book review: Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
The backstory: Running the Rift won the 2010 Bellwether Prize . It's also this month's selection for Book Club (hosted by Jen at Devourer of Books and Nicole at Linus's Blanket ). The basics: Running the Rift is the story of Rwanda in the 1980's and 1990's, told mostly through the eyes of Jean Patrick. We meet Jean Patrick and his family when he is a young boy with a gift for running. Through Jean Patrick, Benaron explores the Tutsi/Hutu conflict over several years. My thoughts: As I began to read this novel, I initially thought it was nice, but a little slow. As I read more, I realized I was reading it through the eyes of a modern person somewhat aware of recent Rwandan history. While it does seem slow if you have an idea of what is coming, I appreciated that Benaron began the novel in a place of relative normalcy for her characters. For much of the novel, Jean Patrick comes off as optimistic (at best) or utterly naive (at worst). I think assessing him i...