thick along with pauses in the middle of her phrases that led to a certain authenticity I appreciated. Her reading her own book would not have worked for many but adding her voice at the end was exactly what I needed to understand why I got the sense that she didn’t like to be the spokesperson for many. It was a nice little touch that made it so I didn’t completely dislike this book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Cherylk
The Girl Who Smiled Beads is the next, Escape from Camp 14! You don't want to miss this book. A truly must read.
Instantly, I was hooked by Clemantine's voice. Her story is a strong one. Yet, it is not without sorrow. Imagine being in a refugee camp and being thankful for "flour". A simple
However, this book is not about sorrow or even triumph. It is about being a survivor. Back to Clemantine. Her voice really resonated with me. Thus, the reason I enjoyed this book.
Instantly, I was hooked by Clemantine's voice. Her story is a strong one. Yet, it is not without sorrow. Imagine being in a refugee camp and being thankful for "flour". A simple
Show More
ingredient but it can be used to help make so many foods or once a month getting half a vitamin or a dried biscuit. If you have food and a home; then, you are "rich" in abundance. However, this book is not about sorrow or even triumph. It is about being a survivor. Back to Clemantine. Her voice really resonated with me. Thus, the reason I enjoyed this book.
Show Less
LibraryThing member whitreidtan
Genocide. When you read that word, you probably think of the Holocaust. But that is certainly not the only genocide in recent memory. There's the Armenian genocide, the Cambodian genocide perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge, and the Rwandan genocide which pitted the Hutu against the Tutsi. And these
In 1994, when war came to Kigali, Clemantine's mother told her fifteen year old sister Claire to take six year old Clemantine and flee to relatives where the child and the teenager would hopefully be safe. But eventually the men came there too and Clemantine and Claire had to flee again, and again, and again. These children of war sought safety in seven different African countries, living and moving on from refugee camp to refugee camp, trying to build a life over six long and hunted years before finally being granted asylum in the US. They fled war and unfriendly authorities both, witnessing great acts of kindness and unimaginable atrocities. They lost contact with their family, never knowing if their parents and other siblings were alive or dead. And even in the relative safety of the US, Wamariya didn't feel settled, living with her sister and her sister's family only at weekends and with sponsors during the week.
This is the story of Wamariya's life, her own experience of "war and what comes after" narrated through the voice of a child. The child's perspective is authentic given that she was only six when her whole world imploded but that perspective sacrifices even the slightest background of the war for those readers who aren't already familiar with it. And perhaps that backstory doesn't matter in the beginning but its lack gives no reference to how huge and tragic this was for so very many, focusing it solely on one young woman and her sister and their personal, horrific experiences. The memoir moves back and forth in time between Wamariya's life in the US and her life trying to survive the horrors of war and displacement, giving the narration a fragmented feel. And although this is a terrible story, one that the reader can hardly believe was perpetrated on anyone, never mind a child, there is something of an emotional remove to it. Maybe this is because Wamariya, understandably, can't or won't fully revisit the horror and it feels terrible to have wanted more depth, but I did. It seems almost trite to say that she is resilient and impressive and incredibly intelligent, scarred and hurt, and yes, lucky, but she is all those things and this memoir is her way of owning all the pieces of who she is. Critiquing a memoir of such tragedy and inhumanity is difficult and this one is no exception. It is an important story, one that I'm glad was told but the confusing back and forth of the narrative line makes it more difficult for the reader to truly comprehend the sheer scope Wamariya's story. The subject matter is interesting but the writing just didn't quite grab me as much I'd hoped.
Show More
examples are probably not the only ones, they're just the ones I came up with off the top of my head. I learned about them in various history classes and read about the genocides and their aftermath in books like Baking Cakes in Kigali and In the Shadow of 10,000 Hills. But both of those, wonderful as they are, are fiction. Clemantine Wamariya's The Girl Who Smiled Beads is a memoir, an actual lived experience by a girl too young initially to understand the terror that forever changed her life.In 1994, when war came to Kigali, Clemantine's mother told her fifteen year old sister Claire to take six year old Clemantine and flee to relatives where the child and the teenager would hopefully be safe. But eventually the men came there too and Clemantine and Claire had to flee again, and again, and again. These children of war sought safety in seven different African countries, living and moving on from refugee camp to refugee camp, trying to build a life over six long and hunted years before finally being granted asylum in the US. They fled war and unfriendly authorities both, witnessing great acts of kindness and unimaginable atrocities. They lost contact with their family, never knowing if their parents and other siblings were alive or dead. And even in the relative safety of the US, Wamariya didn't feel settled, living with her sister and her sister's family only at weekends and with sponsors during the week.
This is the story of Wamariya's life, her own experience of "war and what comes after" narrated through the voice of a child. The child's perspective is authentic given that she was only six when her whole world imploded but that perspective sacrifices even the slightest background of the war for those readers who aren't already familiar with it. And perhaps that backstory doesn't matter in the beginning but its lack gives no reference to how huge and tragic this was for so very many, focusing it solely on one young woman and her sister and their personal, horrific experiences. The memoir moves back and forth in time between Wamariya's life in the US and her life trying to survive the horrors of war and displacement, giving the narration a fragmented feel. And although this is a terrible story, one that the reader can hardly believe was perpetrated on anyone, never mind a child, there is something of an emotional remove to it. Maybe this is because Wamariya, understandably, can't or won't fully revisit the horror and it feels terrible to have wanted more depth, but I did. It seems almost trite to say that she is resilient and impressive and incredibly intelligent, scarred and hurt, and yes, lucky, but she is all those things and this memoir is her way of owning all the pieces of who she is. Critiquing a memoir of such tragedy and inhumanity is difficult and this one is no exception. It is an important story, one that I'm glad was told but the confusing back and forth of the narrative line makes it more difficult for the reader to truly comprehend the sheer scope Wamariya's story. The subject matter is interesting but the writing just didn't quite grab me as much I'd hoped.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Lisa2013
I was enthusiastic about reading this book, even though I expected it to be a painful read. I was right. I’m so glad that my book club chose this for our October 2019 book because chances are good it would have languished on my shelf otherwise, and I’m so glad that I read it. It’s very tough
I always admire people who can take their pain and do something positive with it. So I greatly admire the author.
I had downloaded an audio edition thinking I’d listen to it as I read the hardcover edition but I didn’t like the voice or the speed. If the author had narrated it I’d have read the audio, and it sounds as though it might contain some commentary by her but it wasn’t worth listening to the whole book to hear it/see if it was there. Re the speed, 1.0 was too slow and 1.25 was too fast. The hardcover on its own worked best for me. I don’t recommend the audio. I couldn’t tolerate the audio of this book; the narrator didn’t work for me at all.
I love maps in books and there was a great one in this book, in this case a map of the journey through 7 African nations over a 6 year period, taken by the author and her older sister.
She perfectly describes trauma and dissociation and PTSD.
She writes wonderfully/beautifully and is a good storyteller. There is a cowriter and I always wonder how much they actually write. Perhaps all of it? But either way it’s the author’s story and at the least I assume she told it and it’s such a compelling life story and I love what I assume to be the author’s real voice no matter who put the words down on paper. I always want to know who wrote what. In the end it ended up not mattering to me. This woman’s life story is what’s important and I felt that was well and honestly told.
This account made me think and it has me looking at things in different ways or at least I found myself trying to do that.
At some point I didn’t want to put it down and just kept reading.
I found it interesting to read the place Elie Wiesel, Oprah, etc. people known to me held in the author’s life. After I read about it, I watched the Oprah segment when the family was first on the show. (Though I really detest that kind of on air “surprise” that people are forced to live out on some tv shows.)
I’m impressed with Claire and how she provides for herself and how she won’t place herself either below or above anyone else and Clementine taking care of herself and her sister’s two kids too and their mother for promoting sharing, for giving them that lesson of sharing vs. giving or receiving.
I was glad that there was some humor. I laughed out loud when talked about the American boy who without irony wore a tee shirt that said he’d survived baseball camp. I appreciated all the humor because I felt so depressed and scared and lonely so much of the time I was reading this book.
After Rwanda 7 countries (ages 6 & 15 to 12 + 21) until U.S. 8th country I sometimes got confused what country she was in and what time period it was. The narrative goes back and forth in time. There were dates on the page but I was so immersed in reading I think sometimes I didn’t notice and maybe my confusion reflects how it must have felt for them to be on the move and basically homeless for all those years. I always figured it out though and fault myself not the storytelling for my occasional confusion.
Genocides during my lifetime hit me hard, and reading about individuals’ experiences during them and other difficult times is something I feel I should do and I always take away something important from doing so. It horrifies me and comforts me and educates me. I have to say when I read accounts such as this I’m amazed people even want to try to keep living. It astonishes me what people are willing to suffer in order to go on. It truly impresses me when someone goes through such atrocities and horrors and when that period is “over” does what they can to thrive and heal and not simply survive, those that are able to do that.
When I learned its meaning I loved the title of the book.
Highly recommended for adult and high school aged readers who want to learn about the Rwandan or any genocide, like and appreciate difficult coming of age stories, want to read a book that might make them think deeply about how humans can treat other humans, terribly and well.
Show More
but very good.I always admire people who can take their pain and do something positive with it. So I greatly admire the author.
I had downloaded an audio edition thinking I’d listen to it as I read the hardcover edition but I didn’t like the voice or the speed. If the author had narrated it I’d have read the audio, and it sounds as though it might contain some commentary by her but it wasn’t worth listening to the whole book to hear it/see if it was there. Re the speed, 1.0 was too slow and 1.25 was too fast. The hardcover on its own worked best for me. I don’t recommend the audio. I couldn’t tolerate the audio of this book; the narrator didn’t work for me at all.
I love maps in books and there was a great one in this book, in this case a map of the journey through 7 African nations over a 6 year period, taken by the author and her older sister.
She perfectly describes trauma and dissociation and PTSD.
She writes wonderfully/beautifully and is a good storyteller. There is a cowriter and I always wonder how much they actually write. Perhaps all of it? But either way it’s the author’s story and at the least I assume she told it and it’s such a compelling life story and I love what I assume to be the author’s real voice no matter who put the words down on paper. I always want to know who wrote what. In the end it ended up not mattering to me. This woman’s life story is what’s important and I felt that was well and honestly told.
This account made me think and it has me looking at things in different ways or at least I found myself trying to do that.
At some point I didn’t want to put it down and just kept reading.
I found it interesting to read the place Elie Wiesel, Oprah, etc. people known to me held in the author’s life. After I read about it, I watched the Oprah segment when the family was first on the show. (Though I really detest that kind of on air “surprise” that people are forced to live out on some tv shows.)
I’m impressed with Claire and how she provides for herself and how she won’t place herself either below or above anyone else and Clementine taking care of herself and her sister’s two kids too and their mother for promoting sharing, for giving them that lesson of sharing vs. giving or receiving.
I was glad that there was some humor. I laughed out loud when talked about the American boy who without irony wore a tee shirt that said he’d survived baseball camp. I appreciated all the humor because I felt so depressed and scared and lonely so much of the time I was reading this book.
After Rwanda 7 countries (ages 6 & 15 to 12 + 21) until U.S. 8th country I sometimes got confused what country she was in and what time period it was. The narrative goes back and forth in time. There were dates on the page but I was so immersed in reading I think sometimes I didn’t notice and maybe my confusion reflects how it must have felt for them to be on the move and basically homeless for all those years. I always figured it out though and fault myself not the storytelling for my occasional confusion.
Genocides during my lifetime hit me hard, and reading about individuals’ experiences during them and other difficult times is something I feel I should do and I always take away something important from doing so. It horrifies me and comforts me and educates me. I have to say when I read accounts such as this I’m amazed people even want to try to keep living. It astonishes me what people are willing to suffer in order to go on. It truly impresses me when someone goes through such atrocities and horrors and when that period is “over” does what they can to thrive and heal and not simply survive, those that are able to do that.
When I learned its meaning I loved the title of the book.
Highly recommended for adult and high school aged readers who want to learn about the Rwandan or any genocide, like and appreciate difficult coming of age stories, want to read a book that might make them think deeply about how humans can treat other humans, terribly and well.
Show Less
LibraryThing member starbox
There are a lot of survivors' accounts of terrible events. I found this one took a rather different stance; the narrative of THEN (fleeing the Rwandan genocide as a six-year old in the care of her teenage sister) is intercut with the very different NOW. After six years moving between refugee camps
Throughout there's a very definite focus on getting to grips with her inner self; the difference between what westerners deem a refugee to be versus the reality. And the fact that each of us must make sense of what life gives us, tell our story in the way that works for us.
She complains to her sister: "When you share about our experiences, you always say 'I'. You don't say 'we'. We were together." "But you know", Claire said, "when I remember our experiences, I'm alone."
She tells of the 'fairytale' moment when the Oprah Winfrey show managed to find her parents and bring them to USA to be reunited after twelve years apart. And how the magic actually translated into silence later: "they didn't know me and I didn't know them, and the gap between us was a billion miles wide."
Authors of memoirs often come across as saintly, long suffering victims. I felt the author here, was a real person...not a sweet, grateful 'refugee' - I'm not actually sure I particularly liked her as a person - but certainly an erudite, thoughtful individual who had (with her endlessly resourceful and determined older sister) come through unimaginable horrors to forge a new life.
Show More
in Africa, they gained residence in USA. And while her sister's later life - working as a cleaner, bringing up her three children alone - is more typical of the immigrant experience, the author found herself adopted by an achieving American family, studying at Yale, giving speeches.Throughout there's a very definite focus on getting to grips with her inner self; the difference between what westerners deem a refugee to be versus the reality. And the fact that each of us must make sense of what life gives us, tell our story in the way that works for us.
She complains to her sister: "When you share about our experiences, you always say 'I'. You don't say 'we'. We were together." "But you know", Claire said, "when I remember our experiences, I'm alone."
She tells of the 'fairytale' moment when the Oprah Winfrey show managed to find her parents and bring them to USA to be reunited after twelve years apart. And how the magic actually translated into silence later: "they didn't know me and I didn't know them, and the gap between us was a billion miles wide."
Authors of memoirs often come across as saintly, long suffering victims. I felt the author here, was a real person...not a sweet, grateful 'refugee' - I'm not actually sure I particularly liked her as a person - but certainly an erudite, thoughtful individual who had (with her endlessly resourceful and determined older sister) come through unimaginable horrors to forge a new life.
Show Less
LibraryThing member KatherineGregg
The girl who smiled beads is a memoir based on the life of a young woman who fled the Rwandan massacre in the 1994 at age six. Clemantine and her fifteen year old sister spent six years traveling through seven African countries and staying in various refugee camps before being granted refugee
Show More
status and moving to the US. Show Less
LibraryThing member electrascaife
Wamariya chronicles her escape, at a very young age, from Rwanda and genocide, and her struggle to adjust to living in the US and post-war-zone life in general.
I read this one because it was given an Alex Award last year, and I get that stories like Wamariya's are crucial narratives for all of us
I read this one because it was given an Alex Award last year, and I get that stories like Wamariya's are crucial narratives for all of us
Show More
to hear, especially young people, so I feel guilty for not thinking better of it. Again, Clemantine's story is important and good for her for finding the strength to share it - you'll get no argument from me on these points - but the book could have used a better editor. She alternates snippets from her life as a child refugee running from one country to the next and her life once she arrives in the states, and I like this narrative structure in theory, but the execution here seems clunky. Also, she tries to convey her feelings of frustration and rage, and the tension between her sense of self-strength and her deep-set fears, which is an important thread throughout, but instead of tying it all together, these bits of self-description seem repetitive and eventually unnecessary and borderline-tiresome. There are also holes in her account that left me confused at best and frustrated at worst. I understand that it's *her* story and she has every right to choose what to include and what to keep out of the book, but some of those exclusion choices created the suspicion of a flawed narrator, a sense that we're not given enough to get an accurate sense of story she really is trying to tell. I'm doubly surprised at the places where this book fails because she had help writing it; how could an editor *and* a co-writer not see that this important story could be so much more? Show Less
LibraryThing member LDVoorberg
It feels disrespectful to "really like" a book that outlines a refugee's experience of wandering through seven different countries and struggling to fit in, find herself, to relate with her family. There's no happy ending, no full closure or moral here. It's a slightly detached but real account of
What I appreciate about the book is that it helped me see a glimpse of what it could be like to be a refugee. Obviously this is one story, told as an adult thinking back to a childhood, and told by someone who eventually "escaped" that world (though it never leaves her) and finds American success. Her pain is real, her relationships are all very hard. She does not know how to handle the brokenness. And who does? She does conclude with realizing it is essential to turn her experience into a narrative for herself. We need to see our lives as a story.
I appreciate the peek into a life that is not my own, an experience I cannot relate to. It leaves me feeling helpless, because I can do nothing to make any of it better. And if I don't recognize that I can't take Clemantine's story and apply it to other refugees, then I've not understood the book either. For example, Claire (her older sister and the only one who went through a similar experience , at least superficially) does not have the same story, the same way of dealing or living. Her mother has a totally different approach again. No one will deal with it the same way. We want simple answers and explanations, to draw lines from A to B. This book tells us that is not possible.
Not a simple read, (not graphic), not an easy situation to digest or accept. But a part of our world.
Show More
the serious struggles a child has and always will have from her experiences of growing up with nothing, not even love or safety.What I appreciate about the book is that it helped me see a glimpse of what it could be like to be a refugee. Obviously this is one story, told as an adult thinking back to a childhood, and told by someone who eventually "escaped" that world (though it never leaves her) and finds American success. Her pain is real, her relationships are all very hard. She does not know how to handle the brokenness. And who does? She does conclude with realizing it is essential to turn her experience into a narrative for herself. We need to see our lives as a story.
I appreciate the peek into a life that is not my own, an experience I cannot relate to. It leaves me feeling helpless, because I can do nothing to make any of it better. And if I don't recognize that I can't take Clemantine's story and apply it to other refugees, then I've not understood the book either. For example, Claire (her older sister and the only one who went through a similar experience , at least superficially) does not have the same story, the same way of dealing or living. Her mother has a totally different approach again. No one will deal with it the same way. We want simple answers and explanations, to draw lines from A to B. This book tells us that is not possible.
Not a simple read, (not graphic), not an easy situation to digest or accept. But a part of our world.
Show Less
LibraryThing member tinkerbellkk
A very raw, emotional and honest telling of a young woman's fleeing from the Rwandan Genocide. The story of their incredible struggles as they travel as a refugee through multiple African countries is tough to read. But it gives a fascinating insight into what the life of a refugee can look like
Show More
and how the experience impacts a life forever. A sad but very well written story that is highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member clp412
This book is an important read. It is heartbreaking at times, but I learned so much through Clemantine's eyes. I like how she alternated between more recent times and her past as she and her sister struggled to find their way in Africa after leaving Rwanda. The perseverance shown by both Clementine
Show More
and Claire was amazing. I also appreciated the rawness of the story and that this wasn't a perfect read tied up with a bow. While her story is her own, I know that this book can teach others about the struggles of refugees from war torn countries all over the world. I highly recommend this book to those that are open to listening and learning. I know this book will stick with me for awhile. Show Less
LibraryThing member gypsysmom
This is a powerful book about how a young Rwandan girl fled the genocide in that country. It also, as the subtitle says, chronicles what happened to her after. I thought it was incredibly moving.
Clemantine was only six years old in 1994 when violence between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes in Rwanda
I remember reading Romeo Dallaire's account of the woeful UN response to the Rwandan genocide, Shake Hands with the Devil, and being horrified but since then not much has appeared about Rwanda. So this book is very necessary.
Clemantine was only six years old in 1994 when violence between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes in Rwanda
Show More
broke out. Her parents sent Clemantine and her older sister Claire to their grandmother's house outside of Kigali but violence came there too. Claire and Clemantine ran, and ran, and ran. Over the next six years they moved south down the interior of Africa all the way to Durban in South Africa. Most times they lived in refugee camps in the worst of circumstances. Claire married an aid worker, Rob, in one of the camps because he said he could look after her and Clemantine.In fact, Claire usually had to hustle side jobs in order to put food on the table especially since during this time she had two children meaning even more mouths to feed. Clemantine would look after the babies while Claire went off to earn money. Durban was a good place to live since apartheid had finally ended but when Claire got pregnant again her husband persuaded her to go back north and try to return to Rwanda. That proved impossible and they had to go to Lusaka in Zambia. There they learned of a program to bring victims of genocide as refugees to the USA. They were accepted and in 2000 Claire, Rob, Clemantine and the two children landed in Chicago. Clemantine finally got to attend school. Her class was assigned to read Eli Wiesel's memoir about the Holocaust, Night, and then write a paper.to be read by Oprah. When Clemantine was picked to appear on Oprah she got a huge surprise. Clemantine and Claire had recently found out that their parents had survived the genocide and were still living in Kigali. Oprah contacted the parents and brought them and the younger siblings to Chicago to appear on the show. They only stayed in Chicago for a few days and then went back to Africa but it spurred in Claire the idea of bringing them all to live with her. Clemantine was not easy with this idea as she still was traumatized by her experiences. However, Clemantine was not destined to remain in Chicago as she was accepted to Yale and thereafter had a separate life from the rest of the family. She still struggles with her emotions and interpersonal relationships but she knows that telling her story is helping her heal. She also hopes it helps other victims and perhaps curtail future genocides.I remember reading Romeo Dallaire's account of the woeful UN response to the Rwandan genocide, Shake Hands with the Devil, and being horrified but since then not much has appeared about Rwanda. So this book is very necessary.
Show Less
LibraryThing member CasSprout
This is an excellent account of the Rwandan war by a survivor-a girl who escaped when she was 6 years old. The descriptions of her time in refugee camps is devastating. And her adjustment to life in America is also difficult. Well-written and important.
LibraryThing member Beth.Clarke
A remarkable story of survival told with pain, joy, and laughter. Clemantine Wamariya shares intimate details of her life in a way that lets the reader into her world. The life of a refuge is not one that I can imagine, but this novel gave me some idea of what it must be like.
LibraryThing member CherylGrimm
12 years after being separated from their parents during the war in Rwanda, Clementine and her older sister, Claire are invited to appear on the Oprah show. Clementine had written an essay in response to Elie Wiesel’s book “Night” on surviving the Holocaust, and was to receive recognition for
They grew up, 9 years apart, in what could be deemed an upper middle class life. Somewhat privileged and doted upon. Claire, curious beyond politeness, would not take the easy answer for life’s questions. Her nanny would placate her with symbolic stories and songs. These moments would later help her through the too many devastations of her life.
Things start to change. Like “little pellets you drop in water that expand into huge sponges." she laments “My life was the opposite. Everything shrunk.” They sequester away in their home. School is stopped, the market no longer visited, days are cut short and boarded up inside. The noise outside increased, no stories could calm the unease culminating daily. Tense whispers of “them” coming unsettled Clementine. Guests had always been looked forward to. At 6, so much did not make sense.
Then they fled. First, the girls were sent to their grandmother’s home, but soon fled there, as well. Thus the exodus began. From pampered to refugee, malnourished, exposed, forsaken. Always on the run. 6 countries and years later, they arrive in America. Claire, now married with 2 children of her own, and Clementine. A host family welcomes them all. A new life awaits them.
But that’s not before life in their first refugee camp. As dismal as you can imagine, Clementine tries to retain her identity when so much has been taken away. And the yoyo unwinds. From refugee camp day to day, to the fresh start, stateside. Chapters break the dread, one to the lesser other. The innocence of a child, surviving horrific circumstances to a savvy teen, creating her own. From one spot of solace chased into another. Learning as she went to allow nothing to give comfort, as tomorrow, it may be gone.
As much a story of perseverance as a book of theology. Wonderful tidbits of wisdom worthy of a bumper sticker or journal cover. I could fill this entire page with the words of wisdom gleamed, but with it being an ARC, they may not be there when you read it, so I abstain.
My qualm was it was all in snippets. Synopses. Chapters that never got finished. While, in its own way, it was probably for the better, but there were things I wanted more of. Did she give out all her bracelets? How was her trip to Oprah’s school? I wanted to feel more of her happiness. I wanted to know she was ok. The repetition of not knowing herself, hiding herself throughout life. Was she ever complete?
A very evoking telling of the horrors suffered by a very little girl in a very big war. God Bless you, Clementine. May you find your inner happiness at last.
Show More
such. They had no idea they were to be reunited with their parents, younger sibling and recent addition. Both had new lives in America. It was an awkward and short meeting. It was the start to the end of their story. The war that brought them here.They grew up, 9 years apart, in what could be deemed an upper middle class life. Somewhat privileged and doted upon. Claire, curious beyond politeness, would not take the easy answer for life’s questions. Her nanny would placate her with symbolic stories and songs. These moments would later help her through the too many devastations of her life.
Things start to change. Like “little pellets you drop in water that expand into huge sponges." she laments “My life was the opposite. Everything shrunk.” They sequester away in their home. School is stopped, the market no longer visited, days are cut short and boarded up inside. The noise outside increased, no stories could calm the unease culminating daily. Tense whispers of “them” coming unsettled Clementine. Guests had always been looked forward to. At 6, so much did not make sense.
Then they fled. First, the girls were sent to their grandmother’s home, but soon fled there, as well. Thus the exodus began. From pampered to refugee, malnourished, exposed, forsaken. Always on the run. 6 countries and years later, they arrive in America. Claire, now married with 2 children of her own, and Clementine. A host family welcomes them all. A new life awaits them.
But that’s not before life in their first refugee camp. As dismal as you can imagine, Clementine tries to retain her identity when so much has been taken away. And the yoyo unwinds. From refugee camp day to day, to the fresh start, stateside. Chapters break the dread, one to the lesser other. The innocence of a child, surviving horrific circumstances to a savvy teen, creating her own. From one spot of solace chased into another. Learning as she went to allow nothing to give comfort, as tomorrow, it may be gone.
As much a story of perseverance as a book of theology. Wonderful tidbits of wisdom worthy of a bumper sticker or journal cover. I could fill this entire page with the words of wisdom gleamed, but with it being an ARC, they may not be there when you read it, so I abstain.
My qualm was it was all in snippets. Synopses. Chapters that never got finished. While, in its own way, it was probably for the better, but there were things I wanted more of. Did she give out all her bracelets? How was her trip to Oprah’s school? I wanted to feel more of her happiness. I wanted to know she was ok. The repetition of not knowing herself, hiding herself throughout life. Was she ever complete?
A very evoking telling of the horrors suffered by a very little girl in a very big war. God Bless you, Clementine. May you find your inner happiness at last.
Show Less
LibraryThing member nogomu
Ten stars. Please read.
Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2018-04-24
Physical description
288 p.; 8.28 inches
ISBN
0451495322 / 9780451495327