51 pages • 1 hour read
Jean HatzfeldMachete Season
Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 2003A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Before You Read
Super Short Summary
Machete Season by Jean Hatzfeld presents ten accounts of ordinary contributors to the Rwandan genocide, detailing their transformation into killers. These men from Nyamata, Rwanda, murdered their Tutsi neighbors, driven by deeply ingrained propaganda and groupthink. Hatzfeld explores themes of personal responsibility, mass dehumanization, and the chilling normalization of violence during the genocide.
Reviews & Readership
Review Roundup
Jean Hatzfeld's Machete Season is a harrowing exploration of the Rwandan genocide, praised for its raw and compelling interviews with the perpetrators. Readers find it an insightful yet disturbing look into human cruelty. However, the repetitive nature of some testimonies and the graphic content may be overwhelming for some. Overall, it's a powerful, albeit unsettling, read.
Who Should Read Machete Season?
Readers who found depth in We Wish to Inform You That Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families or The Rwandan Genocide will appreciate Machete Season. Engaging and profound, it’s ideal for those keen on first-person narratives detailing historical atrocities, human psychology, and the aftermath of genocide.