Small Country

Product Information

Although the novel is not autobiographical, it is based on Gaël Faye's own experiences growing up in Burundi during this period. Gaël Faye himself was born in 1982 in Bujumbura to a French father and Rwandan mother. Just like Gaby, at the age 13, he emigrated to France with his family, escaping the Burundian civil war. I had to leave. She told me to keep these words in memory of her: beware of the cold, watch over your secret gardens, become rich in your readings, your encounters, your loves, never forget where you come from... Petit Pays is a haunting coming-of-age story about what it means to belong and to grow up during a period where violence and resentments reach their peaks. It is a tale of loss, family and friends, disrupted lives, beautiful and painful memories, and the burden and gift of survival. Faye was born in Bujumbura, Burundi of a French father and Rwandan mother. [1] He immigrated to France at the age of 13, escaping from the Burundian civil war. [2] He studied economics and finance. [3] I accompanied him, and Juliette [Joste] was there just in case, because sometimes you’re so close to a text you need a fresh eye. But we got along right away, I immediately thought, this is someone exceptional. It has been one of the most singular encounters in my life.” Marketing: ‘Something Began To Happen’

RV: In the book, I was moved by how Gabriel’s mother carries her grief. Is the role of the artist to help process trauma? Privilege: Gaby discusses how war initially affected the various economic classes differently. His life was relatively normal for a long time, even as the war raged at the homes of his family's domestic staff. At one point, Gaby's Rwandan mother shows resentment towards him and his sister because of their French blood. He would have written a novel one day or another, it was just a matter of making the leap from rap to literature as an institution,” says Nabokov. Some descriptions were very beautiful, but as you reach the second half of the book, it just gets very heart-breaking. I thought the ending was a form of redemption, but can you ever heal from war?Like many stories based in true events, it makes you reflect about how humankind doesn't seem to learn from history and how we the make the same mistakes over and over again! Faye then released three solo albums and one EP: Pili Pili sur un Croissant au Beurre (2013),Des fleurs EP (2014)

The relationship between violence and fear & the parallels between the children's street conflicts and the war. Stars. A coming-of-age tale set during the Burundian Civil War. Ten-year-old Gabriel lives in Burundi with his Rwandan mother and French father. He has a normal childhood in his beautiful homeland until the horrors of war arrive in his neighborhood. Gabriel wants to ignore all the conflict going on around him, but there comes a day where he can't hide anymore and he's presented with an impossible choice. The conversations that highlight the cultural differences, the disputes that provoke them to raise those issues, two people, neither of whom are really at home where they are, whose references are from elsewhere, who yearn for different things, Yvonne dreams of Paris, Michel is content with his piece of paradise, his business, his beautiful home, domestic servants, the climate, the make, the mountains, he refers to her dream of Europe as if it is a fantasy, far from the paradise she imagines.

More by Gaël Faye

The story is told through scenes viewed from the perspective of Gaby, we slowly understand the beauty and stability of his life and how that is slowly dismantled and it is no wonder, miles away and many years in the future, something in him yearns for that lost youth. GF: Dépaysement is less strong than exile. It’s like, you live in San Francisco, you move to New York. If you feel off about it, you say, “I am displaced.” You can be displaced in yourself at only a few kilometers away. For me, dépaysement is more a direct rapport with the environment. Exile is a much stronger internal emotion. Dépaysement is a mood. Dépaysement can be about the time it takes you to acclimate. Faye, born in 1982, grew up in Burundi and fled to France in 1995 - it remains unclear how much of this book is autobiographical, but there's a documentary in which Faye visits Burundi and Ruanda, including places from his childhood (here's the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjWxA...) and a very telling song entitled "Petit Pays" he did in 2012 (here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTF2p...). I’ve heard that Gaël Faye’s writing is utterly beautiful if read in the original French version, but I don’t think it quite carries over with the English translation. The dialogue, most of which is among young boys, feels a little too polished, too “adult” for authenticity. Perhaps this is what kept me from really connecting with Gabriel and therefore not feeling the emotional punch that a lot of other readers seem to have experienced. I felt the impact of what was happening to the people of Burundi and Rwanda, but wasn’t as invested in Gabriel as I should have been. He said ‘ j’ai trop kiffé’(in slang, ‘I loved it’), about writing the book. He’s so inspired. What’s exciting for me is that he has a need to build and move forward, he’s ambitious in the most noble sense of the term. With each novel, he’ll go further.”