I’ve mentioned this book in two other sites, and mention it again here because it is a delightful and recommended title. Baking Cakes in Kigali by 1st time novelist Gaile Parkin. Parkin was raised in Zambia and worked for two years in Rwanda, the setting of the story. Angel T, her husband Pius, and their five grandchildren have come to post-war Kigali from their native Tanzania. Pius is with the university and Angel has her own cake business. She says that she is not an ‘educated somebody,’ but she is a ‘professional somebody.’ Her clients, who come from all over Africa and the rest of the world, come to order cakes, and leave her with their stories, which may be problems, which are usually solvable. A book about survivors, this is a novel with strong elements of community, culture, and language, combined with the issues that are prevalent in Africa, especially in Rwanda. It’s similar to the Alexander McCall Smith books, but perhaps has a little more depth.
