Inyenzi — Andrew Brown

Inyenzi is a riveting, beautiful and heartbreaking novel set against the backdrop of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. It follows the lives of three characters caught up in the anarchy of the time: Melchior, a Hutu priest in a rural community; his childhood friend, Victor, head of the communal police in the area; and Selena, a Tutsi woman from the city … and Melchior's secret love. In the eyes of the Hutu extremists she is nothing but a cockroach â€" an inyenzi â€" who must be exterminated.

In the chilling period before the killing spree, the lives of the three characters, and the choices they make, become increasingly intertwined, as childhood bonds, personal morality, love and self-sacrifice are pushed to the limit.