Bought at a charity shop in Torquay

Review from Literary Flits http://litflits.blogspot.co.uk

The first thing I think to say about this memoir is that it is not a book for the faint-hearted. Tuhabonye does go into graphic detail of the violence he witnessed and experienced inflicted on Tutsi students by Hutu men. Secondly, this isn't really a running memoir either. Tuhabonye is indeed a runner and now a successful running coach, but that is only one aspect of his life. For me, The Running Man is a richly detailed memoir of a Burundian childhood, one which gives insights into a disappearing way of life.

Expertly ghostwritten by Gary Brozek, I found The Running Man to be a compelling read from start to finish. Chapters about Tuhabonye's idyllic childhood, his determination to gain a good education, and the importance of his religious faith, are interspersed with horrific scenes of the later violence that would force him into exile from his country. This vivid contrast heightens both narratives. I know it is important to witness and to remember genocide in the hope that eventually humans will move beyond such indiscriminate hatred, however I don't think I could have stomached reading these scenes together as a whole chapter. Tuhabonye does explain the immediate triggers of the Burundian genocide and the historical cultural inequalities in which anger had simmered for generations. Still, there's a lot about humanity that I don't think I will ever truly understand.

If you can bear (or skim read) the violence, I would highly recommend this memoir. Tuhabonye has an engaging voice and isn't afraid to show himself in negatives as well as positives. I am glad to have read this memoir, especially with its ultimate message of hope even after such a tragedy.

On the book table