When The Hills Ask For Your Blood: A Personal Story of Genocide and Rwanda

Tremendous. A moving and haunting tribute to the human spirit – WILLIAM BOYDDavid Belton has written something very special, a work of non-fiction that has a novel’s power to move, enchant and challenge. This elegantly-written book is much more than a history, a work of lyrical beauty that will stand as a memorial not just for those who died in the genocide but to those of us who struggle to make a difference. – Tim Butcher, author of BLOOD RIVERComplex, compassionate and scathing… Much of the writing … has a literary power that lifts it above normal journalistic or non-fiction practice: Jean-Pierre’s confinement in his mud-walled hole has shades of Beckett, and both Odette and Curic seem like Brechtian heroes. * Giles Foden *Belton excavates the truth and layers the political, social and military dimensions of the conflict onto three peoples’ stories, to produce a book that is both illuminating and profoundly moving. – Aminatta Forna * Independent *Brings the story right up to date, confronting the dilemmas and tensions that lie not far below the surface … * Observer *Extraordinary. Lays bare the unspeakable with calm and human clarity. Remarkable. * Emma Thompson *Through the lives of several individuals, David Belton movingly evokes the terror and tragedy of the Rwandan genocide. As one of the all-too-rare journalists who don’t merely cover such a story and move on, he also shows how its after effects have reverberated over the years since then. This is a fine and deeply affecting book. * Adam Hochschild *Genocide on the scale of Rwanda is such an enormous crime it can seem too daunting to comprehend. David Belton is a masterful guide through that darkness, revealing how a society turns on itself in a deeply moving account of terror, endurance, complicity and what it means to survive. * Chris McGreal *Weaving his story skilfully around the narratives of three main characters - a priest, a mother, a husband - David Belton tells the intimate story of the Rwandan genocide. The human experience that lies behind the statistics is both searing and heart-lifting, Belton draws it out with both empathy and grace. * Michela Wrong, author of IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF MR KURTZ. LIVING ON THE BRINK OF DISASTER IN MOBUTU’S CONGO. *Searing, compelling and refreshingly devoid of the hyperbole of war-reporting … This is an important reminder of the culpability of so many – including the West for averting its gaze. It also serves as a potent warning of the fragility of humanity. – Alex Russell * Financial Times *

David Belton worked as a producer at BBC Newsnight in the 1990s where, amongst many foreign assignments, he covered the civil war in Bosnia and the genocide in Rwanda. In 2002, he co-wrote the story and produced the award-winning feature film Shooting Dogs based on real events that had taken place during the Rwandan genocide. He has since produced and directed many critically acclaimed and award-winning documentaries for British and American television. He lives in Oxford with his family.

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