by Naomi Benaron
Running the Rift follows the progress of Jean Patrick Nkuba from the day he knows that running will be his life to the moment he must run to save his life. A naturally gifted athlete, he sprints over the thousand hills of Rwanda and dreams of becoming his country’s first Olympic medal winner in trac...
Asked what Running the Rift is about, it would be too easy to say it is about the Rwandan genocide. You could also say it's about an Olympic runner. Both of these are correct, but neither really describe what this book is about at its core. I'd say, more than anything else, Benaron's novel is about ...
While the approaching genocide is always present, looming over the daily lives of the characters, Jean Patrick's apolitical stance refuses to let it in until the last possible moment, so it can't steal the focus of what is ultimately the personal story of a boy and his dream. Given what I know abou...
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