Type

Text

Type

Thesis

Advisor

McCormick, Patricia | Hamilton, Emma W | Orchard, Anna.

Date

2013-12-01

Keywords

Literature | Africa, Burundi, Children, Genocide, Novel, YA

Department

Department of Creative Writing and Literature.

Language

en_US

Source

This work is sponsored by the Stony Brook University Graduate School in compliance with the requirements for completion of degree.

Identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/11401/77361

Publisher

The Graduate School, Stony Brook University: Stony Brook, NY.

Format

application/pdf

Abstract

Country of Orphans is a Young Adult novel set in Burundi, Africa, during the 1993 genocide. The book is a Romeo-and-Juliet-style love story about a Tutsi girl and a Hutu boy, who are united - and divided - by a dark secret. Fifteen-year-old Joelle hates rural Burundi, where her family has moved to escape " the troubles" that have been affecting her hometown of Bujumbura. She misses city life, and dreams of one day moving to France, where she imagines life to be sophisticated and trouble-free. When she meets Aristide, her world turns upside down. The youngsters fall head over heels in love, but catastrophe strikes. Joelle's parents and extended family are brutally massacred, leaving Joelle and her two younger siblings the sole survivors... and it appears that Aristide's brother may have been responsible. Now, Joelle faces an impossible choice - should she run away to Tanzania with her one true love, or remain in Burundi to raise her younger brother and sister? This is a coming-of-age story deals with the universal issues of prejudice, love, and finding one's place in the world, in a unique setting with global ramifications. | 272 pages

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