Baking Cakes in Kigali

electronic resource

English language

Published Feb. 8, 2009 by Random House Publishing Group.

ISBN:
978-0-440-33879-6
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OCLC Number:
464694800

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4 stars (1 review)

Once in a great while a debut novelist comes along who dazzles us with rare eloquence and humanity, who takes us to bold new places and into previously unimaginable lives. Gaile Parkin is just such a talent--and Baking Cakes in Kilgali is just such a novel. This gloriously written tale--set in modern-day Rwanda--introduces one of the most singular and engaging characters in recent fiction: Angel Tungaraza--mother, cake baker, keeper of secrets--a woman living on the edge of chaos, finding ways to transform lives, weave magic, and create hope amid the madness swirling all around her.In Kigali, Angel runs a bustling business: baking cakes for all occasions--cakes filled with vibrant color, buttery richness, and, most of all, a sense of hope only Angel can deliver....A CIA agent's wife seeks the perfect holiday cake but walks away with something far sweeter...a former boy-soldier orders an engagement cake, then, between sips of tea, …

3 editions

Review of 'Baking cakes in Kigali' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Angel Tungaraza is from Tanzania, but she is living in Kigali Rwanda while her husband is teaching at a local university. They live with their five grandchildren in a compound that houses other expats working in Rwanda. Angel has started a cake making business. People come to her to order a cake for the happy moments in their lives and they confide their secrets to her.

There is not an overall plot to the book. People come to order a cake and we hear about their lives in post-genocide Rwanda. Some are survivors of the massacre. Others have family members in prison for participating in it. Some have come to help with the international reconstruction efforts (and to earn extra money for living in a "dangerous" area which confuses Angel who feels perfectly safe.)

This format allows discussion of the role of AIDS in central African society. Do you talk …