Coming of Age — The Book Roads

Small Country

Gaël Faye

Set in Burundi in the early 1990s, Petit pays follows Gabriel, a ten-year-old boy growing up in Bujumbura, the country’s capital. Living with his French father, Rwandan mother, and younger sister, Gabriel enjoys an idyllic childhood filled with adventures with his friends, bicycle rides, and the simple pleasures of everyday life. But as his parents’ relationship begins to unravel, political tensions intensify, and the approaching civil war threatens the peaceful world he has always known. Through Gabriel’s innocent yet increasingly troubled perspective, Gaël Faye portrays the devastating impact of conflict on childhood, family, and belonging. As violence spreads through Burundi and the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi unfolds in neighbouring Rwanda, Gabriel is forced to confront his own mixed heritage and the painful realities of a divided society. Blending nostalgia with the brutality of history, the novel explores the loss of innocence, the fragility of home, and the lasting scars of displacement. Inspired by the author’s own experiences, Petit pays is a moving reflection on childhood interrupted by violence and the struggle to preserve one’s identity amid historical upheaval.

Burundi 2016