Running the Rift

Jan 30, 2012 Nancy Oakes rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

this is the short review; if you want a longer one, you can find it here.
Unlike the rest of the reading public, it seems, I just didn't go uber-gaga over this book, largely because it reads like a young adult novel, and I'm not overly fond of the style. However, I think that once the word gets out about this book, it has the makings of a bestseller exactly because of its potential appeal to the young adult audience.

Divided into five parts and spanning a period of fourteen years, Running the Rif...more this is the short review; if you want a longer one, you can find it here.
Unlike the rest of the reading public, it seems, I just didn't go uber-gaga over this book, largely because it reads like a young adult novel, and I'm not overly fond of the style. However, I think that once the word gets out about this book, it has the makings of a bestseller exactly because of its potential appeal to the young adult audience.

Divided into five parts and spanning a period of fourteen years, Running the Rift follows the life of Jean Patrick Nkuba, a Tutsi boy who grows up pretty sheltered, with a father who taught him that there is no difference between the Tutsi and Hutu tribes. With the death of Jean Patrick's father in a car accident, the family's situation changes, and Jean Patrick begins to discover that not everyone thinks the way his father did. While the family is coming to terms with their loss, wondering about the future, an incident occurs in which a group of Hutu boys hurl rocks through the windows of the family home. Jean Patrick chases after the gang, but fails to catch up to them, leaving him feeling guilty about not being a faster runner. The family moves to the home of Jean Patrick's uncle , where he and his older brother Roger did not initially want to go, where, as Roger thought, they would be "nothing but poor fishermen, running around dirty and eating with our fingers like the rest of Uncle’s children. ” Uncle and the rest of the family are definitely poor and life is harder there, but the brothers discover that there is more to wealth than money -- that a loving family is at the root of everything good in life. Things begin to change for Jean Patrick when an Olympic runner comes to his school and to celebrate, the school holds a race which he wins. The prize is a poster which the runner dedicates to Jean Patrick, calling him "our next Olympic hero." At this point, Jean Patrick's life dreams and ambitions are born, and as he moves on to secondary school, he begins training in earnest under Coach, a strange figure who seems to have more going on than just helping young men get to the Olympics, and who offers Jean Patrick a Hutu identity card to stay safe. It's running, not the political situation, that keeps Jean Patric focused while things begin to explode all around him; he becomes very well known after running the 800-meter with an Olympic qualifying time, and it looks like he may actually realize his dream. He's got good backing, too -- his picture appears in the paper with the Rwandan president; McDonald's hamburgers are flown in for a reception with an ambassador, and all eyes are on Jean Patrick. But over time, politics, propaganda and ultimately the murder of the president turn Rwanda into a full-blown, bloody killing ground and events occur that thrust Jean Patrick right into the heart of the nightmare. This is his story, set against a time when "no safe or sane place exists within the country," when Tutsis are hunted down just because they are not Hutus.

As events unfold, the autho examines the effects of this conflict on people at every level, from the family to the community to the nation, even to the world at large, where the Western countries more or less turn their backs to the slaughter. In terms of pacing, the story sort of plods along for much of the first half of the novel, as the characters are introduced and established, as Jean Patrick's early life is set forth, and as change is beginning to rear its ugly head for the worse. My favorite section of Ms. Benaron's book, in terms of writing and prose, is in Book Three, when all hell breaks loose for Rwanda and for Jean Patrick as well -- it is there that the author amps up the pace, where the situation becomes very tense, enough to hold my attention for the longest time. This section, personally speaking, is where I believe the author's true writing potential comes shining through. If the rest of the book had conveyed this much intensity, it would have been a much better reading experience for me.

Despite my personal feelings about the young-adult style, readers are loving this novel, and there are many good things about it to recommend. The book is extremely approachable in terms of reading, and despite the 365 pages, it moves quickly. If you're squeamish about violence, beware. Running the Rift works (imho) largely on an emotional level, so if that's what you're looking for, you'll probably love it.

I'm sort of torn here -- on one hand, I appreciate the author's choice of subject matter and her willingness to tackle it and the fact that she brings this terrible situation to the attention of members of the reading public who may be familiar with events in Rwanda from movies or from TV news of years ago. The basic story is good, and she does manage to get across many of the terrors faced by a young person coming of age in Rwanda during this time. At the same time, with the exception of Book Three, I just didn't think it delivered that punch I was looking for, considering the topic at hand. After having finished it, I thought that Running the Rift was a book my daughter would enjoy much more than I did. It has that young-adult lit feel, and would not be out of place on high-school library shelves, or as a required text for a high-school history course. It really reminded me of books I read when I was younger, where there was enough to tug at my heart strings and to capture my intellectual interest, leading me to want to find out more about the topic. If the book is geared for readers of young adult fiction, then it's a perfect fit; if it was supposed to be more of a literary read, well, it just didn't do it for me.

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Nov 22, 2011 Emily Crowe rated it 4 of 5 stars

I was awake very early this morning, courtesy of my dog Roxanne who needed to go outside around 5:00 a.m. At first I grumbled about it but then I realized that in fact she gave me the perfect opportunity to finish reading a riveting new book I'd picked up a couple of days ago called Running the Rift. It's Naomi Benaron's Bellwether Prize-winning debut novel, set in Rwanda in the 1990s. I'd been reading it in 100-page chunks but I didn't want to push through to the end last night when I was so sl...more

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Sep 26, 2012 Susi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, africa, novel

Naomi Benaron takes on the formidable challenge of capturing the point of view of a character from a different culture and gender. This is no small feat, and by and large I got pulled into and convinced by the protagonist, Jean Patrick. I was also impressed by her pacing. Some other reviewers commented on how slowly the first two thirds felt, but to me it felt as if the writer were pacing her readers so they could finish the race; I consistently felt pulled along by the plot. We need to learn ab...more

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Feb 03, 2012 Pam rated it 5 of 5 stars

The genocide which took place in Rwanda is incredibly horrifying and graphic, and yet Naomi Benaron has an incredible gift of being able to soften the blow by introducing us to characters and lives that keep us enthralled and disturbed all at the same time. This book is riviting, and it provides the reader an inside view of a country experiencing a volatile and heinous time, yet all the while feeling deeply for the separation and anxiety that is caused merely by ones birthright.

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Jan 30, 2013 Grace rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013

I found this book to be a very good read. It could also be considered a young adult novel but that does not at all take away from the message of this book or the enjoyment of reading it. It takes you through the school and university years of Jean Patrick as he dedicates himself to becoming an Olympic runner as his country, Rwanda, is experiencing devastating prejudice and violence towards his Tutsi heritage. Jean Patrick remains optimistic that Rwanda will come to it senses and see that it is o...more

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Jan 25, 2013 Michael Covington rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Picked this book up in trade paper from The Tattered Cover (Denver), ended up buying a second Kindle version, so I could continue reading it wherever I was. An amazing story of perseverance and hope amidst terrible tragedy. Benaron did an amazing job developing the characters in this novel. The story begins as the ethnic tensions between Hutu and Tutsi start boiling over into a violent uprising by the Hutu power structures, resulting in the genocide where thousands of Tutsi were slaughtered, all...more

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Jan 17, 2013 Mary Lou rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, lo-bookgroup

Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron is a coming of age story about the genocide in Rwanda. The plot offers measured hope that Hutu and Tutsi’s will learn to live together, but it also calls upon readers to recognize the reality of inhumanity and act to curtail it.

Benaron paints a vivid picture of the atrocity without making the book too horrendous to read. “Wind rippled through the thick grass fertilized by the dead. A sharp odor filled Jean Patrick’s nostrils, and he sniffed the air.

“Do you recog...more Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron is a coming of age story about the genocide in Rwanda. The plot offers measured hope that Hutu and Tutsi’s will learn to live together, but it also calls upon readers to recognize the reality of inhumanity and act to curtail it.

Benaron paints a vivid picture of the atrocity without making the book too horrendous to read. “Wind rippled through the thick grass fertilized by the dead. A sharp odor filled Jean Patrick’s nostrils, and he sniffed the air.

“Do you recognize it?”

“He did, then. “ Yes. It was the smell of death” (350).

Nuances of meaning give the book many layers. A rift is a weakened area, a depression, in geology, along a fault line, a place that is unstable; the book is set in Cyangugu, a city and capital in Western Rwanda, in the Albertine rift. A rift is also a break between friends or a difference in opinion, interest, or belief that causes a break.

The main character Jean Patrick Nkuba (like the author) is a runner who hopes to become Rwanda’s first Olympic medal winner in track. He physically runs, and he runs or moves among people with vulnerability or in a weakened way because he is Tutsi, not Hutu, and because his knowledge of his country’s history is weak. His father François raised him without an understanding of the long-standing enmity between the tribes or knowledge of prior genocides.

Nkuba is in primary school when his father dies in a car accident and Hutus first target him: boys throwing rocks through the window of his house, calling the family “Tutsi snakes” (11). He learns about the 1973 Hutu massacre of Tutsi when he is ten from his Uncle Emmanuel who says, “They burned down our house, killed your grandparents and you uncle, our youngest brother.’ You were named for him. No one told you?’” (24) “The hate runs too deep. Sooner or later the government will find it convenient to let it boil to the surface again” (25).

Nkuba deals with many issues before the genocide. One of his sisters dies, he goes away to school and takes the first steps on his journey to the Olympics under the direction of Coach, he becomes best friends with Daniel, another athlete, and he falls in love with Bea, daughter of an activist, and although no one knows until later, a Tutsi. Nkuba’s brother Roger joins the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), Coach turns out to be a major in the Hutu military who when the genocide occurs first tries to kill Nkuba and then saves him. Nkuba survives and goes to America, believing Bea is dead, but comes back to find her alive with a child, possibly his. An American geology professor Jonathan and his photographer girlfriend Suzanne help Nkuba in America and in returning to Rwanda.

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Jan 15, 2013 Erica Spangler rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Book Review - Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron

BookinChico's Review

Rating: 5 shots of espresso (The Coffee Shakes)

Plot
Running the Rift follows the life of Jean Patrick, a track Olympic hopeful. Set during the tumultuous Rwanda in the midst of the Hutu and Tutsi racial wars. Jean Patrick lives among the tthe majority Hutu who are terrorizing and abusing the minority Tutsi people. The violence has escalated to the point where students are forming alliances for safety and some are forming gangs.

Jea...more Book Review - Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron

BookinChico's Review

Rating: 5 shots of espresso (The Coffee Shakes)

Plot
Running the Rift follows the life of Jean Patrick, a track Olympic hopeful. Set during the tumultuous Rwanda in the midst of the Hutu and Tutsi racial wars. Jean Patrick lives among the tthe majority Hutu who are terrorizing and abusing the minority Tutsi people. The violence has escalated to the point where students are forming alliances for safety and some are forming gangs.

Jean Patrick, the tall and lean Tutsi, is built to run and to compete at the Olympic level. However, his Tutsi status becomes a challenge he might not be able to over come. As the Hutu people quickly rise to power, they begin enforcing curfews and checkpoints to make sure the Tutsi people will not flee. Eventually the control turns to terror and murders. The politicians and even the universities are falling into the hands of the murderous Hutu people. As the violence and unrest continues to overwhelm the Rwandan people, Jean Patrick trains and tries to find a way to make it to the Olympics. With the support of his friends and coach, Jean Patrick pushes himself to be the next best runner. If Jean Patrick can make it to the Olympics, then he can remove himself from the violence in his community and country.

Naomi Benaron's Running the Rift explores the human spirit amongst violence and adversity. From the moment you meet Jean Patrick, you begin to fight for him and become his running spectator screaming for him to reach the finish line every time.

Character
Benaron's main character, Jean Patrick, is complicated, surrounded by cultural controversy and a lovable character. Jean Patrick may be loyal to his Tutsi family, but his ambition to compete as sprinter makes life complicated and scary. As a reader, you begin to question whether or not he is compromising his family and cultural ideals. The rising Hutu and Tutsi controversy catalyzes Jean Patrick's character to change and decide what are his real goals. As he trains and forms numerous Hutu relationships, his complicated life becomes more challenging. He, nevertheless, brings a sort of brightness and hope to the novel.
Benaron knows how to show a potential for love and opportunity in a story filled with violence and obstacles. Her ability to create and develop such a complicated and optimistic character ensures that you will want to continue reading because you want Jean Patrick to win.

Literary Criticism
The cultural and global implications of Namoi Benaron's Running the Rift raise interesting questions about cultural rifts and global awareness. Jean Patrick lives amongst a group of people who clash over familial connections and racial differences. Though Running the Rift is set in Rwanda, these are not African problems; they are global problems for every culture. Not all are as violent, but we experience these clashes on a daily basis. Many people like to categorize and package these problems so that they can ignore them. But Jean Patrick's goal to go to the Olympics is a common goal for many all around the world. This dream and his hard work to make it happen is characteristic of the American dream (working hard helps you achieve your goals). Benaron is raising a conversation to be had about cultural differences and how people all have a human connection.

Benaron's Running the Rift is everything that I would want in a novel--a compelling story line, a fabulous character that I love and am bothered by from time to time and a novel that raises improtant conversations. I give Running the Rift five amazing shots of espresso because it was a novel that I could read extremely quickly, but I forced myself to take it slow and enjoy it to its entire potential. If you like reading novels about what matters in the world, then Benaron's novel is perfect for you. Running the Rift is another fabulous Bellwether Prize novel; a pure gem.
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Oct 13, 2012 AdultFiction Teton County Library rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction

Teton Co. Call No: F Benaron N (currently on the "New" bookshelf)
Cayla's Rating: 4 Stars

"A genocide is a poisonous bush that grows not from two or three roots, but from a whole tangle that has moldered underground without anyone noticing." ~Claudine, genocide survivor

Quoting from another book, Naomi Benaron begins her own novel about a young boy who comes of age during the years leading up to the Rwandan genocide of the mid 1990s. Jean Patrick Nkuba grows up with a dream of running in the Olympi...more

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Apr 01, 2012 Felice rated it 4 of 5 stars

Testimonies, historians, novels, movies, documentaries and especially the distance of time have all given us all a limited appreciation of the horrors of the Holocaust. Not being survivors how could we ever fully understand what it was like? What about the more recent holocausts and genocides? Who is telling those stories? Who is attempting to make us more aware, more understanding and more outraged about these atrocities? One person is first time novelist NaomiBenaron in her Bellwether Prize wi...more Testimonies, historians, novels, movies, documentaries and especially the distance of time have all given us all a limited appreciation of the horrors of the Holocaust. Not being survivors how could we ever fully understand what it was like? What about the more recent holocausts and genocides? Who is telling those stories? Who is attempting to make us more aware, more understanding and more outraged about these atrocities? One person is first time novelist NaomiBenaron in her Bellwether Prize winning book, Running the Rift.

Running the Rift is the story of the Rwandan Genocide as seen through the eyes of a young athlete. According to various human rights watchdog organizations an estimated 800,000 people were murdered during the Rwandan genocide over the course of a year. To say the least that is a daunting event to try and capture on paper.

It is 1985 and Jean Patrick Nkuba is a young boy as Running the Rift begins. His life has been happy. He is part of a large, close knit family. His Father is a respected teacher. He is a gifted, record breaking middle distance runner and dreams of going to the Olympics. Jean Patrick doesn’t know this yet but there is a shadow already hanging over his life. The Nkuba are Tutsi. This heritage will put his family on a collision course with horror.

The sudden death of Jean Patrick’s Father coincides with the beginning of the Hutus governments’ more overt restrictions on the Tutsis and the stepping up of resistance to the government by the Rwandan Patriotic Force (RPF), a Tutsi-led rebel army. Over the course of the next ten years a civil war will tear away the Nkubas security and their future. One by one friends, employers and neighbors turn away from the family because of their ethnicity. Jean Patrick becomes a political pawn when the government wants to use him as a human rights poster child. As the government sanctioned genocide accelerates not only is Jean Patrick’s dreams of representing his country in the Olympics on the failure track but as a Tutsi his life is also endangered.

Running the Rift is an impressive novel. Benaron has done an incredible job of tracking the origins of the government approved interracial strife in Rwanda and its drastic hastening into a holocaust. In a situation where there is a crystal clear right and wrong she does not take the easy road and use cardboard characters to push her story forward and expose the villainy. Instead Benaron allows us to experience Jean Patrick’s journey from innocence to inhumanity to hope with his and every other character’s flaws and strengths as they are tested. The juxtaposition of this beautiful country and the citizens who strive for the betterment of their country and the other citizens who either participated in the genocide or looked the other way makes for a powerful story and Naomi Benaron captures it all. (less)

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Mar 30, 2012 Amy Warrick rated it 1 of 5 stars

There ARE books I like, honest. This just isn't one of them. This book is YA masquerading as lit because it is about the Rwandan genocide, so we can't just write it off. I GET IT. But it reads like a writing assignment...the author has started with a schoolboy hero who is so naive that everybody keeps having to explain things to him - thus to us as well. (The dude kept getting his lunch money stolen, too, which kept driving me crazy 'cause I couldn't see the point.) And it takes 200 pages for a...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Theresa rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the most recent winner of Barbara Kingsolver’s Bellwether Award for fiction about social justice. At first I was a bit leery of the topic, the Rwanda genocide of the early 1990’s. The author is not Rwandan, nor is she even from the African continent. I questioned how she could give voice to what happened during that time. But I was pleasantly surprised. “Pleasantly” is probably not the best word to use here. I found myself very tense while reading the novel - I know what happened in Rwan...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Bonnie Brody added it

Running the Rift begins in Rwanda in 1994 and takes the reader through 1998. It is the story of the horrific genocide that devastated the country and pitted neighbor against neighbor. It is also the story of individuals - their dreams, hopes and wreckage.

When the Belgians occupied Rwanda, they classified the people who spoke one language and shared one culture into two separate groups - the Hutus and the Tutsis. They did this by observing the physical characteristics of the people. The Tutsis te...more Running the Rift begins in Rwanda in 1994 and takes the reader through 1998. It is the story of the horrific genocide that devastated the country and pitted neighbor against neighbor. It is also the story of individuals - their dreams, hopes and wreckage.

When the Belgians occupied Rwanda, they classified the people who spoke one language and shared one culture into two separate groups - the Hutus and the Tutsis. They did this by observing the physical characteristics of the people. The Tutsis tended to be thinner and lankier with smaller noses. The Hutus tended to be more muscular and had a stronger, stockier appearance. After these two groups were named, the balance of power shifted repeatedly between them. Sometimes the Tutsis held power and at other times the Hutus did.

At the time that this novel opens, the Hutus are gaining power and want to eradicate the Tutsis who they call `cockroaches' or `dog eaters'. The bloodshed is horrific and no one in this country is spared the death of loved ones or family. President Habyarimana has just seized power and states that he will make the country whole again. However, his words are empty. He is surrounded by thugs who support the genocide. He rules with empty promises. The United Nations have some troops in Rwanda but they are ineffective. The western countries seem not to care what is happening here and do not intervene to put a stop to the bloodshed.

The main protagonist in this novel is a young man named Jean Patrick, a focused and determined student and runner. Despite being a Tutsi, he has the top grades in his class and is accepted into a private boarding school. Jean Patrick is such a good runner that he hopes to make the Olympic team. It looks promising for him. Habyarimana holds him up as a symbol of the unity of Rwanda despite the fact that no unity exists.

Jean Patrick has a grueling schedule of work-outs and is training for the 800 meter event. His coach, Rutembeza, is a man who is difficult to read. He appears to support Jean Patrick and love him like a son but one gets the sense that there is something dark and hidden in his nature. It is he who is responsible for Jean Patrick's future. He secures a Hutu identity card for Jean Patrick so that he can pass himself off as Hutu at security checkpoints.

Once high school is over, Jean Patrick goes off to college in Butare. It is there that he first meets Bea, the love of his life. He becomes close to her family. Bea's father, Niyonzima is an esteemed journalist who has spent several years in jail in the past for writing articles that were deemed insubordinate. His wife Ineza is an artist. They look upon Jean Patrick as a son.

The novel is both historical and personal. The reader is taken through the genocide of a country while sharing the lives of Jean Patrick, Bea and their families. The genocide is viewed through their eyes and how it affects their lives.

The novel has won Barbara Kingsolver's Belwether prize for fiction, a prize that supports fiction that advocates social change. This book is a perfect example of that combination.
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Feb 18, 2012 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars

This story is set against the horrific backdrop of the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, when gangs of Hutus, sponsored by the government, murdered approximately 800,000 Tutsis (along with pro-peace Hutus labeled as traitors).

Rwanda had previously been a Belgian colony. While there were some differences between the Hutu and Tutsi tribes prior to that, the Belgians exacerbated them by insisting on separate ID cards and establishing a power divide between the Tutsi, who got most of the land and the power...more

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Jan 31, 2012 Sherie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Somewhere in the story, an uncle explains how the division between the Hutus and Tutsis began. The occupying country, Belgium, measured features (length of nose, size of torso, length of limbs, etc) and pronounced them two different people, thereby laying the groundwork for turning neighbor against neighbor, friend against friend.
Jean Patrick and his family go to live with his mother's brother when his father -a highly regarded educator- dies in an auto accident. Without the support of the educa...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Jenny Shank rated it 5 of 5 stars

http://www.dallasnews.com/entertainme...

Running the Rift
Naomi Benaron
(Algonquin Books, $24.95)

A young Rwandan’s dream of running in the Olympics collides with his country’s inescapable turmoil in Naomi Benaron’s gripping first novel Running the Rift, which won the Bellwether Prize for fiction addressing “social justice.”

Some people might want to turn away after reading this set-up, which makes it sound like a novel that’s more good for you than it is enjoyable. But that isn’t the case. Benaron c...more

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Jan 14, 2012 Beth rated it 5 of 5 stars

Running the Rift- is a story of te rift of Tutsi and Hutu in Rwanda; Jean Patrick Nkuba is the runner both in the sense of training for the Olympics in High School and University and in the sense of running back & forth in his identity as a Tutsi, who sometimes takes on a Hutu identity in order not to get killed. I had no idea that the tall skinny people were classed as Tutsi and the stocky people were considered Hutu. Nor how horrible it was for those of one group who married someone from a...more

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Jan 13, 2012 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: my_favorites

Running the Rift is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's evocative, touching, heartbreaking and enlightening. There's much to love about this book:

The characters: The main character, Jean Patrick Nbuka, is a young man with a gift - a gift for running. He comes of age in a complicated time. As a Tutsi, he is labeled and categorized by a line drawn in the sand decades before his birth. The world around him is confusing, but Jean Patrick blocks out most of it by focusing on his drea...more Running the Rift is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's evocative, touching, heartbreaking and enlightening. There's much to love about this book:

The characters: The main character, Jean Patrick Nbuka, is a young man with a gift - a gift for running. He comes of age in a complicated time. As a Tutsi, he is labeled and categorized by a line drawn in the sand decades before his birth. The world around him is confusing, but Jean Patrick blocks out most of it by focusing on his dream to become an Olympian. Only when the harsh realities of the world around him impact his daily life does he force himself to try to understand what is going on. As a reader, I related to this. Frankly, there were no rational explanations for what happened in Rwanda during this time. Jean Patrick's confusion was the perfect vehicle for me to see this conflict. If you've read The Power of One, Jean Patrick reminded me of Peekay. His running is what allowed him to hold onto himself while his world shattered around him.

The writing: The author of this book, Naomi Benaron, is an author with a gift - a gift for story telling. The language throughout this book is pitch perfect. The Rwandan setting and the scenes of Hutu aggression against Jean Patrick let me know there would be tragedy coming - and the writing helped build that tension. I appreciated that as Benaron told this very particular story, she let her writing tell a much broader story. Certain sentences jumped out at me as holding truth far beyond their meaning for just this story. The descriptions of African food, smells and scenery were some of the best I've ever encountered. I felt like I was there.

The story: Running the Rift tells the story of the Rwandan genocide beautifully and painfully. Like all of the best books (The Book Thief), this story reminds us that real life is about running the rift - that space where pain and beauty meet. This story is much more than the story of Jean Patrick. It's the story of all young people who have a gift and how it feels to use that gift. (If you've ever been thankful for the way your morning run makes you feel alive, read this book. Jean Patrick speaks your language.) It's the story of a life that teeters between hope and despair. It's the story of not knowing who to trust or how much to trust them.

The setting: I knew little about the Rwandan genocide before reading this book. I'd seen Hotel Rwanda and read a few Newsweek articles, but not much more. Having now seen the world through Jean Patrick's eyes, I will never again be confused about what Hutu or Tutsi mean. My one suggestion: have a map of Rwanda nearby as you read. I waited until I was finished to locate Kigali, Cyangugu and Butare on Google Maps, but it might help you envision these places more easily if you do that earlier rather than later. Perhaps future editions of this book will include a map? Because surely there will be many editions to come.

If you're in the mood for a book that is bigger than your average read (not in length, but in depth), read Running the Rift.

If your own life feels confusing, overwhelming and out of kilter, read this book to get some perspective.

If you're looking for the first great book of 2012, you'll find it in Running the Rift.

You'll never forget the story of Jean Patrick Nbuka and the people of Rwanda.(less)

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Jan 10, 2012 Julia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Jean-Patrick Nkuba is a Tutsi boy growing up in rural Rwanda. He is a bright student and a gifted runner, fast enough to potentially qualify for the Olympics. He was named after an uncle who was killed in a 1973 massacre of the Tutsi people, but such violence between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples now seems long in the past.

The story takes place between 1984 and 1998. Over the years the tension gradually builds between the two groups as the Tutsi people become increasingly harrassed and the media i...more Jean-Patrick Nkuba is a Tutsi boy growing up in rural Rwanda. He is a bright student and a gifted runner, fast enough to potentially qualify for the Olympics. He was named after an uncle who was killed in a 1973 massacre of the Tutsi people, but such violence between the Hutu and Tutsi peoples now seems long in the past.

The story takes place between 1984 and 1998. Over the years the tension gradually builds between the two groups as the Tutsi people become increasingly harrassed and the media inflames racial divisions. Jean-Patrick's brother joins the RPF, a Tutsi rebel group, but Jean-Patrick heads to university and trains to be an Olympic runner. He befriends an American geology professor and falls in love with a Hutu girl. Sporadically violence against Tutsis erupts, but Jean-Patrick chooses to believe that his high profile running talent (and his well connected coach) will protect him from persecution. Meanwhile we - the reader - have a sense of dread from the outset that grows ever stronger.

This book pulled me in immediately. The sense of place is palpable. You can almost feel, smell and taste Rwanda as you read it. While it is fiction, it feels so real that I found it hard to believe that this wasn't a true story and that Benaron isn't Rwandan (she's not). It takes you inside Jean-Patrick's head and you can understand why he ignores so many warning signs and warnings from friends about the tensions that are building. It's so much easier to stick to the beliefs that you were raised with, even when the evidence against them is so overwhelming. When the genocide comes, some Hutus turn on their friends and lovers, but others will risk and even sacrifice their own lives to save their countrymen.

While this story is set against the build up to the genocide in Rwanda, it's very much the story of an individual rather than the conflict itself. Parts are very difficult to read, but there is a sense of hope as well. It's a very powerful story, engrossing to read and hard to forget.(less)

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Jan 04, 2012 Barb rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Running The Rift" by Naomi Benaron is an incredible tribute to all who perished in the Rwanda genocide in the early 1990's while the world looked the other way. I picked it up because of the wonderful cover & a quick peek at the book synopsis. I read it basically in one sitting (ok, I was flat on my back sick) and was blown away by the moving story of Jean Patrick and his coming of age during the upheaval and horror of Rwanda. His dream was to make the Olympics - his reality was to slowly c...more

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Mar 13, 2012 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, i-read-grown-up-books-too

Jean Patrick, a young Rwandan, lives through the horrific conflict between Hutus and Tutsis in the mid 1990's. An aspiring runner, he pushes himself to excel in school while his nation's political situation swirls around him. Conflict reaches a fever pitch and Jean Patrick flees his home and loses the life that he dreamt of.

If you aren't familiar with Rwanda's recent history, Benaron does a fine job including historical details in the text. A quick wikipedia read might be helpful in establishing...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Jamie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I admit that the fact that this book won a prize for "socially engaged fiction" initially turned me off. I was worried this meant it would be a "good for you" book rather than a "good to read" book. Worry not - it is an engaging read with excellent characters. The main character is in training for the 800M race at the Olympics - the portions of the book covering his running and life as a Tutsi athlete were interesting even for a non-runner. The lessons he learns as a runner - endurance, pacing,...more

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Mar 16, 2012 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

"500,000 people killed in 100 days in a country the size of Belgium. An estimated 800,000 people killed over the course of a year. Death at that magnitude seems too horrible to be real, but those are the estimates from the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, according to Human Rights Watch estimates. It’s hard to grasp numbers that large.

"Given the choice between learning about genocide or looking the other way, the easier option is clear. But without knowledge of what has occurred in the past, we can do n...more

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Jun 09, 2012 Sarah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: grown-up-books

I read this close on the heels of Tracy Kidder's Strength in What Remains, and I recommend the pairing most highly. Kidder's is a nonfiction tale of Deo, a Burundian medical student, and Benaron's a novel about Jean Patrick, a university student and world class runner just over the border in Rwanda. The paths of these two Tutsi boys, one real, one imagined, seem to run parallel, crossing the Burundi-Rwanda border and back again, the ghost boy of fiction nearly right alongside the real boy in Deo...more I read this close on the heels of Tracy Kidder's Strength in What Remains, and I recommend the pairing most highly. Kidder's is a nonfiction tale of Deo, a Burundian medical student, and Benaron's a novel about Jean Patrick, a university student and world class runner just over the border in Rwanda. The paths of these two Tutsi boys, one real, one imagined, seem to run parallel, crossing the Burundi-Rwanda border and back again, the ghost boy of fiction nearly right alongside the real boy in Deo as both crouch in marshes and jungles watching the machete-men do their work. For both, and for those around them, the genocide sneaks up, almost imperceptible at first, and then literally unbelievable. From the ground, from the view of daily life in either country, how could anyone believe that what seemed like a band of unemployed young thugs with nothing better to do would grow into this unimaginable horror? I remember reading Madeleine Albright's memoir, and in it she expresses the universal regret of the west in the mid-90s: that we didn't do enough soon enough in Rwanda. But Albright writes that Rwanda was just one on the long list of daily atrocities on her atrocities memos. No one was aware of the true magnitude until it was too late.
No one would believe it. A man you fished alongside, pulling nets into your boat beside you would, a month later, be found hacking your little brother to pieces. How could anyone believe that? The gruesome intimacy required to kill someone, a child, a baby, with a machete defies belief. And when you knew that family, sold them fruit at the market, sent your kids to school with their kids, how do you bypass all that common humanity and exterminate them like cockroaches?
I suppose that question is the next I'd like answered in my reading. In both these books, we follow Tutsi who are being hunted like dogs. Who will explain for me the Hutu Power hunters who did the massacre? We can all imagine ourselves as the hunted--victims of circumstance running with our children and hiding in piles of bodies. As sickening as it is, and as sad, and as gut-wrenching as these stories are, we can see ourselves running and trying to survive like these Tutsi boys. But who among us can imagine that we might have the capacity to cut up the neighbor's four year old and his mother? A woman in Kidder's book on the run like Deo said, "I am a woman and a mother. That is my tribe." Motherhood sometimes seems almost strong enough to insulate mothers from this kind of hatred. At least, it often seems to keep women from being able to harm someone whom she knows is another woman's child. But that protective shield of motherhood is not universal. Given the right mixture of circumstances, even a mother could do these things. We are human before we are mothers, and humans demonstrate this terrible capacity again and again. Who would believe himself capable of torture? Of daily mass murder for weeks and months on end? And yet, some of us are. And not always the ones you might expect.(less)

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Apr 17, 2012 Teresa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nowadays we hear about so many tragedies on a daily basis that we have become almost inured to them. Modern life seems so rushed and pressurised that we don’t have time to pause, take a breath and express gratitude for what we have. Running the Rift, Naomi Benaron’s first novel, might very well have the power to stop you in your tracks.

Against the backdrop of The Rwandan Genocide of 1994, the author has created a character driven story which somehow highlights the positive attributes of humans i...more Nowadays we hear about so many tragedies on a daily basis that we have become almost inured to them. Modern life seems so rushed and pressurised that we don’t have time to pause, take a breath and express gratitude for what we have. Running the Rift, Naomi Benaron’s first novel, might very well have the power to stop you in your tracks.

Against the backdrop of The Rwandan Genocide of 1994, the author has created a character driven story which somehow highlights the positive attributes of humans in the midst of appalling crimes against humanity. The novel opens ten years before the genocide, with a young Tutsi boy, Jean Patrick Nkuba, dreaming of being the first Rwandan to run in the Olympics. Jean Patrick’s parents have tried to shelter their children from Rwanda’s troubled history but it is soon impossible to ignore the ethnic divisions which are bubbling over into acts of violence and discrimination and having an impact on their daily lives. Jean Patrick and his siblings have to secure the top marks in scholarship exams or they won’t be allowed to attend the secondary school of their choice alongside the Hutu majority. As tensions run high, Jean Patrick finds himself manipulated by the Hutu-led government – it enhances their human-rights profile to have a Tutsi child as an Olympic hopeful, providing a smoke-screen for the increase in ethnic cleansing. He wants to survive, to win a gold medal but he might have to renounce his Tutsi heritage to achieve his goal.

Initially I was rather hesitant about reading this novel as I thought it would be emotionally draining but it turned out the opposite was true. The portrayal of Jean Patrick and his extended family and indeed Rwanda itself is engrossing. We see the strength of family ties, the bonds within communities where Hutu and Tutsi are friends and neighbours with the shared goal of scraping a living, securing a future for their children. Yes, there is the palpable tension that something evil is looming just on the horizon but still, the start of the genocide comes as a total shock, how folk could hack down their neighbours seems so unthinkable even as you are reading it in black and white, yet it seemed to be a case of kill or be killed with a prevailing wind of bloodlust thrown in for good measure. Benaron treads a middle path in presenting the violence, neither sugaring the pill nor salting the wound.

Running the Rift is an extremely readable story about a very difficult subject. The rest of the world stood by and watched as 20% of the population of Rwanda was annihilated in the space of 100 days. Here, Naomi Benaron has opened a window on the lives of the ordinary flesh and blood folk, showing us the human face behind the statistics – a compelling, important, accessible read – highly recommended.

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Mar 05, 2012 Chris Blocker rated it 5 of 5 stars

Asked what Running the Rift is about, it would be too easy to say it is about the Rwandan genocide. You could also say it's about an Olympic runner. Both of these are correct, but neither really describe what this book is about at its core. I'd say, more than anything else, Benaron's novel is about character. It asks tough questions about morality, courage, honesty, and integrity.

Given the subject matter, I was hesitant to read this novel. I've read plenty of novels filled with the most horrific...more Asked what Running the Rift is about, it would be too easy to say it is about the Rwandan genocide. You could also say it's about an Olympic runner. Both of these are correct, but neither really describe what this book is about at its core. I'd say, more than anything else, Benaron's novel is about character. It asks tough questions about morality, courage, honesty, and integrity.

Given the subject matter, I was hesitant to read this novel. I've read plenty of novels filled with the most horrific scenes pulled from history, but something about the genocide in Rwanda hit me hard. Perhaps it's because it happened in my lifetime. Perhaps my guilt for all my inaction toward issues of social justice is personified in the Western world's reaction to Rwanda. Regardless, I was hesitant to begin this novel, but I did, and I'm glad I made it over that initial fear.

Despite the horrifying events which take place in Running the Rift, Benaron somehow manages to keep the novel light. She doesn't do this by ignoring what happened, or sugar coating it; it seems she does this purely by giving the reader just enough information to know what is going on and peopling the book with characters who make it worth continuing on. This line Benaron walks so carefully displays her natural talents.

In this novel about character, characters are the novel's best quality and its biggest downfall. The characters we meet in Running the Rift are wonderful. I loved them. I loved them. I wanted to shoot the breeze with Jean Patrick. I wanted to be Daniel's best friend. I wanted to join sides with Roger. And I was all about asking Bea out for a date. These people are lovable and I wanted to know more about them than this story allowed. At the same time, the characters were perhaps a little too lovable. The faults they had—which were very few—could be justified given the time and place. The “good guys” were good. The “bad guys” were bad. I'd have loved to have seen more dynamic characters and some shifting loyalties.

Running the Rift is a spectacular novel. It is filled with gorgeous language and an unforgettable cast of characters. In spite of the graphic war scenes, it is a clean novel, a rare example of how grittiness can be portrayed accurately without an R-rating. It is a surprisingly enjoyable read and worthy winner of the Bellwether Prize.

I present Running the Rift with the Best Book of 2012 (so far) award.(less)

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Jan 13, 2013 Dejan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of historical fiction and YA novels

Shelves: read-in-2013

This book was quite an emotional rollercoaster: love and hate, joy and grief, hope and despair… Witnessing J. P.’s coming of age and his constant struggle, I became fond of his character and hoped he would not be ill-fated, since the novel was set in the time of the Rwandan Genocide. The characterization was excellent, the imagery of Rwanda vivid and provided a great cultural insight. The focus was not that much on the atrocities of the genocide but more on how it affected Jean Patrick and his l...more

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Dec 25, 2012 Nicolemauerman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Initially, I wasn’t super stoked about this book. My library system had a bunch of copies and almost all of them were available. Not a good sign. Either everyone hated this book, or it was the best kept secret. The book follows Jean Patrick Nkuba through various times in life. As a young Rwandan Nkuba loves running, but is constantly being beat by his older brother. Meeting an Olympic runner changes his life and realizes his dream is to compete in the Olympics. This dream is challenged as Nkuba...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: africa

Benaron's writing is stunning. Her words immerse the reader in life in Rwanda, the individual homes, markets, cafes, and landscapes. Her words evoke textures, colors, sights, smells; one can feel the lush damp of the rainy season and envision the deep color of Lake Kivu against a backdrop of green hills.

Knowing the book is about Rwanda, one expects tragedy, the book would be false if this were not woven into the story. Through Benaron's characters, she shares the humanity of the people of Rwanda...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Adam Johnson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Benaron has created a rare and important novel in Running the Rift, one that does what the best novels should in terms of making the character feel like a member of your family, but by setting this tender portrait of the young runner Jean Patrick against the dark realities of the Rwandan genocide, the novel does what few nonfiction books on the topic can do: deliver the human dimension behind the faceless statistics. Psychological fiction is made to cross the gulfs of scale and trauma, and in Be...more

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