Baking Cakes in Kigali - Gaile Parkin

Once in a great while a debut novelist comes along who dazzles us with rare eloquence and humanity, who takes us to bold new places and into previously unimaginable lives. Gaile Parkin is just such a talentand Baking Cakes in Kilgali is just such a novel. This gloriously written taleset in modern-day Rwandaintroduces one of the most singular and engaging characters in recent fiction: Angel Tungarazamother, cake baker, keeper of secretsa woman living on the edge of chaos, finding ways to transform lives, weave magic, and create hope amid the madness swirling all around her.

In Kigali, Angel runs a bustling business: baking cakes for all occasionscakes filled with vibrant color, buttery richness, and, most of all, a sense of hope only Angel can deliver....A CIA agents wife seeks the perfect holiday cake but walks away with something far sweeter...a former boy-soldier orders an engagement cake, then, between sips of tea, shares an enthralling story...weary human rights workers...lovesick limo drivers. Amid this cacophony of native tongues, love affairs, and confessions, Angels kitchen is an oasis where people tell their secrets, where hope abounds and help awaits.

ISBN: 9781843547464

Pages: 361

Trade paperback

Atlantic Books, 2009

Good condition; edges of pages foxed

B153