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We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families: Stories from Rwanda Audiobook
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This program is read by the author. *Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award* We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families is an unforgettable firsthand account of a people's response to genocide and what it tells us about humanity. This remarkable audiobook chronicles what has happened in Rwanda and neighboring states since 1994, when the Rwandan government called on everyone in the Hutu majority to murder everyone in the Tutsi minority. Though the killing was low-tech--largely by machete--it was carried out at shocking speed: some 800,000 people were exterminated in a hundred days. A Tutsi pastor, in a letter to his church president, a Hutu, used the chilling phrase that gives Philip Gourevitch his title. With keen dramatic intensity, Gourevitch frames the genesis and horror of Rwanda's "genocidal logic" in the anguish of its aftermath: the mass displacements, the temptations of revenge and the quest for justice, the impossibly crowded prisons and refugee camps. Through intimate portraits of Rwandans in all walks of life, he focuses on the psychological and political challenges of survival and on how the new leaders of postcolonial Africa went to war in the Congo when resurgent genocidal forces threatened to overrun central Africa. Can a country composed largely of perpetrators and victims create a cohesive national society? This moving contribution to the literature of witness tells us much about the struggle everywhere to forge sane, habitable political orders, and about the stubbornness of the human spirit in a world of extremity.
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"This book is heartbreaking and very difficult to read but i think that it's a must for everyone to understand fully the atrocities that went on in Rwanda in the 1990s and hopefully it will help people to realize that terrible things like this are not as far removed from us as we would like to think."
— Purvi (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“[It is the] sobering voice of witness that Gourevitch has vividly captured in his work.
— Wole Soyinka, The New York Times Book Review -
[Gourevitch] has the mind of a scholar along with the observative capacity of a good novelist, and he writes like an angel. This volume establishes him as the peer of Michael Herr, Ryszard Kapuscinski, and Tobias Wolff. I think there is no limit to what we may expect from him.
— Robert Stone -
A sobering, revealing, and deeply thoughtful chronicle.
— The Boston Globe -
The most important book I have read in many years . . . [Gourevitch] examines [the genocidal war in Rwanda] with humility, anger, grief and a remarkable level of both political and moral intelligence.
— Susie Linfield, Los Angeles Times -
Shocking and important . . . clear and balanced . . . the voice in this book is meticulous and humane.
— Michael Pearson, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution -
Astonishing . . . [Gourevitch] is masterful at placing the unspeakability of mass murder into actual people's mouths and inhabiting it in actual people's stories.
— Mark Gevisser, Newsday -
Unsettlingly beautiful . . . brilliant . . . this is a staggeringly good book . . . [It] should be on bookshelves forever.
— Tom Engelhardt, The Philadelphia Inquirer -
Winner ofThe Los Angeles Times Book Prize The George K. Polk Award for Foreign ReportingThe Helen Bernstein Book AwardThe Overseas Press Club Cornelius Ryan Best Book AwardThe PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction
Awards
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A Slate Magazine Best Book in Nonfiction from the Last 25 Years
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A New York Times Best Book of the Year
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Winner of the George Polk Book Award for Foreign Reporting
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Winner of the Guardian First Book Award
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Nominated for Guardian First Book Award - Nominee, 1999
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Winner of National Book Critics Circle Award - Winner, 1998
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Winner of L.A. Times Book Prize - Winner, 1998
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Winner of PEN Literary Award - Winner, 1999
We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families Listener Reviews
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" Simply one of the best books I've ever read. Should be a must read for everyone, especially anyone purporting to have an opinion about any intl policy. "
— Beta, 2/11/2014 -
" More than recounting the Rwandan genocide, which he does, Gourevitch offers a framework for understanding how and why it happened in a readable way. "
— Sarah, 2/6/2014 -
" In a book full of disturbing images and information, the last image is the one that leveled me the most. "
— Carrie, 1/29/2014 -
" Not exactly the "story" format I was expecting but an excellent research piece on the Rwanda genocide. Lots of information in a short space, some sections lost focus and started to drift towards the wars and crises in bordering countries, which, although related, simply became overwhelming. Considering it was written in 1998, I'm curious what a followup might reveal. The best question this book asked is, "what do we do with the survivors?" "
— Charis, 1/23/2014 -
" What a sad book about Rwanda and the genocide that took place in the early 90's "
— Kerry, 1/1/2014 -
" This book is a history of the Rwandan genocide and civil war. It answered many of the questions I had after reading Left to Tell. It also helped me put Immaculee Ilibagiza's memoir in historical and political context. Thought-provoking and well-written. "
— Mrs, 12/5/2013 -
" Haunting. I read this one in spurts. "
— Solomon, 11/19/2013 -
" I can think of a few world leaders that really should read this.... "
— Carolee, 11/18/2013 -
" Beth said this was great, and I guess it is, but it just doesn't keep my attention. I am sure it must be good, but I can't keep reading. Maybe I just find his prose terribly dull. I'm sorry I feel that way... I have to force myself to keep reading. "
— Joanna, 10/22/2013 -
" I wish the book was as interesting as the title. Great at first but it gets redundant as the book goes on. "
— Michelle, 9/4/2013 -
" I found it very interesting, compelling. I have heard people criticize it by saying that it is 'clearly written by a journalist.' Maybe so, but I found it very interesting and it seems reliable. (What do I know though?) "
— Helki, 8/27/2013 -
" I learned a lot about what happened in Rwanda and neighboring countries after the genocide, which was interesting, and I think under-reported at the time (but it also just may be that I wasn't paying attention). It got a little slow at times, but I am glad I read it nonetheless. "
— Gail, 7/26/2013 -
" Very well written. I've looked at life a little differently since reading this book. Watched Hotel Rwanda afterwards. "
— Rachel, 2/3/2013 -
" Possible the best non-fiction book I have ever read. Incredibly good, well-written, powerful, eloquent without being wordy, strong without being sentimental. "
— Clara, 12/4/2012 -
" I thank the author for writing this book. Everyone should read this book. "
— Michelle, 7/31/2012 -
" Want to plumb the darkness of the human soul? This is a station of your cross. Both a political and an intimate social history. Gourevitch pieces together the story of the Rwandan genocide from his travels, and interviews with survivors. Well written and absolutely heartbreaking. "
— Peter, 4/25/2012 -
" Gourevitch traveled to Rwanda after the genocide and spent time interviewing and observing: the result is a heartbreaking look at life for Rwandans. Written with empathy, insight, self-awareness and depth, it is a worthwhile read whatever way you look at it. "
— Arlie, 3/8/2012 -
" Chilling stories about the many conflicts in Africa. Some very interesting perspectives. This book will make you uncomfortable. "
— Asenath, 7/7/2011 -
" Beautifully written, gruesome but thoughtful recounting of the events that takes the time to connects the dots to the larger story if human nature and the human condition. "
— Sarah, 5/18/2011 -
" Gourevitch manages to go pass simple story telling and plunges the reader straight into Rwanda with him. Horribly depressing and sometimes morbid, but a great read! "
— Carrie, 4/19/2011 -
" A salacious tease in butchery. "
— Rawful, 4/1/2011 -
" Made me weep. Opened my eyes to the little known horrors of the Rwandan Genocide. One of my most cherished. "
— Ciaran, 3/31/2011 -
" What a masterpiece of journalistic reporting. Horrifying but yet one is unable to put it down. It must be read. "
— Michael, 3/21/2011 -
" I was vascillating between marking this 4 or 5 but realized that this was amazing, but it was my sadness with humanity and not the author and his work that had made me want to rate it lower. I had been wanted to read this book since I was a freshman in high school and am glad I finally have. "
— Maeve, 3/18/2011 -
" This book made me so angry. I can't believe how much the rest of the world screwed up while Rwandans were being massacred with machetes. "
— Becky, 3/2/2011
About Philip Gourevitch
Philip Gourevitch is a staff writer at the New Yorker and a contributing editor to Forward. He has reported from Africa, Asia, and Europe for a number of magazines, including Granta, Harper’s, and the New York Review of Books. He lives in New York City.