CHHOTA DESH (Marathi)

SET IN BURUNDI AND RWANDA FROM 1993 ONWARDS, THE NOVEL IS NARRATED BY TEN-YEAR-OLD GABY, WHO LIVES WITH HIS FRENCH FATHER AND RWANDAN MOTHER IN AN IMPASSE IN A COMFORTABLE DISTRICT OF BUJUMBURA. GABRIEL`S SHELTERED UPBRINGING LEAVES HIM OBLIVIOUS TO THE INCREASING TENSIONS BETWEEN THE HUTU MAJORITY AND THE TUTSI MINORITY TO WHICH HE, THROUGH HIS MOTHER, BELONGS. AS NEIGHBOURING RWANDA FACES THE OUTBREAK OF CIVIL WAR AND GENOCIDE, WHICH SPILL OVER INTO BURUNDI, THE INNOCENCE OF GABY AND HIS GROUP OF FRIENDS IS BRUTALLY SHATTERED. THE NOVEL IS BASED ON GAËL FAYE`S OWN EXPERIENCES GROWING UP IN BURUNDI DURING THIS PERIOD; THE AUTHOR HAS, HOWEVER, STRESSED THAT IT IS NOT STRICTLY AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL.