Jul, 2009 baking cakes in kigali comes across as an interesting account of life in rwanda. Angel tungaraza, the main character and cake baker of the title, is an earthmother. Do you think fi ction or nonfi ction is a more effective vehicle for sharing stories. All of the characters were delightful and i enjoyed the way angel, the cake baker, engaged her customers to tell their stories over a cup of tea and a cupcake. The residents of kigali, the capital city of rwanda, turn to angel for their celebrationsand sometimes just a weeknight dinner partyand in the process share their lives and hopes with the tanzanian transplant. This book made me homesick for east africa, having lived there myself for many years. This soaring novel introduces us to angel tungaraza. Israeli salad and a middle eastern rice dish the martian by andy weir. It is a novel but it conveys in beautiful artistic phrases and tones the experience of a woman who.
After entertaining you with a story about converting waste to biofuel, as you leave to say goodbye, angel may remind you to take a flashlight. Find books like baking cakes in kigali from the worlds largest community of readers. Baking cakes in kigali, by parkin, gaile 2010 paperback. Baking cakes in kigali virtual book discussion becky a. I live in africa and so we usually pick africa themed books.
A novel about the real meaning of reconciliation about how, in the aftermath of tragedy, life goes on and people still manage to find reasons to celebrate. Angel tungaraza is from tanzania, but she is living in kigali rwanda while her husband is teaching at a local university. Oct 01, 2011 i have just finished baking cakes in kigali, by gaile parkin bantam books, 2010. Baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin librarything. I suggested it to my book club, and i was delighted it when it was selected as this months read. We decided during last weeks meeting to go ahead and vote on several books to read in the upcoming weeks. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading baking cakes in kigali.
Well written and angel is a very appealing character who solves her friends and neighbors problems while baking the best cakes in kigali. Baking cakes in kigali, by gaile parkin the globe and mail. Very much in the style of alexander mccall smiths no. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy. If you have not read the book, spoilers obviously abound. As baker angel tungaraza busies herself with her customers.
Angels kitchen is an oasis in the heart of rwanda, where lives are transformed and connections are made, changing her life and the lives of all around her. Aug 18, 2009 in kigali, angel runs a bustling business. Baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin rebecca reads. Ken akimoto with his penchant for partying, her best client and bosco, his lovesick driver. Baking cakes in kigali is a long winding road of a book. Baking cakes in kigali is a delightful book, easy to read despite covering some difficult issues, funny in places but sad in others, and i would definitely recommend it. The political and ethnic divisions of the population of rwanda were of interest, too. To ask other readers questions about baking cakes in kigali, please sign up. Baking cakes in kigali is a tale of resilience and hope set in modernday rwanda. The residents of kigali, the capital city of rwanda, turn to angel for their celebrationsand sometimes just a weeknight dinner partyand in the process share.
Baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin bantam, 2010, fiction, 336 pages we discussed the history of rwanda, found it on a map, and explored our knowledge of africa in general as a background to baking cakes in kigali. The book was shortlisted for the 2010 mckitterick prize. She is currently a freelance consultant in the fields of education, gender and hivaids. It is a novel but it conveys in beautiful artistic phrases and tones the experience of a woman who must overcome much adversity, who must understand. Angels kitchen is an oasis in the heart of rwanda, where visitors stop to order cakes but end up sharing their stories, transforming their lives, leaving with new hope. Baking cakes in kigali is a tale in fourteen confections, and behind each cake lies a story. A thrilling debut novel about how far well go to protect. Pius questions the distinction between what south africa calls truth and. We found as we went to discuss the book that we were unable to remember african names and that made discussing. This is a uniquely charming, gently moving, deliciously funny novel about life, love and cake. As baker angel tungaraza busies herself with her customers orders, we learn about their lives. May 04, 2020 baking cakes in kigali touching but not dwelling on rwandas recent tragic past, the book also presses on into the collision between traditional values and a modern and everglobalizing world.
A cia agents wife seeks the perfect holiday cake but walks away with something far sweetera former boysoldier orders an engagement cake, then, between. Angel tungaraza, a tanzanian woman, has relocated to rwandas capital along with her husband and five grandchildren. Baking cakes in kigali i love to bake and i love to eat cake and i love learning and reading stories about africa, so i knew baking cakes in kigali had to be a recipe for a great read and i was not disappointed. Goodreads members who liked baking cakes in kigali also liked. Only instead of murders, angel tungaraza muddles her way through issues such as adultery, ritual cutting, equal rights for women, and racial prejudices. Praise for baking cakes in kigali everyone needs a neighbor like angel tungaraza. Baking cakes in kigali, by gaile parkin the independent.
Baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin, paperback barnes. I ostensibly got this book for a reading challenge, but i would have wanted to read it anyway who could resist a gorgeous cover like that. Although there are difficult themes contained in the book, the tone of the book means that the reader is compelled by them rather than repelled by them. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Once in a great while a debut novelist comes along who da. Be warned, however, the book is sometimes negative towards white people which is easily forgiven considering our treatment of them by our not too distant ancestors. But baking cakes in kigali is not simply a warm story of family life. In this vibrant, powerful setting, unexpected things. Rejoice, without whom shed never cope with the hot flashes that send her delving into her brassiere. This will allow people to read more at their own speed depending on what is. The mandelbaum gate by muriel spark overdue book club of huntsville, alabama. In gaile parkins popular novel baking cakes in kigali 2009, one of the characters is prevented from. Gaile parkin was born and raised in zambia and studied at universities in south africa and england.
Gaile parkin was born and raised in zambia, and studied at universities in south africa and england. Her strength, her sense of family, and her willingness to listen and learn endear her to the reader almost immediately. Eat cake by jeanne ray book club discussion questions. Although there are difficult themes contained in the book, the tone of the book means that the reader. Baking cakes in kigali, gaile parkin dinner with the smileys, jane smiley 2012 20 extremely loud and incredibly close, jonathan safran foer the night circus, erin morgenstern killing lincoln, bill oreilly clara and mr. Tiffany, susan vreeland the lost constitution, william martin the. Baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin discussion guide. Baking cakes in kigali ebook by gaile parkin rakuten kobo. Maine foods including lobster bisque, irish soda bread because the family was irish catholic and for dessert, rice pudding with maine blueberries. Bivar book club brings together booklovers once a month to talk about a book theyve.
Sep 01, 2009 a riveting, potentially redemptive story of modern american suburbia that reads almost like an ancient greek tragedy. Read baking cakes in kigali, by gaile parkin online on bookmate angel tungazara runs a small business, baking cakes for the parties and celebrations of her neighbours. Hauntingly charming, funny, and involving, baking cakes in kigali is a novel about the real meaning of reconciliation about how, in the aftermath of tragedy, life goes on and people still manage to find reasons to celebrate. Baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin reading guide. Devereaux house book club dont just talk about it, read it. The discussions are in english and we plan to explore various literary works, alternating. Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers. Baking cakes in kigali book central rappahannock regional. The author does not shy away from difficult issues but balances the book with warmth and humor. Oct, 2010 last year, i read baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin, and i really enjoyed it.
Baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin reading guidebook. But baking cakes in kigali is not simply a warm story. This is by far, the best book i have read this year. Throughout baking cakes in kigali i was comparing angela to angela lansbury in murder, she wrote. In 1976, inspired by a newfound fascination with guernsey, mary ann shaffer traveled to the island in the english channel, only to be stranded there due to inclement weather. This edition contains a baking cakes in kigali discussion guide. If you are the publisher or author of this book and feel.
When the whitmans, a nouveau riche white family, move into a sprawling, newly built house next door to valerie alstonholt, a black professor of forestry and ecology, and her musically gifted, biracial 18yearold son, xavier, in a modest, diverse north carolina neighborhood of. Angel makes ends meet by baking cakes for special occasions and parties. I would urge anyone interested in understanding life in rwanda as well as life of women in much of the world. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors.
Sep 21, 2009 baking cakes in kigali, by gaile parkin. In the end, though, it was the heated discussion around the table that proved to be the most enjoyable part of the story. Much of baking cakes in kigali is based on true stories the author was told while working in communities like the one featured here. Baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin, 9781848871472, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Jan 16, 2009 menopausal and putting on weight, she is an enthusiastic baker of delicious, brightlyiced cakes, which she sells to friends and neighbours. May 20, 2019 baking cakes in kigali is a tale of resilience and hope set in modernday rwanda. Last year, i read baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin, and i really enjoyed it. Centered around angel, a baker of specialty cakes, you are immediately drawn into her world.
She has lived in many different parts of africa, including rwanda, where baking cakes in kigali is set. Read baking cakes in kigali, by gaile parkin on bookmate. They live with their five grandchildren in a compound that houses other expats working in rwanda. Baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin penguin random. Generic folding in gaile parkins baking cakes in kigali jstor.
Menopausal and putting on weight, she is an enthusiastic baker of delicious, brightlyiced cakes, which she sells to friends and neighbours. Baking cakes in kigali begins as a series of vignettes, with author gaile parkin introducing characters and plot elements through visits to cake baker angel tungarazas apartment. Baking cakes in kigali touching but not dwelling on rwandas recent tragic past, the book also presses on into the collision between traditional values and a modern and everglobalizing world. But more than her it is the people who she interacts with appear more interesting. I reread it last week and searched for some discussion questions online. She spent two years in rwanda as a vso volunteer at the new university doing a wide range of work. Angel uses baking as part of her own healing process. Baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin penguin random house. Rhapsody salon discussion group for book aficionados. This recipe and post is in honor of baking cakes in kigali by gaile parkin our cook the books pick for this round. Baking cakes in kigali is a delicious novel, inviting the reader to share in the stories, heartache and hopes of a nation all too often reduced to stereotype and headline.
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