Jacaranda: A Novel

A major bestseller and prize-winner in a young man journeys from Paris to Rwanda to discover the truth about his mother's past and the country of her birth, from the internationally renowned Rwandan-French novelist and hip-hop artist Gaël Faye

"Gaël Faye’s talent is breathtaking.” —Imbolo Mbue
“A writer of great promise and grace.”—Chigozie Obioma

Faced with the prospect of having to repeat a year in school, twelve-year-old Milan tells his mother the first lie he can think his bad grades are due to the genocide in Rwanda, his mother's homeland. In reality, he knows little about Rwanda or his mother's past, which she has kept secret from Milan. Soon after, Claude arrives, a boy from Rwanda the same age as Milan with a mysterious wound and shadowy backstory. Thrilled to have a new playmate, Milan treats Claude as a brother until one day, he is gone, back to Rwanda as quickly as he came.

Four years later, after his parents' painful divorce, Milan travels for the first time to Rwanda, encountering a beguiling country and family members he never knew existed. After reuniting with Claude, Milan finally seeks answers to his many about their friendship and the truth of what happened there. Over the course of many years, Milan will return to Rwanda again and again, sometimes with his mother, sometimes without, always confronting new sides of himself and those he loves.

Spanning generations and time, Jacaranda is a rich and deeply felt portrait of a man seeking to understand his family and his nation as it heals from the unthinkable.