Steamy sex and genocide are combined in a potent mix in this 2008 novel by the Swiss writer Lukas Bärfuss. The "Hundert Tage" of the title refers to the one hundred days of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide that resulted in the slaughter of one million people. The narrator is David Hohl, a Swiss national sent to Kigali as an administrator for the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation to assist in building a Swiss-style democratic and prosperous state in the heart of Africa. But what begins as a personal humanitarian quest devolves into unimaginable horror, as Hohl (which means "hollow") finds himself as more than an innocent bystander in the unfolding mass murder. This is no Hotel Rwanda, where acts of individual heroism restore our faith in humanity. There are no heroes in this bleak story and the idea of a shared "humanity" is nothing more than a sick joke.
Katy Darbyshire has an excellent review and detailed plot summary of the novel on her blog.
Lukas Bärfuss does a good job in portraying the pre-genocide Rwanda of the early 1990s as a quiet, temperate country of seemingly placid people, willing to learn from their European masters about the latest agricultural techniques and political administration. The Swiss Agency is described as a perfect, stifling bureaucracy that reminds one more of a UBS branch office in suburban Zurich. The humanitarian aid workers are proud of their "development projects", but suffer from pangs of guilt that the truly needy people are far away in the tropical jungles of the Congo. Things are just too comfortable in Rwanda.
The Swiss and other foreigners are, of course, blind to the truth ; blind to the true nature of the the country they are "developing" with their millions of Swiss Francs in aid. They don't bother to learn the native dialect, since the beloved people dutifully learn French. Only one foreigner can see behind the peaceful facade - Hohl's corrupt Swiss friend Missland:
Missland behauptete ..., die Leute besässen eine verstecktes Gesicht, ein hässliches, gewalttätiges, eines, das sie keinem zeigten.. (Missland insisted that the people had a hidden face, an ugly, violent face that they showed to no one...)
Missland is the only one who is not taken by surprise when the killing starts,and, significantly, the corrupt Missland is the only one who actually saves lives while the other Swiss flee in terror from the beloved recipients of their country's aid.
The first half of Hundert Tage is quite good in describing Kingali, the lives of the Swiss aid workers, and building the sense of foreboding leading up to period of genocide. The second half is, to my reading, less successful. The transformation of his lover Agathe from ambitious middle class girl who wants to live in Brussels to savage murderer is not entirely convincing, nor is the attempt to equate violent sex with mass killing. Some of the plot lines become heavy-handed, as when Hohl rescues a vulture from death, only to end up killing dogs to nurture the huge bird back to health. And Hohl is overly shrill in his condemnation of the Swiss for their (unwitting) complicity in the genocide.
Despite these shortcomings, Hundert Tage is a brave and original attempt to make sense through fiction of one of the most terrible tragedies of the last century. Lukas Bärfuss is known for his plays, and I'm certain he could make an excellent screenplay from this novel, a Swiss counterpart to The Ugly American.
Fascinating. I must get it and read it.
It took us three years to figure out how to get our Swiss social security, and I am now trying to puzzle out the German on my benefits information.
I'm entitled to a certain sum for the eleven years and eight months that I cared for my children in Switerland! Talk about civilized. But also, talk about bureauacracy!
Posted by: hattie | February 17, 2009 at 07:08 PM
I am very much interested in reading Baerfuss' One Hundred Days in English. Kindly advise if a translation is being planned and, if possible, the name of the publisher. Thank you.
(-)Gabriel Glazer
Posted by: Gabriel Glazer | January 05, 2013 at 12:58 PM
@Gabriel - translation already exists through Granta Books and can be purchased at Amazon
Posted by: David | January 05, 2013 at 04:40 PM
The question still needs to be asked how this happened on our watch. He deals with it well in the sense of analyzing ones motives for actions. Also it gives insight into aid abroad and as a Swiss he may be enlightening us about their guilt which I was unaware of. Enjoy!
Posted by: Auto Body Seattle | March 28, 2013 at 05:01 AM
One of the best books I've read from Lukas Bärfuss. Highly recommended.
Posted by: Must see Southeast Alaska Lodge | June 22, 2017 at 02:18 AM