Baking Cakes in Kigali - Gaile Parkin

Angel Tungaraza and her husband have moved from Tanzania to Rwanda because more money can be earned there. After the Civil War money has been pouring into the country attracting foreigners from all parts of the world, business men, volunteer workers, UN and CIA employees among them. Mr Tungaraza works as a Special Consultant at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology, Angel works from home, she bakes cakes on order for special occasions. They're elderly people and could enjoy a quiet life as a couple after raising two children, but both children have died, their son was shot by robbers and their daughter died of AIDS. They've left three and two ...  Read the complete review

Allow me to introduce Angel Tungaraza. She's a "traditionally built", middle-aged Tanzanian lady who has recently moved to Rwanda with her husband Pius, a university lecturer, and their grandchildren, the five orphaned children of her late son and daughter. Her son was shot during a robbery; her daughter evidently died as a result of some kind of brain haemorrhage that Angel says was caused by stress when her husband left her and their children for another woman. Just when they should be thinking about taking things easy, Pius and Angel have effectively become parents again. The seven of them and Titi, the young woman who lives with them and helps with the ...  Read the complete review

If you're a fan of the wonderful No. 1 Ladies Detective series by Alistair McCall Smith you will love this! Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin is a wonderfully-written novel set in Kigali, Rwanda. The language is simple and engaging and you instantly fall in love with the lead character, Angel - a highly-likeable, solid, traditional African woman with strong morals who makes a living baking cakes within the local community. Each time she bakes a cake for one of her fellow neighbours, a fascinating new story transpires bringing to life a colourful picture of life in Kigali. As the novel is based in Rwanda it touches on some hard-hitting topics such as AIDS and the ...  Read the complete review