#89728 - 06/22/10 08:50 AM
July 2010 Selection: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs...
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LaSalleUGirl
Ching Shih
Registered: 06/25/01
Posts: 1578
Loc: Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Happy 2nd day of summer (or winter, if you're in the Southern Hemisphere)!
Our July selection is Alexandra Fuller's Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, a memoir of her childhood in Rhodesia during the Civil War. Publishers Weekly notes, "With a unique and subtle sensitivity to racial issues, Fuller describes her parents' racism and the wartime relationships between blacks and whites through a child's watchful eyes." Most reviews mention Fuller's ability to convey her deep love for her parents while not shying away from the implications of their racist beliefs and actions (and their impact on her childhood life), as well as her descriptions of the African wilderness (her parents always chose "desolate," rural areas to live). As School Library Journal puts it, "Judging by her vivid and effortless imagery, it is clear that the rich, pungent flora and fauna of Africa have settled deeply in her bones."
I have been wanting to read this book for ages. Something about the cover art (http://tinyurl.com/35tj7lx) grabs me every time. I think it's that "RAWR!" face she's making.
Discussion begins on July 15. (I will be assisting with a conference that week, so if I don't manage to get some internet time to open the discussion, you all should feel free to start without me.)
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#89760 - 06/30/10 07:20 PM
Re: July 2010 Selection: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs...
[Re: LaSalleUGirl]
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Erin W
Ching Shih
Registered: 11/02/06
Posts: 315
Loc: Ohio
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I just started this (mostly because I'm doing that Global Challenge and I needed an Africa) and it's actually wonderful. I want to recommend it to anybody who might be on the fence.
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#89762 - 06/30/10 11:31 PM
Re: July 2010 Selection: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs...
[Re: Erin W]
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essay
Ching Shih
Registered: 08/18/01
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Thanks for reminding me of this. I've always meant to read this one and now seems like the time.
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#89764 - 07/01/10 12:45 AM
Re: July 2010 Selection: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs...
[Re: essay]
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FishDreamer
Ching Shih
Registered: 08/27/01
Posts: 2792
Loc: Salmon Country USA
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I've wanted to read this for a while too, so I will see if I have a copy or can get one. It sounds like such an interesting read.
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#89773 - 07/04/10 12:36 PM
Re: July 2010 Selection: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs...
[Re: FishDreamer]
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LaSalleUGirl
Ching Shih
Registered: 06/25/01
Posts: 1578
Loc: Philadelphia, PA, USA
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*bump* Gotta get myself a copy of the book pretty soon, in order to read it by the 15th.
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#89779 - 07/05/10 01:49 PM
Re: July 2010 Selection: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs...
[Re: LaSalleUGirl]
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CaitlinM2
Registered: 03/03/09
Posts: 217
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area
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I nominated this because I, too, had been wanting to read it for ages. For once this year, I'm on top of the book club selection, and I'm looking forward to the discussion.
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#89810 - 07/08/10 03:58 PM
Re: July 2010 Selection: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs...
[Re: CaitlinM2]
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LaSalleUGirl
Ching Shih
Registered: 06/25/01
Posts: 1578
Loc: Philadelphia, PA, USA
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*bump* Discussion begins in one week! I'm really enjoying the book so far. I especially appreciate the shortness of the chapters -- that's making it much easier to squeeze in some reading around other activities without feeling like I'm walking away in the middle of a scene.
I will be at a conference next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I'll be working the registration table most of that time, and I may have internet access, especially if/when traffic is slow. But if I'm not around to start the conversation on the 15th, you all should definitely start without me, and I'll join in when the conference is over.
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#89823 - 07/14/10 10:55 PM
Re: July 2010 Selection: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs...
[Re: LaSalleUGirl]
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LaSalleUGirl
Ching Shih
Registered: 06/25/01
Posts: 1578
Loc: Philadelphia, PA, USA
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OK, I'm cheating and opening the discussion early. I'm having a rotten night and writing about a book is deeply preferable to all of the other things I'm supposed to be doing...
I'm assuming that most of you have the book club questions at the back of your copies. I don't usually look at those, but I was idly flipping through the last few pages of the book (i.e, the ones with the book club guide), and something caught my eye. Did any of you find it strange that one of the question is basically "Why do you think the Fullers didn't just leave Africa?" I mean, I don't agree with their politics at all, but Africa was (and IS) clearly their home, for generations. Can you imagine someone asking that question about a family living in an urban ghetto? OK, actually, I can imagine someone asking that...
I wish Fuller had written a little more about Vanessa's life choices. She makes a big deal of talking about Vanessa's detachment and ability to sink into herself as a protective strategy; the fact that she moves, at least temporarily, back to England seemed telling to me, and I would have liked to know more about that. Of course, it is Bobo's story, not Vanessa's, but my interest was piqued.
Fuller's mum is such an interesting character, in all senses of that word. I have an enormous amount of sympathy for someone who has to bury three babies, who nurses a catastrophically injured dog back to life, who nurses a catastrophically injured woman back to life. And yet she's so unsympathetic in a lot of ways. Fuller could have shied away from that, but she doesn't. She makes us feel her conflict about her mother. For example, Fuller's description of her mum's tendency to hash over her life history to strangers (or to those who have heard the story hundreds of times before) manages to be both bitchy and exasperatedly loving. It's impressive. In comparison, her father still feels like more of a cipher to me.
So, what did YOU think?
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#89825 - 07/15/10 07:55 PM
Re: July 2010 Selection: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs...
[Re: LaSalleUGirl]
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Erin W
Ching Shih
Registered: 11/02/06
Posts: 315
Loc: Ohio
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I had a lot of similar thoughts, LaSalleUGirl. Shall I spoiler, too? I found myself asking "Why don't they just leave?" although I don't think it was a knee-jerk culture thing on my part. Regardless of how many generations they had been there (and that was something I wondered and which Fuller never covered), clearly they were all of the family that remained, so they were severely lacking a support system. The political climate was so dangerous--also, they seemed to be efficient enough farmers/ranchers but the weather never worked it their favor. They just had so many setbacks! They could have even moved to a more developed area in Africa... I don't know. I thought it was a fair question.
Speaking of the weather, my favorite moment? That Christmas when the drought finally broke and they all drove around in the rain and got roaring drunk for days.
Fuller's (I want to call her Bobo's) mother was definitely the most fascinating character. She wasn't very maternal or nurturing to her daughters that I could see, but she was so devoted to her animals. I thought Fuller handled the racism especially deftly; she really made it clear how the cultural and economic climate of the places they lived contributed to the more irrational social hate. If you know what I mean.
I also appreciated how literate a story it was. I really get tired of those "and then this happened. And then this happened," memoirs. Fuller struck this great poignant tone, and I thought the moments she chose to write about were nicely detailed.
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#89830 - 07/16/10 03:13 PM
Re: July 2010 Selection: Don't Let's Go to the Dogs...
[Re: Erin W]
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FishDreamer
Ching Shih
Registered: 08/27/01
Posts: 2792
Loc: Salmon Country USA
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I got this from the library yesterday and have a deadline today so I'm not done and I haven't read the spoilers yet, but I expect I'll finish tonight or tomorrow. Excellent choice, LaSalleUGirl! I'm really enjoying this.
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