Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller

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

Author: Alexandra Fuller

First Published: 2001

No. of Pages: 301

Synopsis: The author recounts her childhood growing up in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), Malawi, and Zambia.

Fiction or Nonfiction: Nonfiction

Comments and Critique: One thing that this book has convinced me of, and that's that I never, ever want to live in Africa. I'll admit it, I'm a spoiled Westerner who loves all the comforts of "civilization" too much and I can't imagine living without constantly available electricity and running water. I also can't imagine the necessity of an armed convoy just to go shopping; the heat and bugs (and I live in Florida, so I'm used to heat and bugs); the animals that can kill you being close enough for you to hear them breathe. The author doesn't sugar-coat it and you get a clear picture of all the discomforts and dangers.

It was difficult for me to feel empathy toward the author's family. In spite of all their hardships, they just don't strike you as likable people, at least in the beginning. No, I take that back -- they never became likable to me, but I did warm to them after a bit. I also had to keep reminding myself not to judge them too harshly; who knows what kind of person I'd be in their circumstances?

At times, I didn't care for the author's writing style, particularly her use of incomplete sentences, and at times I wondered I wondered about her sincerity. This was due less to the general cynicism now felt toward memoirs and more due to the author's manner of expression. But to be fair, the parts that bothered me the most could just as easily be the result of the feelings felt by a child and attempting to be expressed through adult eyes.

Challenges: Summer Vacation Reading