Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood

This is one of only two books I've ever bought that was so boring and weird that I could not finish it...and I've been stuck in a hotel room in Mexico for 2 weeks with nothing else to do! It is fully of details of bodily functions; it's crude; and it's just plain dull. This is one of the worst books I've ever bought.

This memoir really brings its setting to life. It pulses with the sights, smells and sounds of Africa, and does a great job describing civil war, droughts, dysentery, fleas, floods, poachers, scorpions, terrorists and very bad roads. I actually cringed when I read how the putzi flies lay eggs on clothes, which then burrow under the skin, "becoming maggots, bursting into living, squirming boils, emerging as full-blown, winged flies."

Unfortunately, the narrative is weak. The author has a staccato writing style that really gets in the way. In fact, that, and the book's casual racism, made it hard for me to keep reading. It didn't help that so many of the characters are impossible to respect. The alcoholic parents seem to revel in putting their children in harm's way. The mom in particular is hard to take. I kept wanting to slap her, and tell her to stop crying in her beer.

We can recommentd this book to anyone who has lived in Zambia during and post UDI. We have sent copies to our friends in UK who were with us during our stay there. We all know people who we can relate to with the characters in this book. The story took us all back to places like the "Elephant's Head" in Kabwe - a stop on our treks to Lusaka from Ndola.

I'm and avid reader, and i must say this book is one of my favorite reads, if not my favorite. I lived with a family in Malawi Afrifca for awhile, so the book, for sure, draws my sentiments. But Alexandra Fuller spills guts and soul into the sharing of her African childhood experience. As a child, she writes with a child's voice, a child's soul, and as she matures, so does her expression. What a gifted writer! Her writing rings true, and I am hungry for more!

This book is a must-read no matter what one's preferred literary genre may be. Alexandra Fuller has taken me to Africa where she has shared a most incredible childhood and family life. Since reading, I've become completely fascinated with African culture, particularly the white farmers and their battles to make a life and home of this often brutal and merciless land. I hope she continues to grace the world with her unforgettable stories and unique style of telling them.