Gaël Faye’s novel Jacaranda confronts the limits of forgiveness after Rwanda
French-Rwandan author Gaël Faye releases his second novel, Jacaranda, using the aftermath of the 1994 genocide to challenge European public life and examine the enduring societal divides between victims, perpetrators, and continents.
Gaël Faye, the French-Rwandan author and musician, has released his second novel, Jacaranda, following his 2016 debut Small Country. The book investigates the 1994 Rwanda genocide and the generational trauma that continues to influence societal dynamics across both continents.
The plot opens during the summer of 1994, focusing on a 12-year-old boy named Milan. Milan enjoys a privileged upbringing in Versailles with his white French father, spending holidays sailing at the Île de Ré while remaining largely insulated from the disturbing news reports emerging from his mother’s homeland. His mother, Venancia, runs a successful clothing boutique but refuses to discuss her past or the reasons she left for Europe.
The family's quiet existence is disrupted when a severely machete-injured Rwandan cousin named Claude arrives unexpectedly for medical treatment. Though taciturn and deeply traumatised, Claude forges a brief but profound bond with Milan before suddenly leaving for unexplained reasons, leaving a void that refuses to heal.
The narrative jumps to 1998, sending a 16-year-old Milan to Kigali as his parents' marriage deteriorates and his own academic performance declines. There, he connects with Eusébie, a Tutsi survivor and justice campaigner who provides an alternative maternal presence alongside her elderly mother Rosalie and newborn daughter Stella.
Milan also reconnects with Claude and encounters Sartre, a pivotal figure who provided sanctuary for dozens of genocide orphans at a dilapidated estate known as Le Palais. Sartre has built an extensive library of books and music, educating Milan about the complex roots of the Hutu-Tutsi divide while the young residents defy their trauma through relentless work and partying.
The text examines the painful reality of the gacaca courts, which functioned until 2012 to facilitate public confessions and societal reconciliation. These large outdoor tribunals force characters to confront uncomfortable revelations, demonstrating that forgiveness has strict limits when historical truths remain shrouded and individuals masquerade as someone they are not.
Faye ultimately questions who can be trusted when both victims and perpetrators conceal their true histories, and where individuals can find solace when even the canopy of a jacaranda tree fails to provide shelter. By highlighting the harm inherent in the divides separating Europe from Africa, the novel offers European readers a vital reflection on memory, endurance, and the fragile nature of post-conflict societal healing.
