The story begins with Ikirezi, a young Rwandan woman, who was healed as a child by Sister Deborah, a healer with mystical powers coming from the Spirit. She recalls what she can remember about this figure, and later on in life, comes to Rwanda in search of the truth about Deborah.
Sister Deborah is a short but strong novel discovering the colonialism, christening and feminism in Rwanda on the verge of 19-20 centuries.

The novel has four chapters divided by the main events among which the first turned out to be confusing to me with all the spirits’ names, society ladder terms in Kinyarwanda and multiple narratives about the characters, the village. I lacked the knowledge of Rwanda, its culture and the history, so to fill out the gap I googled what I could to understand the story’s background on a deeper level. This effort helped immensely and I could navigate Sister Deborah’s story easily.

While reading, I had a feeling that the story wasn’t created by Scholastique Mukasonga but retold what she witnessed herself. I admire such writing skills as not everyone is capable of it.

I found the novel to be plot-driven however Sister Deborah herself developed dramatically—we follow her from childhood in the US to adolescence and adulthood in Rwanda exploring the painful truths of life with her.

Sister Deborah is for those who love exploring new cultures, observing their challenges throughout history; for those who love mystic stories, and strong female characters. I should also mention the depth of baptism evolved in the plot as it plays a major key in its development, so if you’re triggered by religion, Sister Deborah might not be a right fit for you.

I’m grateful to Archipelago Books for providing an early copy of Sister Deborah via NetGalley. It was a pleasure getting acquainted with Scholastique Mukasonga’s work. Sister Deborah’s English edition will be released on October 29.

Thank you NetGalley and Archipelago for an ARC of this book.

This book is one I will be thinking about for days to come after finishing. This is a novel about the sacred role of women in Rwandan, and specifically how mythic traditions interact with present societal norms.

The prose style and translation worked really well together to deliver a contemplative and moving narrative. While this book is influenced by the political history of Rwanda, the plot feels rather spare so the character and societal development has the opportunity to shine.

I would definitely recommend this book to those looking for books which explore the roles and limitations of women within society.

The writing here is unremarkable but there is a potential big story here. The writing keeps the short book from fulfilling its promising viability. Sister Deborah is a healer in the African tradition, but of course the European colonizers see her as a witch, a sorceress, a purveyor of evil. The book is an intimate look at the clash of cultures and the disrespect and disregard of indigenous worldviews.

The one thing that takes a direct hit, is the spiritual practices of the indigenous. The recognition of the power of spirit was something that colonizers recognized even in their misunderstanding. Unfortunately, because of the fracturing of society there were instances when the indigenous failed to accept the power of spirit and gave credence and acceptance to foreign religious beliefs and practices.

Sister Deborah has visions and a spirit is speaking through her. And from Sister Deborah we learn of the coming of a messiah on a cloud to save Africans on the continent and in America, and the messiah is a Black woman! That sounds like an expansive canvas on which to build a novel, but for a few reasons this novel falls short of filling that expanse. The themes are not deeply explored and the characters are mostly shallowly drawn. I was hoping it would gear up, but unfortunately it never made the shift, so I settled on 2.5⭐️. Thanks to Netgalley and Archipelago books for an advanced DRC. Book drops Oct. 29, 2024

A young girl is cured by a mysterious preacher-healer woman, and she spends the rest of her life trying to understand who this woman is, and what role is she supposed to fulfill in the world. Sister Deborah is an African-American missionary that doesn't seem to be what we expect from a missionary, starting her own syncretic religious movement, which of course is not seen kindly by the authorities. She becomes, despite not being the leader of their group, a sort of spiritual beacon for the women around her, who she encourages to think and meditate, to the chagrin of the men of the community. Sister Deborah also promises the coming of a new messiah, this time a Black woman who will create a sort of feminist realm. All this time, the narrator, young Ikirezi, follows Sister Deborah's journey, while at the same time emabrking on her own. After losing sight of the woman, Ikirezi finishes her studies and travels to the US, becoming a professor of Anthropology and an expert in African Studies, which also helps bring Sister Deborah's whereabouts to her attention once again.

It's a fascinanting exploration of the ways in which colonialism affected spiritual and religious practices, as well as how African Americans's expectations of people in Africa is also created through a sort of colonialist/idealistic perspective. Mukasonga's prose is clear and
elegant, showing the narrator's growth and her understanding of Sister Deborah's beliefs and position in the world changing through the years. It's a very short novel, but manages to pack so many interesting topics that it will be well worth a second and third readings.


I received a review copy via NetGalley, so thanks to the publishers for allowing me to read this in advance.