Experience the Magic of Cocktail Hour Beneath the Canopy of the Tree of Forgetfulness

Henrietta Crittall: For anyone who has lived or traveled in Africa this is a evocative tale with sentiments and humour, a truly glorious and poignant read.

United Kingdom on Aug 02, 2023

tds: I hated this. Found it boring, gave up half way through. I loved don't let's go to the dogs tonight, it made me laugh and cry and want to go to Africa. This one didn't make me feel a thing. I think the author writes well but this book wasn't about her, it was just about her mum and it went off on a lot of tangents. Her mum is interesting but I preferred her in don't let's go to the dogs tonight as she was a sort of side character, not the main one. She comes across rather selfish and narcisstic and that's interesting from the perspective of another telling their own story, but I don't find her someone I want to fully read about herself. This was a total flop for me and I won't be buying more from the author now which is a shame.

United Kingdom on May 23, 2023

Beaver: Africa was blessed to have pioneers like this. Those that were brought up in Africa would relate to this story. Enjoy.

Australia on Jan 08, 2023

BC: Stunning, Enthralling. Poignant. Astounding. Jaw-dropping. Witty. Breathtaking. Educational. Awesome. Courageous. Electrifying. Pulverizing. Shimmering. Stunning. Searing. Vibrant. Evocative. I give up, there are not enough adjectives for me to use to describe Fuller's incredible memoirs of her and her family's life/experiences in Africa - many of these adjectives have been used in many of the wonderful Editorial Reviews.

Although each of Fuller's three memoirs can be read as 'stand alones', part of me would recommend reading them in the order they were written. But no matter which you read first, you will want to read the others. Firstly there is "Let's Not Go To The Dogs Tonight", then "Cocktails under the Tree of Forgetfulness", then "Leaving Before the Rains Come"
(the latter is a south Africanism for 'get out while you can'). How could one NOT read these memoirs based solely on their titles and book covers????

I read the second memoir first, could not download the third fast enough, and am just embarking on the first one, which describes Fuller's growing-up years in Africa. I am addicted to Fuller's family and their heart-wrenching journeys.

Fuller's...

United States on Sep 29, 2019

AK: Alexandra Fuller, well known for previous biographical accounts of growing up in Rhodesia and of returning to Zimbabwe as a grown woman - namely  Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood  and  Scribbling the Cat: Travels with an African Soldier  - returns to the same topic, this time from the perspective of her parents.

While she certainly harvested some furore from her mother with her first book - often referred to in here as 'that awful book' - this did not stop this next attempt and even if some of the events covered are the same, you will get a very different perspective here - namely of an adult daughter looking back at the life of her parents from their perspective, rather than from the perspective of a growing child.

The book certainly does an excellent job of portraying the indefatiguable spirit of her parents, who took everything coming their way - from insurrections, lost children, hardships and poverty, to civil wars - and remained optimistic and in love with a continent that so often tried them so thoroughly.

If the tone was different the book could read as a tragedy but the author really manages to distill the...

United Kingdom on Nov 09, 2012

Lala Woods: I love this book, it resonates hugely with me. It's not just about Nicola Fuller of Central Africa. It's about Africa itself, the one we who come from Africa all love. Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa. The descriptions, both of the land and the people of every denomination are so recognisable.
Nicola Fuller of Central Africa (for that is how this fascinating woman describes herself) is lovingly portrayed by her daughter, warts and all, and I fell completely in love with her and her patient husband Tim.
Whilst this book is dominated by Nicola Fuller of Central Africa, Tim is not neglected. Portrayed so well with gentle affection alongside his wife, he comes over strong, silent, supportive and desperately trying to make sense of what is happening around him in the only way he can. There were and are many of his kind in Africa.
Alexandra Fuller is a bit out with some of her historical information about Kenya, and so I give her the benefit of the doubt with regard to dates and events both in Kenya and other parts of Africa. Somewhere on the web there is the information that Kenya obtained Independence on 12th December 1964 and this is obviously the source that so many...

United Kingdom on Jun 28, 2012

Elizabeth H. Cottrell: While there is, as one critic mentioned, considerable overlap with the author's first book (Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight), I found this one even more fascinating and compelling, with many elements I consider when evaluating a memoir:

* It contains lyrical and vivid writing that pulls the reader into the sights, sounds, smells, and emotions of the narrative's places, especially Africa.
* It offers an introduction to a world and culture and place that is so utterly foreign to me, I felt as though I had gone on a grand safari myself.
* Its character development was both harsh and compassioniate, especially the rendering of the author's mother "Nicola Fuller of Central Africa."
* The story provides keen insight into the often unmentioned civilian victims of war.
* The narrative explores life's emotional complexities of, and brutalities against, the human heart, yet it moves quickly enough not to become maudlin or mired dark places.
* It inspired me to think about how I would react in some of the unspeakably awful circumstances that Nicola Fuller, the author (Nicola's daughter), and others in the family had to face. We judge others at our own peril.
* The...

United States on Feb 01, 2012