‘Told with all the intensity of Lorna Sage’s Bad Blood ’ The Times
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
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Amazon Review
Don’t Let’s go to the Dogs Tonight is a wonderfully evocative memoir of Alexandra Fuller’s African childhood. Fuller regards herself "as a daughter of Africa", who spent her early life on farms in Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia throughout the turbulent 1970s and 80s, as her parents "fought to keep one country in Africa white-run", but "lost twice" in Kenya and Zimbabwe. This is a profoundly personal story about growing up with a pair of funny, tough, white African settlers, and living with their "sometimes breathlessly illogical decisions", as they move from war-torn Zimbabwe to disease and malnutrition in Malawi, and finally the "beautiful and fertile" land of Zambia.
Central to Fuller’s book is the intense relations between herself and her parents, a chain-smoking father able to turn round any farm in Africa, her glamorous older sister Vanessa, and the character who sits at the heart of the book, Fuller’s "fiercely intelligent, deeply compassionate, surprisingly witty and terrifyingly mad" mother.
Fuller weaves together painful family tragedy with a wider understanding of the ambivalence of being part of a separatist white farming community in the midst of Black African independence. The majority of the book focuses on Fuller’s early years in war-torn Zimbabwe, with "more history stuffed into its make-believe, colonial-dream borders than one country the size of a very large teapot should be able to amass." This is the most successful dimension of the book, as Fuller describes growing up on farm where her father is away most nights fighting "terrorists", and stripping a rifle takes precedence over school lessons. The sections on Malawi and Zambia are more prosaic, but this is a lyrical and accomplished memoir about Africa, which is "about adjusting to a new world view" and the author’s "passionate love for a continent that has come to define, shape, scar and heal me and my family." --Jerry Brotton --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'Like Frank McCourt, Fuller writes with devastating humour and directness about desperate circumstances.' Daily Telegraph
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First Sentence
Mum says, "Don't come creeping into our room at night." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
Mum says, "Don't come creeping into our room at night." Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
36 of 36 people found the following review helpful
By Ams
Format:Paperback
I loved this book. I have been fascinated with Africa for some time and have read quite a few books about growing up there (autobiographical and fictional). However after I bought this book it sat on my shelf for sometime. For some reason I kept putting off reading it as I wasn't in the mood for another book on the subject. What a mistake. It was different from the other books I'd read and drew me in much more. I was immediately hooked and could not put it down.
Right from the start, when the author talks about getting softly drunk with mother the night before returning to boarding school, and then smoking with her father while he commisertes with her because she won't be able to smoke at school, you know you are in for something different. And that was just the start of it.
I was also fascinated by the fact that the author was born in the same year as me, so all along I was comparing her life to mine and being astonished at how different it was. A very hard life at times, but I was also envious! I have been to Zimbabwe, as well as Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, but only on fleeting holidays. However I felt very drawn to the place and this book made the tie seem stronger, as though there was an actual reason for it rather than just my imagination.
Also, by the end of the book, I felt as though Alexandra Fuller was a friend. I was upset to loose touch with her and would love to know more about how she is adapting to life in the US as I really cannot imagine her there.
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
By Benjamin
Format:Paperback
This is an outstanding book. I have never encountered anyone who so accurately articulates what it was like to grow up in Zimbabwe; it's like reminiscing with a good friend. Some may find the references she makes to everyday life incomprehensible and the racism unpalatable, however, you cannot help but be moved by the honesty of her writing and the love she feels for her family and the country that lies between the Limpopo and the Zambezi. This is a must read for anyone who grew up in Zimbabwe, has visited the country or can find it on a map.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Alexandara Fuller's memoir of her childhood in Africa is, first and foremost, an incredibly honest and loyal portrait of childhood in general....some of the feelings of young Bobo ring so true it almost hurts....Intelligently, she shies away from sensationalism and cheap emotions (for which there would be ample scope), in favour of a humane and empathic prose that never judges.
It is also a fascinating story of 'White Africa' and of the mixed motives that have led Europeans to hang on to it for so long. Once again, she refuses political judgement on her characters' motives, on their latent racism and debatable ethics. She prefers to tell us about her own coming of age and her coming to terms with the complex and contradictory reality that is "Africa" for a white girl. She's no naive: some of her characters are frankly disgusting. She just has other things to tell, that's all, and that's fine, because she's 100% honest about it.
Ultimately, the book is a declaration of love for Africa and for her family: love born out of much suffering and therefore, i think, so much more honest and longlasting.
If you are looking for a political novel, then you better stick to Nadine Gordimer: this is essentially a private story, and you will identify with it no matter where you've grown up, as long as you HAVE grown up.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kept my better half happy
OK, I have not read this, but my better half enjoyed it which is good enough for me, though I understand it is not a 'feel good' one
Published 3 months ago by Dr. M. Everard
5.0 out of 5 stars
A favourite, read it twice
This book kept me entertained and up far too late
I loved the description of their lives and the " sailing by their pants" way of life. Read more
I loved the description of their lives and the " sailing by their pants" way of life. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Greedy Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful book
I really loved this book and could't put it down. I have passed it on to my 12 year old daughter who is also really enjoying it.
Published 5 months ago by Paul Day
1.0 out of 5 stars
Too bitty
I couldn't get to grips with this book, it was too bitty and jumped around from location to location. I would not recommend this book.
Published 5 months ago by Videographer
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the best stories about Africa I've read
"Tough and tender, tragic and funny... a beautifully realized portrayal of the pioneering eccentricity of the white African farmer. Read more
Published 7 months ago by ShonUK
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Poor Take on a Sad Life
As Alexandra Fuller has decided to draw our attention to her memories of a country and continent that she abandoned some years ago by her latest effort "Cocktail Hour under the... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Alexander Z
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating read
Fascinating and, at times, heartbreaking story of growing up in Africa. Read the wonderful follow up 'Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness' too!
Published 10 months ago by JulieT
5.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
An excellent book and of great value. Highly recommend to purchase. I will take this on holiday to Kenya in a few weeks.
Published 10 months ago by sweden
5.0 out of 5 stars
You can smell Africa
I found this such an enjoyable book - a great read. It has so many different elements. There is the sadness of the impact on her mother on losing three children, and indeed the... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Janice
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Read
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight is a brutal portrayal of war-time Zimbabwe.The war's by-products unfortunatly are the regrettable Ian Smith and Robert Mugabe. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Siti Jevens
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