This novel
about the Congo traces the life of a fictional main character, Assani Zikiya, a
Munyamulenge, i.e., a Congolese Tutsi, during the very recent turbulent times
in the Congo. The device of telling real history via a composite character,
rather than an accurate biography of the man on whom Assani is based, permitted
the author to humanize the story as well as to provide broader background on
the various conflicts and, most importantly, to comment wryly on real events,
problems, and people. In sum, through this novel a reader can learn
contemporary history and gain insight into the brutality and reality of war and
politics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Without a
father, disowned by uncles, Assani grew up a self-reliant loner herding his
cows on the high pastures of South Kivu, an area to which his Rwandan Tutsi
ancestors had moved a hundred years earlier. A bright lad, he got some
schooling, even moving on to university studies in Butare, Rwanda, just after
the genocide. There the call came. He was needed to return to Congo, to protect
the Banyamulenge people, to combat genocidaires and to join the effort
to oust Mobutu.
Assani
became a soldier. Ascetic by nature, he found his métier. He was a good leader,
a strict disciplinarian, and ever conscious of the bigger picture. Through his
eyes and exploits readers see and better understand the overlapping circles of
violence, hatred, politics, tribalism, and ambitions that under-grid the catastrophe
of the modern Congo.
Because of
his competence, Assani moved upwards in rank and responsibility. After victory,
he joined Mzee Kabila in Kinshasa, but fled when the new president turned
against the Tutsi. Assani joined the second rebellion and fought for the rebels
in the east. After the peace, he returned to Kinshasa and again was caught up
in the roiling uncertainty of politics and corruption. Assani became a hard
man, but he retained a conscience. He pondered the morality of the times and
was especially repulsed by tribalism, of which he was also a victim. As his
story progresses, Assani repeatedly has to choose—go along or get out—knowing
that either choice could be fatal.
As
mentioned above, this book in novel form is history with a perspective. I
suspect that the author herself is represented by at least one, and probably
two, of the women characters to whom Assani confides during the course of his
journeys.
Apparently
author Lieve Joris, a Belgian journalist, went to the Congo to be a journalist,
but decided that this form of reporting better suited telling the story she
wanted to convey. The result is a powerful book, one of the best on the Congo.
