Jacaranda

A young man journeys from Paris to Rwanda to discover the truth about his family’s past in this bestselling, prize-winning novel from internationally renowned Rwandan-French novelist and hip-hop artist Gaël Faye

"Gaël Faye’s talent is breathtaking.” —Imbolo Mbue
“A writer of great promise and grace.”—Chigozie Obioma

Milan—the twelve-year-old son of a French father and a Rwandan mother—blames flunking his exams on the emotional toll of the genocide in his mother’s homeland. In truth, his mother never talks about Rwanda; the violence is an abstraction that only reaches their French suburb through television broadcasts. That is, until Milan meets Claude, a small boy with a bandaged head whom Milan’s mother introduces as a cousin who has come to France seeking medical treatment. Milan embraces him as the brother he’s always wanted—until, one day, Claude is sent back to Rwanda without warning, leaving Milan heartbroken and confused.

Four years later, the boys reunite as teenagers when Milan visits Rwanda for the first time with his mother in the wake of her divorce and discovers a more fractured and vibrant community than he could have imagined. But the trip raises more questions for him than it answers—about family, the war, and its aftershocks. Over the course of many years, Milan will return to Rwanda again and again, compelled to unearth the secrets that have taken root in the shadows of long silences, confront the past, and imagine a new future.

Partly inspired by acclaimed author Gaël Faye’s own relationship with Rwanda and its history, Jacaranda is a rich and deeply felt portrait of a man seeking to understand his family and his nation as it heals from the unthinkable.Gaël Faye was born in 1982 in Burundi to a French father and Rwandan mother. In 1995, after the outbreak of the civil war and the genocide in Rwanda, the family moved to France. An author, songwriter and hip-hop artist, he released his first solo album, Pili Pili sur un croissant au beurre, in 2013. His first novel Small Country was an international bestseller and was awarded numerous literary prizes, including the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens. He lives in Paris.

Sarah Ardizzone is a translator of diverse French-speaking voices. Her work spans hip-hop lyrics, film scripts, memoir, picture books, graphic novels and literary fiction. Sarah has received the Scott Moncrieff prize twice, the Marsh award twice, and a New York Times notable book accolade. She was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2022 and made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2024.Translated by Sarah Ardizzone; International bestseller; Author of Small Country