Twilight In The Morning [Paperback]

Theresa Lungu (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 21, 2003

Denver Milestone is a pediatrician at a state hospital in Harlem, New York when he goes to work at a refugee camp in post-genocide Rwanda (Central Africa). His stay in Africa is life changing as he comes face-to-face with AIDS and poverty. Just when he begins to feel comfortable, he is critically wounded in a landmine ambush and is flown back to the United States. Saara Rushimana is a Rwandan nurse at the refugee camp. Her entire family was murdered in the genocide, but she lives her challenged life with grace. When she seeks political asylum in the United States, little does she know that she will be thrown into a detention center and be made to endure prison like conditions.This is the story of two people whose very different lives meet and intertwine in a tale of overwhelming tragedy, endurance and love.Will Denver survive the attack? Can Saara find her husband's family and tell them about the child she is carrying?Read on.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Theresa Lungu was born and raised in Zambia. She now lives in New York where she runs a project that is helping provide books for her hometown library back in Africa.

Product Details

• Paperback: 154 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (December 21, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595301916
• ISBN-13: 978-0595301911
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,535,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an intelligent love story, March 25, 2004

By 

pompi (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twilight In The Morning (Paperback)

Set against the backdrop of Rwanda and New York, this mesmerizing story about a young nurse who has lost her family, pulls at your heart. Lungu describes a refugee camp in Africa, something which is out of the ordinary for most people. An interesting examination of the differences and simliarities between Africans and African-Americans. She subtly points out the things that Americans take for granted . It reads like a movie. Its easy to imagine the characters up on the big screen.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twight in the morning, March 26, 2004

By 

nsamwa ndalima (new york city) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twilight In The Morning (Paperback)

In twilight in the morning, Lungu brings to life two different lives of two people, from the opposite sides of the world,who come togther in the face of human tragedy, war, disease, poverty and death. Denver a peadiatrician from New York city tired of the city life takes up a position in a refuge camp in war torn Rwanda, just after the horriffic genocide.
Saara a Registered nurse whose whole family is massacred in the genocide, works in the same refuge camp Denver,has gone to work.
In Rwanda Denver sees life like he has never imagined, there he sees the strong fighting spirit of a people who refuses to give up and die.
In the middle of tyring to heal other's suffering, Saara learns to love and trust human beings again. Denver's love helps Saara to finally heal from her well covered pain of the loss of her family .
Lungu takes you in the hills of Rwanda, you are right there watching all the pain, courage, strength and the love the people there share. It is beautiful... deep, a must read. It teaches, it makes you laugh and cry ... definetly this is a must have, it is all so new , the writing so fresh. one wonders where Lungu has been all these years. Welcome Lungu.

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Reading!, December 28, 2010

By 

MissBwalya - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Twilight In The Morning (Paperback)

Theresa Lungu's debut novel tells a beautiful story. It is deftly written and brings emotion, hope and man's ability to persevere against all odds to the forefront. The characters are endearing, and the reader cannot help but feel connected through their journey.

Saara Rushimana is a young Rwandese nurse working in a refugee camp. Her family was brutally murdered by Hutu militia men. It is through her work and her faith that she is able to cope with the horror unfolding around her.

Denver Milestone, an American paediatrician, travels to Rwanda to work for the UN at the refugee camp at the urging on one of his colleagues. He is at a turning point in his life, and feels the need to do something more fulfilling with his life, and this mission to Rwanda fits the bill.

Saara is drawn by Denver's easygoing manner, and the compassion and strength with which he works. She is very eager to ask him about his life in America but her shyness and the cultural barriers that limit their personal interactions act as a hindrance. In Saara, Denver finds a friend; one with whom he can share his thoughts and feelings honestly. She helps him navigate through life in the camp. As their friendship grows they both silently acknowledge the attraction they feel for one another.

Denver is well liked in the camp, and one of the more touching aspects of the book is the friendship he strikes up with an impressionable ten year old, Pierre. Pierre idolises Denver and dogs his every step. We see Denver taking on the role of friend and mentor to the young boy. I always love seeing black men portrayed as positive role models.

The turning point in Denver and Saara's relationship is when a few months from the completion of his contract, Denver understands the full implications of what his return home would mean if he doesn't have Saara with him. He asks her to be his wife, and we are privy to the wonderful wedding customs they go through. Despite the fragility of life in a refugee camp we see a group pf people united in the endeavour to see the couple properly wed as dictated by local customs.

Not long after their marriage, Denver is critically injured in an ambush. He's airlifted to South Africa for medical treatment; Saara finds herself alone again. When she later finds out that she is pregnant, Saara makes the difficult decision to leave Rwanda. She wants a better life for her child than an existence in a war-torn countryside, and the chance for him/her to know Denver's family.

What follows shows the remarkable resilience of the human spirit. We see the growing love Saara has for her unborn child, and how she learns to cope with her new life in a foreign land. It's a remarkable journey.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I would recommend it. I look forward to reading more from Ms Lungu.