Nicholas McCane

I will never understand how an entire race can come together to exterminate another. However, I can understand how people become monsters when they listen to hate. This is a powerful memoir of a hotel manager who saved over 1,200 Tutsi refugees during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Paul Rusesabagina does not write this memoir as a savior of hero, but as an ordinary person. This book is heartbreaking, and it shows how the world turned its back on Rwanda. This is the book that inspired the movie, “Hotel Rwanda”.

This book is a powerful and moving autobiography from one of our world’s greatest leaders. I believe that this is the longest autobiography I’ve ever read (625 Pages), but worth every minute. His story is one of courage, sacrifice, and the fight for justice. Nelson Mandela takes us on a ride from his childhood, his 27 years in prison, and his presidency.

We watch him sacrifice his marriage, relationships with his children, his career, and his life in order to force his government to bring freedom. It’s a must-read. I have been on my journey of reading every book I can find on apartheid, and this one has taught me so much. This is a five-star read.

Here are a couple of quotes:

“But I can only rest for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended”.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

Wow! Wow! Wow! 😢 If you thought the Netflix movie was raw, the book caught the STD. It’s 142 pages of humans at their worst. No spoilers. Everything I’m about to say is in the narrative. After witnessing his father’s murder, a 12-year-old boy (Agu) is recruited into a guerrilla unit as civil war engulfs his country. Boy soldiers make up the unit. The book never specifies which part of Africa, but it really doesn’t matter since you’re in the head of this child. If I had to guess, I would say Nigeria. A guy that goes by the title “Commandant” leads the guerrilla unit, and the book is about Agu losing his innocence. There are many raw and hard to read scenes. I loved that the author wrote the book in Pidgin English. It felt realistic. I recommend reading along with the audiobook. I found the narrator’s voice perfect. Warning: There are a lot of scenes that may trigger you. This book was disturbing, jaw-dropping, and eye opening. If I could compare it to anything, I would say Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane.

Next up: A long way gone by Ishmael Beah and An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusesabagina.

I am known for saying that I will never read a romance. And I meant that, well, that was until my wife talked me into this one. So here we go. 

As a whole, I enjoyed the book and the romance genre experience. The book is definitely for the grown and sexy. I enjoyed the plot and the storytelling and I found the characters relatable and easy to root for. My wife and I have been together for 27 years and married for 25. Seeing them flirt with each other kept giving me flashbacks of our greatest hits.

Anyway, this is also my first dose of spice 🌶️ . And apparently I have limitations. Because after the second scene, I had enough. I prefer reading more about their connection, what made them fall in love with each other the first time and current. However, we continued hearing about their strong sexual desire for each other. My brain wanted/needed more story.

Yasmen has great friends (Soledad and Hendrix). She and we needed them. I also enjoyed Josiah’s character. The author wrote a great black man with none of the goofy stereotypes. I read this along with the audiobook. I loved both narrators. This is a great 2nd chance love story and I give it four and a half stars. I docked it a half a star for what I mentioned above. Will I continue in this genre? Probably not. Point me towards some action (hold the spice please). 🤣