Left To Tell Review

          For my Writing and Rhetoric class, we were assigned to read the novel Left To Tell:Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust. This is a first hand account of Immaculée Ilibagiza, a Rwandan holocaust survivor. Before I read this book, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what the Rwandan holocaust was all about. I sort of understood that there were two sides fighting against each other: the Hutus and the Tutsis. Until reading this book, I had no idea of the immense amount of hardship this caused each and every member of both tribes. Innocent people were killed and imprisoned, had to pick up and leave their homes, or were forced to find hiding and safety somewhere else.
          The main character of this book, Ilibagiza, was a Tutsi forced to leave her home, split up from her family, and find safety in the home of a pastor who was a Hutu. The pastor had no other place to hide them, but a small bathroom. Ilibagiza and seven other women hid in this bathroom for three months during the terrible genocide that swept the country. What was most poignant to me about her story was her attitude. While she was hiding in the bathroom, she had no idea what was happening to her family. She had no way of knowing whether members of her family had found safety. There was not enough space to even breathe, but her attitude was amazing. She never once forgot to pray to God. She had such faith in God during this incredibly hard time for her in her life.
          This book was amazing. I've never read a historical novel about a holocaust quite like this one. I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about this tragic genocide.