Baking Cakes in Kigali

Baking cakes in Kigali
Gaile Parkin

Introduction

Set in the capital of Rwanda, Kigali, our heroine, Angel, offers a cake making service to her local community. As her neighbours share their celebrations with commissions for cakes, so Angel enables the community to move on from the memories of the past, and the lingering threats that still haunt them. Over spiced tea and a scrapbook of celebrations gone by, Angel discovers the secret hopes and dreams of friends and strangers.

Each character is introduced through a celebration and a conversation. As such, their lives are marked by the relationship offered by Angel. The community gathers around to celebrate birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, engagements and Independence.

Baking Cakes in Kigali is a delicious novel, inviting the reader to share in the stories, heartache and hopes of a nation all too often reduced to stereotype and headline. Although there are difficult themes contained in the book, the tone of the book means that the reader is compelled by them rather than repelled by them.

Questions

The novel is called 'baking cakes in Kigali'
What is the significance of cake baking in the novel?
How does this metaphor enable the plot to evolve?
Why is the colour of the icing important?

Which character do you most sympathise with, and why?

The novel is about secrets; secrets told and secrets kept.
Which secrets should be kept and why?
Which secrets are revealed (such as the Cardamom mix-up)
What makes Angel good at keeping secrets?

How much of Rwanda's history do you need to know to read this novel?

There are hints in the novel about the ongoing relationship with the UN (p31/1) and with the IMF (p245)
How do you respond to these insights?
How do these compare with the development of the honey co-operative and the entrepreneurial work?
How does the author suggest what the best way for a community to develop might be? Do you agree?

P4-5 Angel polishes her glasses.
Why does she do this?
What does she not want to see throughout the novel?

'The desire to make the world a better place is not in the pocket, but in the heart.' (p32)
What does Angel mean by this?
In light of the themes of this novel, how might you desire to make the world a better place?

What is the role of women in this story?

There are a number of cultural events, religious traditions and fatal illnesses mentioned in this novel.
How did you feel about being faced with their reality?
Which made you feel uncomfortable and why?

'Happiness and sadness change places' (p137)
Where do you see this happening in the novel?
Where have you experienced a similar thing in your own life?

P185 lists three things that wagunzu like, beautiful things, celebration, and safety. What would you add to the list - and what would it replace?

At the end of the novel, we have met several characters over a mug of hot tea and a cupcake.
Which character would you like to hear more about and why?

The novel ends with the song 'Staying Alive' playing in the background.
What is the significance of this piece of music at the end of the novel for Angel?
Having read this novel, what is the significance of this piece of music for you?