
Jacaranda
Gael Faye(Author)
Chatto & Windus (Publisher)
Will be published approx. on 6. August 2026
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-78474-606-3 (ISBN)
Description
A young man journeys from Paris to Rwanda to discover the truth about his mother's past and the country of her birth, from bestselling and prize-winning Rwandan-French novelist and hip-hop artist Gael Faye
'A writer of great promise and grace' Chigozie Obioma
Milan - the twelve-year-old son of a French father and a Rwandan mother - blames flunking his exams on the emotional trauma of the genocide in his mother's homeland. It's a convenient excuse: growing up outside Paris in the 1990s, the violence is an abstraction that only reaches him through distant television broadcasts.
That is, until Milan's mother introduces him to Claude, a young cousin with a bandaged head who has come to France seeking medical treatment. Thrilled to have a new playmate, Milan treats Claude as a brother until one day, he is sent back to Rwanda as quickly as he came.
Four years later, Milan travels for the first time to Rwanda, encountering a beguiling country and family members he never knew existed, and reuniting with Claude. But the trip raises more questions for Milan than it answers - about his family's history, the war and its aftershocks.
Over the course of many years, Milan will return to Rwanda again and again, compelled to confront the past and imagine a new kind of future. 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.
'Gael Faye's talent is breathtaking' Imbolo Mbue
'A writer of great promise and grace' Chigozie Obioma
Milan - the twelve-year-old son of a French father and a Rwandan mother - blames flunking his exams on the emotional trauma of the genocide in his mother's homeland. It's a convenient excuse: growing up outside Paris in the 1990s, the violence is an abstraction that only reaches him through distant television broadcasts.
That is, until Milan's mother introduces him to Claude, a young cousin with a bandaged head who has come to France seeking medical treatment. Thrilled to have a new playmate, Milan treats Claude as a brother until one day, he is sent back to Rwanda as quickly as he came.
Four years later, Milan travels for the first time to Rwanda, encountering a beguiling country and family members he never knew existed, and reuniting with Claude. But the trip raises more questions for Milan than it answers - about his family's history, the war and its aftershocks.
Over the course of many years, Milan will return to Rwanda again and again, compelled to confront the past and imagine a new kind of future. 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.
'Gael Faye's talent is breathtaking' Imbolo Mbue
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Dimensions
Height: 222 mm
Width: 138 mm
Thickness: 40 mm
Weight
500 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78474-606-3 (9781784746063)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
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Persons
Gael Faye was born in Burundi and now lives in Rwanda. His debut novel, Small Country, received thirteen literary awards, including the Prix Goncourt des Lyceens. It has been translated into forty languages and adapted for film, theatre, and graphic novel. In 2024, his second novel, Jacaranda, was awarded the Prix Renaudot and Choix Goncourt in 28 countries. An author, songwriter and hip-hop artist, he has also released several music albums, including Pili Pili sur un croissant au beurre (2013), Rythme et botanique(2017), Des fleurs (2018), Lundi mechant (2020), and Mauve Jacaranda (2022).