Deogratias
Encyclopedia
Deogratias: A Tale of Rwanda is a graphic novel
written and drawn by Jean-Philippe Stassen
, published by First Second Books
.
and has appeared in a number of different translations. It was translated into English by Alexis Siegel and published in 2006 by First Second.
; told through parallel storylines. It is divided between the present day and Deogratias' flashbacks, denoted by black borders for the former and blank borders for the latter. It follows Deogratias, a Hutu teenager who has been unstable ever since his two Tutsi friends died in the genocide. The story begins after the genocide. Deogratias is at a bar and meets some old friends. Deogratias has flashbacks to his life before the genocide. He remembers the crush he had on the two girls and how he tried to spend time with them. In the flashbacks, Deogratias wasn't always a good person. We meet other people in the story. The two tribes in the country didn't get along. Deogratias was a bit caught in the middle of the feud. His life after the genocide seems very bad.
In day three of Deogratias returns to the town looking for urwagwa (banana beer
) because he is turning into a dog again, but doesn't. Because he talks to Julius about killing the Tutsis, then he begins to think of how the father and brother Philip left and the others stayed and hid.
Venetia - Venetia is the mother of Benina and Apollinaria. She is a prostitute, soliciting in a sexual manner.
Apollinaria - A Tutsi girl who works with the church. Deogratias pines after her though she denies him. She is very angered by the thoughts of being called a cockroach and is protective of her sister when she finds out early in the book that she is in a relationship with Deogratias.
Benina - Half sister of Apollinaria. she is also Tutsi. She is involved in a romantic relationship with Deogratias.
Brother Philip - A young man who goes to Rwanda in order to try to bring religion and civility to the Rwandans. Who also at the end lets Deogratias confess to him and listen to all of Deogratias' stories.
Father Prior Stanislas - Deogratias steals money from this father of the church in Rwanda, catching him in a lie. He is known to have an affair with Venitia, and also is Appollinaria’s father.
Julius - A leader in the Hutu militia called the “interahamwa"
Bosco - An officer in the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front.
Sergeant/The French man -he is the head of Deogratias’ group
Early on, Deogratias stops the Frenchman from swatting a cockroach; regarding the "cockroach" slur used by Hutu extremists to describe Tutsis, this shows that he regrets his actions during the conflict and wants to preserve what's left. Adding to the irony is that Benina and Apollinaria, both Tutsis, were like sisters to him, yet he aided in their deaths.
who wrote: "The heartbreaking power of Deogratias is how it keeps the reader distant from the atrocities by showing the trivial cruelties of everyday life before and after the genocide."
, the 2001 Angoulême International Comics Festival Media award
and the 2007 "Best Reprint Publication" Glyph Comics Awards
. It was also nominated for the Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Best Album and Prix de la critique
in 2001.
The book also made the 2007 Young Adult Library Services Association
list of "Great Graphic Novel for Teens".
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
written and drawn by Jean-Philippe Stassen
Jean-Philippe Stassen
Jean-Philippe Stassen, born on 14 March 1966 in Liège is a Belgian comics creator best known for Deogratias, A Tale of Rwanda.-Biography:...
, published by First Second Books
First Second Books
First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism.-History:...
.
Publication history
The book was published in French in 2000 by DupuisDupuis
Éditions Dupuis S.A. is a Belgian publisher of comic books and magazines.Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic albums and magazines. It is originally a French language publisher, but publishes many editions both in French...
and has appeared in a number of different translations. It was translated into English by Alexis Siegel and published in 2006 by First Second.
Plot summary
The story takes place before, during, and after the genocide in RwandaRwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
; told through parallel storylines. It is divided between the present day and Deogratias' flashbacks, denoted by black borders for the former and blank borders for the latter. It follows Deogratias, a Hutu teenager who has been unstable ever since his two Tutsi friends died in the genocide. The story begins after the genocide. Deogratias is at a bar and meets some old friends. Deogratias has flashbacks to his life before the genocide. He remembers the crush he had on the two girls and how he tried to spend time with them. In the flashbacks, Deogratias wasn't always a good person. We meet other people in the story. The two tribes in the country didn't get along. Deogratias was a bit caught in the middle of the feud. His life after the genocide seems very bad.
In day three of Deogratias returns to the town looking for urwagwa (banana beer
Banana beer
Banana beer is an alcoholic beverage made from fermentation of mashed bananas. The leavening agent is sorghum, millet or maize flour.-Etymology:In Kenya, banana beer is known as urwaga, in Uganda as lubisi, in Rwanda and Burundi as urwagwa....
) because he is turning into a dog again, but doesn't. Because he talks to Julius about killing the Tutsis, then he begins to think of how the father and brother Philip left and the others stayed and hid.
Characters
Deogratias - The main character of the book. He is a Hutu boy in Rwanda during the genocide. He struggles between good and evil actions throughout the novel . He also becomes mentally unstable as the book continues. He continuously turns into a dog to represent him changing into one of the people who are killing the Hutu and Tutsis.Venetia - Venetia is the mother of Benina and Apollinaria. She is a prostitute, soliciting in a sexual manner.
Apollinaria - A Tutsi girl who works with the church. Deogratias pines after her though she denies him. She is very angered by the thoughts of being called a cockroach and is protective of her sister when she finds out early in the book that she is in a relationship with Deogratias.
Benina - Half sister of Apollinaria. she is also Tutsi. She is involved in a romantic relationship with Deogratias.
Brother Philip - A young man who goes to Rwanda in order to try to bring religion and civility to the Rwandans. Who also at the end lets Deogratias confess to him and listen to all of Deogratias' stories.
Father Prior Stanislas - Deogratias steals money from this father of the church in Rwanda, catching him in a lie. He is known to have an affair with Venitia, and also is Appollinaria’s father.
Julius - A leader in the Hutu militia called the “interahamwa"
Bosco - An officer in the Tutsi-led Rwandan Patriotic Front.
Sergeant/The French man -he is the head of Deogratias’ group
Themes
The main theme of the book is regret; the past constantly comes back to haunt Deogratias, be it of the genocide itself or his misdeeds. Other major themes include dehumanization, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder, which are all connected. At several points in the story, Deogratias, scarred by everything that has happened, physically and figuratively transforms into a dog (possibly literally at the end, as a policeman carries him off like a dog). He drinks banana beer to transform back into a human, claiming "...I am not a dog."Early on, Deogratias stops the Frenchman from swatting a cockroach; regarding the "cockroach" slur used by Hutu extremists to describe Tutsis, this shows that he regrets his actions during the conflict and wants to preserve what's left. Adding to the irony is that Benina and Apollinaria, both Tutsis, were like sisters to him, yet he aided in their deaths.
Editions
The various editions and translations include:- French: DupuisDupuisÉditions Dupuis S.A. is a Belgian publisher of comic books and magazines.Based in Marcinelle near Charleroi, Dupuis was founded in 1922 by Jean Dupuis, and is mostly famous for its comic albums and magazines. It is originally a French language publisher, but publishes many editions both in French...
, 2000. ISBN 2-8001-2972-7 - Dutch: Uitgeverij Dupuis, 2000
- Purtuguese: ASA, 2005. ISBN 972-41-3372-9
- Itaalian : Nuovi Equilibri, 2005. ISBN 8872268729
- English: First Second, 2006. ISBN 1-59643-103-2
- Spanish: Planeta DeAgostiniPlaneta DeAgostiniPlaneta DeAgostini is a Spanish-Italian publisher and a subsidiary of Grupo Planeta specializing in collectable books, sold in pieces, periodically through newsstands. It has its headquarters in Barcelona....
, 2008.
Critical reception
Deogratias received overwhelmingly positive reviews by a number of literary publications including Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
who wrote: "The heartbreaking power of Deogratias is how it keeps the reader distant from the atrocities by showing the trivial cruelties of everyday life before and after the genocide."
Awards
The book won the 2000 René Goscinny awardAngoulême International Comics Festival René Goscinny award
The René Goscinny award, named after the writer of Asterix and Lucky Luke, is awarded to comic writers at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. It was first awarded in 1988 and again every year since 1995. The award is given in order to encourage young comic writers, those whose comic...
, the 2001 Angoulême International Comics Festival Media award
Angoulême International Comics Festival Media award
This media award was presented at the Angoulême International Comics Festival. It was given by different media over the years, with sometimes different awards in one year...
and the 2007 "Best Reprint Publication" Glyph Comics Awards
Glyph Comics Awards
The Glyph Comics Awards recognize the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year. While it is not exclusive to black creators, it does strive to honor those who have made the greatest contributions to the comics medium in terms of both critical and...
. It was also nominated for the Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for Best Album and Prix de la critique
Prix de la critique
The Prix de la critique is a prize awarded by the Association des Critiques et des journalistes de Bande Dessinée to the best comic album released for a year in France. Previously, from 1984 to 2003, it was called Prix Bloody Mary and awarded at the Angoulême International Comics Festival...
in 2001.
The book also made the 2007 Young Adult Library Services Association
Young Adult Library Services Association
The Young Adult Library Services Association , established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. The mission of YALSA is to advocate, promote and strengthen service to young adults as part of the continuum of total library service, and to support those who provide service to...
list of "Great Graphic Novel for Teens".
External links
- Déogratias at Dupuis.com
- Deogratias at Macmillan
Reviews
- Review of Stassen's Deogratias at the Comic Book Bin
- Review at Curledup.com