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By Stephanie · 3501 posts · 467 views
By Stephanie · 3501 posts · 467 views
last updated Feb 27, 2024 08:11PM
What Members Thought
This book is the perfect example of why I love reading fiction to understand cultural history. This is set in post-civil war Rwanda and while seemingly a simple story about a woman who has her own business baking cakes in Kigali, Rwanda, ended up touching on female genital mutilation, rising feminism in Africa, the AIDS crisis, suicide, post war reconciliation and so much more. It was really good - 4.5 stars
An entertaining book that quietly and easily addresses AIDS in Africa. A Tanzanian woman (Angel) living in Rwanda bakes cakes for extra money for her family. She works out of her apt. and the book profiles people who come to her ordering cakes. We learn about each (ultimately connected) person through their stories which she listens to while drinking tea and placing the cake order. Angel is the ultimate sympathizer and listener, a bit too sweet, like her cakes and her name, to be believable. The
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May 23, 2010
Lisa Hickman
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
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busy-as-a-bee-books
"Baking Cakes in Kigali" is one of the most satisfying books I've read this summer. Angel is an endearing character, who I want to sit down with, share a cup of tea and sample one of her homemade confections. I may worry if she takes off her glasses and starts to wipe them clean, because I will then know I have a problem which needs solving.
Angel is a mother, friend and good neighbor who dispenses advice and wisdom along with special cakes for any occasions. Taking place in Kigali, the story bri ...more
Angel is a mother, friend and good neighbor who dispenses advice and wisdom along with special cakes for any occasions. Taking place in Kigali, the story bri ...more
Baking Cakes in Kigali is a joyous book. Describing the novel is not an easy thing to do. It is about cake decorating - a fascination that keeps me glued to food network. But it is about so much more than cake decorating. I could say it's about friendship, but it's about so much more than friendship. I suppose the theme of the final chapter (or cake) is reconciliation. Parkin crafts a novel that weaves the aftermath of genocide and war together with healing, acceptance, and friendship. This is a
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I enjoyed this novel quite a lot, it really has a heart warming, feel good feeling to it, while still having a backdrop of tragedy. Earlier this year I watched the TV series No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency that was based on the books by the same name by Alexander McCall Smith and this novel is very much along the same lines. It is not really a novel that has a beginning, middle and end, but more a collection of vignettes that intertwine the characters and their lives. A good solid debut novel from
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A bit twee for my taste. But if you like The No. 1 Detective Agency I think you will like this.
An hopeful story of a baker and her friends, neighbors and customers in post-genocide Rwanda.
Aug 25, 2009
Linda
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Nov 21, 2009
Laura Ellis
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Dec 27, 2009
Kirsten
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May 23, 2010
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Emily
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