Praise
Scholastique Mukasonga is not only one of the most important Francophone novelists writing today but a storyteller of rare gifts, and Sister Deborah, expertly translated by Mark Polizzotti confirms this. Trenchant in its critique of the nexus between colonialism and religion, compelling in its feminist and decolonial perspective, it marks another gift by Mukasonga for English-language readers.
— John Keene
The narrators of Sister Deborah turn and tilt story like a prism until, by Mukansonga’s light, the versions and legends, tellings and retellings become many tiny brilliant rainbows.
— Ama Codjoe
Award-winning French Rwandan novelist Mukasonga evokes her country’s tumultuous history in a lyrical, allegorical narrative, translated by Polizzotti, set in the 1930s, when white Catholic missionaries proselytized to a population already steeped in myths . . . A haunting tale.
— Kirkus Reviews
[Sister Deborah] delivers a dazzling and witty narrative of a Black Christian cult in early 20th-century Rwanda . . . as in Mukasonga's excellent previous work, she manages to balance clear-eyed portrayals of charlatan leaders and their superstitious followers with striking depictions of spiritual visions . . . a master class in post-colonial feminist storytelling.
— Publishers Weekly
Female fury and the power of women are realized in Sister Deborah's prophecy of Mother Africa’s reign, bringing satisfaction and ultimately nullifying the promises of missionaries and colonizers.
— Kelly Fojtik, Booklist
