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Running the Rift

Published by Oneworld Publications
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

WINNER OF THE BELLWETHER PRIZE FOR FICTION

SHORTLISTED FOR THE COMMONWEALTH WRITERS' PRIZE

Jean Patrick dreams of running in the Olympics, and with gruelling training he soon beats a world qualifying time. But his chances of success are threatened by the ethnic tensions erupting all around him. When Hutu violence against Tutsis finally crescendos and his homeland Rwanda is wracked by unforgivable atrocities, Jean Patrick, a Tutsi, has no choice but to run for his life abandoning fatherland, family, and the woman he loves. Finding them again will be the race of his life.

Following a decade in Rwanda’s history through the eyes of one boy, Running the Rift is a wrenching tale of a people’s collective trauma, of lives lost, and loves salvaged.

About The Author

Naomi Benaron earned an MFA from Antioch University and an MS in earth sciences from Scripps Institute of Oceanography. She teaches at Pima Community College and online through the Afghan Women's Writing Project. An advocate for African refugees in her community, she has worked extensively with genocide survivor groups in Rwanda. She has won the G. S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction and the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. She is also an Ironman triathlete.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Oneworld Publications (April 1, 2012)
  • Length: 384 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781780740782

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Raves and Reviews

“An incredibly engaging story, filled with vitality and passion, great in scope, yet never laboured, a truly impressive read.”

– Daily Mail

“Truly fearless writing...culturally rich and completely engrossing.”

– Barbara Kingsolver - author of The Poisonwood Bible

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