Comments (25)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 25 items
Feb 23, 2024lentils rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I am thinking of going to Africa, so I read this book thinking it would be like Isak Dineson's book. I was wrong, but both books reveal how difficult farming and life in Africa is.
Mar 16, 2023Hillsboro_JeanineM rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
An exceptionally well-written memoir of an unconventional childhood in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) during the civil war. The story is engaging but some will find the embedded racism of her white family and their sense of white rule…
Jan 22, 2023AlteredStaite rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I stuck with it until the end even though I was appalled at the blatant racism and sense of entitlement held by these white "settlers" in the bowels of deepest Africa as recently as the 70s. The writing was good and that's what held my…
Nov 27, 2021uncommonreader rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
No matter how vivid or well-written, I can find nothing charming or humorous about this family of racist, white, colonial settlers in Africa. The author never really questions what they were doing there.
Oct 07, 2021red_dog_l4987 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Exquisite, frothy, imaginative writing that drenches the senses. You are there, in between the pages, smelling, seeing, hearing, feeling her life in Africa.
Sep 17, 2021FloraWest rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Immersive and wild memoir about a childhood of a white girl in several African countries. A real page turner. I felt a particular resonance as she's my age so drawing parallels from what she was doing to what I was doing made her growing…
Jun 11, 2021Russ_A rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This memoir by an African-raised white British ex-pat, now living in America, details an extraordinary upbringing in various African countries. The stories are often wild, hard to believe, or simply depressing. The author’s style can be…
Jun 05, 2019
Alexandra Fuller remembers her African childhood. Though it is a diary of an unruly life in an often inhospitable place, it is suffused with her endearing ability to find laughter, even when there is little to celebrate. Know as Bobo she…
Nov 22, 2017
Las ik echt niet graag in tegenstelling tot haar ander boek, gaf niet compleet gelezen terug.
Aug 17, 2017
I've read most of Fuller's books and since the very first one I picked up, Cocktails Under the Tree of Forgetfulness, I was completely fascinated. She is now one of my favourite authors of all time due to her courage to talk so openly…
Mar 21, 2017VSoltman rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
This was an interesting book to read, since I didn't know much about this specific historical setting, but I really don't know why so many of the reviews inside the book said it was "hilarious".
Jan 12, 2017ryner rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Alexandra Fuller, inexplicably nicknamed "Bobo," recounts her unusual childhood in Rhodesia, Malawi and Zambia, all somewhat dicey places to be white and English during the 1970s and 1980s. I had a difficult time putting the book down --…
Oct 17, 2016mdjamali rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I adore this writer. She lived a colorful life as a child and I enjoyed reliving it vicariously with her. I found her untraditional upbringing fascinating. Great read!
Jun 24, 2016Bunny_Watson716 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
An excellent memoir of the author's time spent growing up in Zimbabwe. This is a portrait of a family you won't soon forget!
Nov 22, 2015rationallady rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I was an ex-pat for twenty years so I identified with many of the problems and blessings of this family even though I've never been to Africa. Ex-pats don't usually feel superior to the local population, but they always feel special.
Jul 30, 2015
From our 2015 #80DayRead Summer Reading Club traveler Gayle: Excellent book!
Dec 23, 2014WVMLStaffPicks rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Growing up in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), “Bobo” Fuller has given us an insightful portrait of her fun-loving, ingenious English family. The rather extraordinary circumstances of her life in this southern African country before and during…
Apr 16, 2013cynthia94066 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Would others recommend for 8th graders? At the end of 8th grade. There's violence and molestation, but it's all off page for the most part from what I recall.
May 16, 2012sari rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A touching and very descriptive true story of an English family living in Africa. The author writes quite openly about her family and the tragedies they face.
Apr 05, 2012
Milawi is mis spelled! it should be Malawi
Dec 28, 2011anflan rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Love these books by Fuller.
Nov 28, 2011lalalady rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Bare faced look at how outsiders fall in love with their adopted country and yet maintain their separateness. Highly recommended, fascinating read, makes you want to travel to Africa despite the dirt, poverty, bugs and war, because of the…
Oct 24, 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. Highly reccommended!
Aug 31, 2011coastalkate rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
An interesting look at life in southern Africa in the 70s and 80s, from a white person's perspective (the author grew up there). Told with no apology or politeness, which may offend people who aren't familiar with the life of Africa. It's…
Mar 22, 2008
Changes your mind about the poetry of Africa