A moving, personal account of the Rwandan genocide by the co-writer of SHOOTING DOGS, and an introduction to Vjeko Curic, a modern-day Schindler who saved an estimated 5,000 lives.
David Belton worked as a producer at BBC Newsnight in the 1990s where, amongst many foreign assignments, he covered the civil war in Bosnia and the genocide in Rwanda. In 2002, he co-wrote the story and produced the award-winning feature film Shooting Dogs based on real events that had taken place during the Rwandan genocide. He has since produced and directed many critically acclaimed and award-winning documentaries for British and American television. He lives in Oxford with his family.
Tremendous. A moving and haunting tribute to the human spirit
*WILLIAM BOYD*
David Belton has written something very special, a work of
non-fiction that has a novel’s power to move, enchant and
challenge. This elegantly-written book is much more than a history,
a work of lyrical beauty that will stand as a memorial not just for
those who died in the genocide but to those of us who struggle to
make a difference.
*Tim Butcher, author of BLOOD RIVER*
Complex, compassionate and scathing… Much of the writing … has a
literary power that lifts it above normal journalistic or
non-fiction practice: Jean-Pierre’s confinement in his mud-walled
hole has shades of Beckett, and both Odette and Curic seem like
Brechtian heroes.
*Giles Foden*
Belton excavates the truth and layers the political, social and
military dimensions of the conflict onto three peoples’ stories, to
produce a book that is both illuminating and profoundly moving.
*Independent*
Brings the story right up to date, confronting the dilemmas and
tensions that lie not far below the surface ...
*Observer*
Extraordinary. Lays bare the unspeakable with calm and human
clarity. Remarkable.
*Emma Thompson*
Through the lives of several individuals, David Belton movingly
evokes the terror and tragedy of the Rwandan genocide. As one of
the all-too-rare journalists who don’t merely cover such a story
and move on, he also shows how its after effects have reverberated
over the years since then. This is a fine and deeply affecting
book.
*Adam Hochschild*
Genocide on the scale of Rwanda is such an enormous crime it can
seem too daunting to comprehend. David Belton is a masterful guide
through that darkness, revealing how a society turns on itself in a
deeply moving account of terror, endurance, complicity and what it
means to survive.
*Chris McGreal*
Weaving his story skilfully around the narratives of three main
characters - a priest, a mother, a husband - David Belton tells the
intimate story of the Rwandan genocide. The human experience that
lies behind the statistics is both searing and heart-lifting,
Belton draws it out with both empathy and grace.
*Michela Wrong, author of IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MR KURTZ. LIVING ON
THE BRINK OF DISASTER IN MOBUTU'S CONGO.*
Searing, compelling and refreshingly devoid of the hyperbole of
war-reporting . . . This is an important reminder of the
culpability of so many – including the West for averting its gaze.
It also serves as a potent warning of the fragility of
humanity.
*Financial Times*
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