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    Baking Cakes in Kigali: A Novel
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    Baking Cakes in Kigali: A Novel
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    Baking Cakes in Kigali: A Novel
    Audiobook10 hours

    Baking Cakes in Kigali: A Novel

    Written by Gaile Parkin

    Narrated by Adenrele Ojo

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    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 talent-and Baking Cakes in Kilgali is just such a novel. This gloriously written tale-set in modern-day Rwanda-introduces one of the most singular and engaging characters in recent fiction: Angel Tungaraza-mother, cake baker, keeper of secrets-a 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 occasions-cakes filled with vibrant color, buttery richness, and, most of all, a sense of hope only Angel can deliver.…A CIA agent's 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, Angel's kitchen is an oasis where people tell their secrets, where hope abounds and help awaits.

    In this unlikely place, in the heart of Rwanda, unexpected things are beginning to happen: A most unusual wedding is planned…a heartbreaking mystery-involving Angel's own family-unravels…and extraordinary connections are being made among the men and women who have tasted Angel's beautiful cakes…as a chain of events unfolds that will change Angel's life-and the lives of those around her-in the most astonishing ways.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateAug 18, 2009
    ISBN9780307577795
    Unavailable
    Baking Cakes in Kigali: A Novel
    Author

    Gaile Parkin

    Gaile Parkin was born and raised in Zambia, and studied at universities in South Africa and England. She has lived in many different parts of Africa, including Rwanda, where Baking Cakes in Kigali is set. She is currently a freelance consultant in the fields of education, gender and HIV/AIDS.

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    Reviews for Baking Cakes in Kigali

    4/5

    273 ratings52 reviews

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    • 5/5
      How to review this book! This was a wonderful & unexpected reading experience about life in Rwanda against a backdrop of recovering from the genocide & the reality of the aids epidemic. This was done in a totally engaging way, but did pull at your emotional heart strings in a number of places. Angel deals with all these issues affecting herself & others, whilst arranging to make cakes for them and drinking tea. A delightful book. Please read it!
    • 4/5
      At first glance a book that examines Rwandan genocide and the AIDS crisis would hardly seem to be an enjoyable and entertaining read yet this novel deals with these topics and so much more. Angel is a well respected cake baker who dispenses sage advice and beautiful cakes for all occasions. Additionally Angel is the primary care taker for her 5 grandchildren. Angel deals with the difficulties in her life with a gentle spirit and a positive outlook
    • 3/5
      Set in modern-day Rwanda, Angel lives with her husband and five grandchildren in an international compound. People from all walks of life seek her out because she's locally famous for her wonderful and beautiful cakes. As she discusses with each customer what they seek to say with their cakes they begin to share their various stories with her. In the process she helps them discover things about themselves, and in turn discovers truths to apply to her own life. The stories of the Rwandan genocide run throughout the book, but the focus is centered on the central characters in Angel's world.

      I enjoyed this book. While its main focus is light, it still sheds insight on the horrors of yet another holocaust.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. I picked it off a library shelf because of the colourful cover and intriguing title. It deals with just about every major issue facing present-day Africans in a very hopeful and comic way, without diminishing the gravity of the situations. I appreciated that approach: it is informative and mildly insightful, relevant to any culture without depressing the reader. There is sufficient human interest and joy in the stories,too. It is a story about resilient survivors and those who know nothing but moving forward. The writing is not Pulitzer material, but it never interfered or art of against my reading. An easy read with substance - such a rarity.
    • 4/5
      Sometimes you would just like to sit back, relax, and enjoy a story. This is exactly what this book is for. Each chapter has it's own plot and development, while still pulling in the main characters and the few main stories that develop throughout the book. It is an extremely easy read, while still providing a glimpse of daily life in Rwanda and some of the issues that are present there.
    • 5/5
      If you like Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books, then you will enjoy Baking Cakes in Kigali. The main character, Angel, runs a cake baking business from her home while her husband has a temporary teaching job at a college in Uganda. They are raising their five grandchildren, whose parents were killed by AIDS, and they live in an apartment building with lots of interesting neighbors. The books follows them through a year of life in Kigali and the various cakes that are baked. It's a gentle read that provides a very enjoyable experience. I sensed a sequel, probably in another country, since the post at the college was only temporary...
    • 4/5
      Angel runs a cake business. As she makes their cakes she becomes involved with her neighbors' lives. They are rebuilding their lives after the genocide and Aids. Most of the stories are uplifting. But one person explains: sometimes surviving is not a blessing.
    • 5/5
      This was a wonderful, heart-warming book about a woman who owns a cake business in Rwanda. It was very much about healing and reconcilliation, but it was also a very light read, strongly reminiscent of The No. 1 ladiess Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith.
    • 4/5
      I'm enjoyed this. It reminds me a little bit of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency -- not so much mystery/detecting, but a lot of problem-solving for clients of Angel's cake business.
    • 4/5
      This is a cheerful story about the amiable and good-natured Angel who runs a cake-baking business. Her customers share their personal problems and joys with her as she takes their orders. The cakes reflect the hope and confidence with which Rwanda faces the future. Very enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      I had no idea what this book was going to be about because a friends put it my hands knowing I love to bake. Angel's cake business allows her to meet with interesting, diverse characters from all walks of life and foreign places. With each encounter she reveals a different past of Rwanda. She meets people with heart breaking stories of the genocide in Rwanda, loss of love ones through the HIV epidemic in Africa and through hearing their stories begins to piece her own loss together and confront the deaths of her son and daughter. She's very good at what she does, whether it be making & decorating her cakes, or the "kitchen psychology" she offers each customer. Angel is a deep character, who is forced to be the mother or care-taker of many. A great book!
    • 3/5
      A bit twee for my taste. But if you like The No. 1 Detective Agency I think you will like this.
    • 4/5
      A very nice way to deal with the heavy subject matter of AIDS, Ebola, genocide, suicide, and poverty in current day Africa. Angel runs a cake baking business out of her home. Her son is dead due to a robbery (and probably AIDS), her daughter is dead - a suicide after she was positive with AIDS. Angel, with her husband, is raising the five grandchildren. They are also refugees now living in a "compound" in Rwanda. Through her interactions with her customers and neighbors, you are introduced to other refugees, foreigners from Europe and North America, orphaned children whose parents died of AIDS, people who are doing what they can to get by, and programs that inspire hope - and much needed laughter and joy.
    • 5/5
      If you like Alexander McCall Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books, then you will enjoy Baking Cakes in Kigali. The main character, Angel, runs a cake baking business from her home while her husband has a temporary teaching job at a college in Uganda. They are raising their five grandchildren, whose parents were killed by AIDS, and they live in an apartment building with lots of interesting neighbors. The books follows them through a year of life in Kigali and the various cakes that are baked. It's a gentle read that provides a very enjoyable experience. I sensed a sequel, probably in another country, since the post at the college was only temporary...
    • 4/5
      Angel Tungaraza is living with her husband and grandchildren in a compound in Kigali, Rwanda, where she had a cake-making business she operates out of the family’s apartment kitchen. Angel is frequently privy to her customer’s secrets, and as a “professional somebody,” she know that she must keep these confidences. But there’s nothing to say that she cannot act to try to help her customers as they negotiate the pitfalls of life, and celebrate the joys of living. This is a delightful debut novel. I love Angel – she’s wise, discreet, confident, compassionate, decisive and a great friend and mentor. There are several humorous episodes (Capt Calixta’s belief that a white woman will marry him if he presents her with a cake!), and several touchingly sad ones (the unhappiness of a young bride married to a serial philanderer, or the women who feel they have no other choice but to become prostitutes to earn money to feed their families), but Angel deals with any situation with aplomb and compassion. In the process, she learns something about herself and strengthens her own marriage by opening a conversation about a very difficult subject. Parkin peoples the novel with a wide array of characters from many walks of life: native Rwandans, Americans, Canadians, Indians, Germans, etc. Some are wealthy, some are impoverished. They all form a community and celebrate together with one of Angel’s excellent cakes, of course!I’ll definitely read more from this author.
    • 5/5
      Angel kommt aus Uganda und lebt mit ihrer Familie in Ruanda. Ihre beiden erwachsenen Kinder sind tot, so zieht sie ihre 5 Enkelkinder auf. Sie bäckt Kuchen für verschiedene Anlässe und kommt daher mit vielen Menschen in Gespräch.Das Buch kommt leise und freundlich daher, doch es erzählt entsetzliche Geschichten über das große Unrecht, das den Menschen in Ruanda angetan wurde. Ebntsetzliches wird über den Völkermord von 1994 berichtert, der auch heute noch das Leben der Menschen in Kigali prägt. Mir sind oft die Tränen gekommen, gerade über die Grausamkeiten gegenüber Kindern.Und auch die Probleme des heutigen Affrika mit AIds werden ansprochen und spielen eine große Rolle.Klar, das Buch stülpt eine gewisse Versöhnlichkeitsdecke darüber, egal ob Prostitution oder Beschneidung, alles löst sich irgendwie. Es ist eben ein Weißenbuch- geschrieben für weiße LeserInnen und kein Buch der Runaderinnen selbst. Trotzdem finde ich es ein sehr wichtiges und gutes Buch, weil es Bewusstsein weckt bei LeserInnen, die über diese Dinge vielleicht gar nichts wissen.
    • 4/5
      ”Rwanda has suffered a terrible thing. Terrible, … bad, bad, bad. Many of the hearts here are filled with pain. Many of the eyes here have seen terrible things. Terrible! But many of those same hearts are now brave enough to hope, and many of those same eyes have begun to look towards the future instead of the past. Life is going on, every day. And for us the pluses of coming here are many more than the minuses.”Tanzanian Angel Tangaraza is in Rwanda with her husband, Pius, a Special Consultant at the university. Both of the Tangarazas' children have died and they are raising their five grandchildren. To bring in some extra money, Angel has a cake business. A special occasion wouldn't be complete without one of Angel's cakes, and people of all backgrounds and walks of life come to her to order cakes – from diplomats to prostitutes. As they fill in their Cake Order Forms over a cup of tea, they unburden themselves to Angel. She takes an active interest in her clients' lives and she keeps her eyes open for opportunities to make them better.The author captures Rwanda's capital as its residents begin to heal from the horrors of the 1994 genocide. Angel's position as an outsider who knows the pain of loss has the effect of inspiring confidences. Angel and her cakes become the glue that unites the international residents of her compound and its neighborhood. Angel is a lot like Alexander McCall Smith's Precious Ramotswe, and I think fans of the No. 1 Detective Agency novels will want to meet Angel, too.
    • 5/5
      This is a superb book, and an easy read. Yes, there are difficult topics, but to leave them out would be to falsify life. Angel comes to realize that not talking about them is when they take over. I really liked the way AIDS and the genocide were treated as part of everyday life. Not as something earth shaking, just as part of what people were carrying along with them. And baking cakes for parties and celebrations is part of how people deal with it.
    • 3/5
      A sweet novel about living in post-war Rwanda, with a lot of problems, such as the AIDS epidemic. It may seem strange to call a book about these topics sweet, but the main character makes it happen. Angel is a Tanzanian woman who lives in Rwanda with her husband and grandchildren, and bakes cakes. She receives her customers, serves them tea and hears their stories. Often, she gives people the little push they need to move on or make a change, ultimately resulting in a message of hope. Sometimes the writing style was a bit 'simple' in a way, but after a while I found I liked it, because it really fit the story and the main character. This book leaves quite the message, because, not despite, its sweetness.
    • 4/5
      This story life in post-genocide Rwanda is both highly informative and wonderfully engaging. The heroine creates fabulous, colourful cakes and counsels her friends, matchmakes and problem solves, all with intelligence and a light spirit and while raising her orphaned grandchildren.
    • 4/5
      I loved this book. I found Angel, Bosco and all the other characters memorable. They'll stay with me for awhile for sure. The way the writer presented the characters and topics was fantastic. She introduced some tough situations and treated them with great tact and delicacy. The mood overall of the book is joyfull with strong, resilant people. You get a clear of the people and the country and what they're going through. I'm looking forward to any more books by this author. Great read overall.
    • 4/5
      Angle, bakes cakes in Rwanda and she calls herself a very professional person. every chapter is a new cake and the stories of the person ordering it. The stories get all contected as Angel gives advice and listens to people. it is a lovely way to learn about how ordinary people in Africa deal with issues such as AIDS, poverty, the 1994 genocide, The stories are told with laughter and hope.i really enjoAngel bakes cakes: cakes for christening, cakes for welcomes and farewells, cakes for birthdays and weddings. With each cake, we learn a little bit more about the people Angel lives with in the Rwandan town of Kigali. Angel is from Tanzania, and her family has come to Rwanda in the year 2000, like many, to help the Rwandan’s rebuild after the horrors that were genocide.While at first glance, the novel is about Angel’s scrumptious cakes, it doesn’t take long to realize that the gossip she hears from her associates is different from gossip we might hear. Some of the stories were funny, especially those that illustrated the clash between American culture and African ways of life. But other stories were haunting. I loved this book
    • 4/5
      Baking Cakes in Kigali is a lovely novel that takes place in Rwanda among expats from all over the world working to help that country recover economically and emotionally from the terrible acts of genocide that occurred in 1994. The story is told from the view of Angel, a professional baker who makes beautiful cakes in her home to help support her family, consisting of her husband, who works at the University in Kigali and her grandchildren, whose parents (Angel's son and daughter) are no longer alive. The story touches on themes of love and loss. The love of family. The need to communicate love. The loss of loved ones from the genocide, AIDS, abuse and poverty. The sad truth that sex workers are abused heroines, doing what they have to do to make a living for the remnants of families ripped apart by these tragedies. Angel, the professional maker of cakes, acts as a counsellor, nurturer and all-around caring mother. Filtering the story through this wonderful woman makes it easier for us to face these terrible human dilemmas. She manages to be there as family for her customers and her friends. And in helping to heal them, she heals herself. There is humor in this book as well. A gentle and kind way to help us understand the pain that Rwandans, and Africans of many countries, have experienced.
    • 5/5
      At first I was skeptical of this book, but then I became totally hooked! Somehow the author was able to deal with extremely heavy issues (genocide, AIDs, poverty) but still maintain a feeling of hope. The protagonist, Angel, is the neighbor and friend everyone wishes they had. Angel serves up wisdom and compassion alongside her famous cakes. Just wonderful!
    • 4/5
      Angel bakes cakes in Rwanda. She and her husband, natives of Tanzania, moved there, but her abilities as a good listener are evidenced by the variety of persons who come to order cakes and share their heartaches and problems. There are marital problems, AIDS, genocide, love stories, and even the heartbreaking tale of a suicide that hits a little too close to home. It is a compelling book that shares the social problems of Africa in a manner that touches the reader.
    • 5/5
      This is possibly one of the best books I have read so far. It will make your mouth water with sweet delight, you will feel warmth and love for the characters, whilst shedding many tears at the horrors of the recent history of Rwanda. Brilliant.
    • 4/5
      A wonderful story about a Tanzanian woman living in Rowanda after the genocide. While taking care of her five orphaned grandchildren and baking cakes to make money, she is also a humanitarian, secret-keeper, loving neighbor, and professional somebody. Baking Cakes in Kigali is a truly touching story full of secrets, betrayals, acceptance, emotions, and above all love.
    • 2/5
      Angel Tungaraza is a Tanzanian expat in Kigali, Rwanda. Her husband works as a special consultant at a local university and she has her own home-based business, baking individually designed western-style cakes. This helps make extra money for her large family, because after the death of both her children she cares for five grandchildren and their young minder.As Angel designs the perfect cake for each customer and occasion she gets to know her customers and becomes sometimes part of their lives, and through their stories we get to know their world. Angel is true to her name compassionate, and exceptionally tolerant. She intervenes whenever she can giving people a push in what she figures is the right direction or helping them see things more clearly. Her good intention are rewarded most of the time. There are many issues encountered in this book: The Rwandan genocide, AIDS, child soldiers, Gender equality, sexual orientation, poverty, African identity, female genital mutilation, and African wildlife (especially the endangered gorillas) among many others.Angel is someone I would love to have as my best friend, because she has exceptional understanding and tolerance for all these themes. Although the book does not explain how a woman who has always lived on the continent and only went for visits to Germany, while her husband did postgraduate studies there, could arrive at such worldly tolerance and wisdom.The book is fine for people who do not know anything about Africa, it brings it to them gently. It does not vilify Wazungu (White people) completely although it is funny to note that the only two asshole characters were a Canadian working for the International Monetary Fund and an American who the whole community knows to be working for the CIA. Other minor baddies/ eccentrics include an unbalanced former child soldier, the drunk manager of the building, and the Indians who are afraid of catching their death from germs; these characters all come across more comical than evil. All African characters are essentially good, even the prostitute is an honest working woman who looks after two sisters and an orphan.If you are willing to suspend your belief for a few hours, this book is good. It does not have a plot and reads like a series of gentle stories with some direct sermonizing. But do not question too much and wonder how an Italian-born man would be such a vehement proponent of "circumcising" his own daughter, while her Somali mother is not.
    • 4/5
      Angel is the go-to person in Kigali, Rwanda if you need a specialty cake. Her cakes are divine works of art, but her real specialty is people. The first thing she does when someone comes to order a cake is to make and serve her sweet and spicy tea and listen to their story. In this manner, she can recommend the perfect cake -- and also soothe a heartache or solve a problem.This is a pleasant, quick read that will leave you smiling, yet it also gives a brief history lesson on Rwanda's ugly past. These resilient people have been through so much loss and bloodshed in recent years that I say...let them eat cake...and celebrate the healing that is taking place in present-day Rwanda.
    • 5/5
      Angel Tungaraza lives in a community of foreigners in Kigali. She and her husband Pius are Tanzanian, and he is on an extended leave of absence from his regular job to fill a post at the university in Kigali. Angel runs a home-based business baking cakes to help support the family, which consists of Angel and Pius as well as their 5 grandchildren whom they are raising following the deaths of their own two children. In the course of her business, there is a constant stream of people coming into Angel's home. Each one tells her that they want to order a cake and she replies by telling them to sit down and browse her photo album of cakes while she prepares tea for them both in the Tanzanian style, with sweet boiled milk and cardamom. Over tea, Angel draws out each client's story - for only if she becomes familiar with the client will she be able to make an appropriate cake for them. Since she relies on word-of-mouth to promote her business, she feels it is in her best interest to be sure that each cake is perfect for its occasion. And so, we become acquainted with Angel's clients and neighbors - the Canadian, the Americans, the Indians, the Egyptian, the Tanzanian ambassador's wife, the aid workers, and the Rwandan locals. Each one has a story to tell and Angel is a good listener. Almost every disturbing or controversial topic that you can think of is discussed in this book: the AIDS epidemic, the Rwandan civil war and genocide, suicide, marital infidelity and divorce, the death of children, wildlife conservation, female "circumscision", prostitution, the role of bride price or dowry in marriage arrangements, homosexuality, ebola, religion and probably several more that I've forgotten. And yet, the book is not heavy or depressing. Angel deals with each topic that comes up with compassion and understanding - offering advice when she can and sympathy when she can't. She is open to admitting when she was wrong in her thinking - thanking the other person for enlightening her. After each encounter, we come away with our hearts lightened - and inspired by the spirit of survival and optimism that is always present, but never sickenly sweet.In some ways, this book reminds me of No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency in its style and charm, but I think this one is so much better. Highly recommended.