Scribbling the Cat: An Intimate Journey Through the Life of an African Soldier

Adrienne: As described in good condition. Arrived in good time

United Kingdom on Aug 04, 2023

Michelle Thompson: I bought this book having read and enjoyed the author's other 2 memoirs ("Don't let's go to the dogs tonight" and "Cocktail hour under the tree of forgetfulness") immensely. This is a very different book, but the writing is still excellent and the people and places come alive through the vivid writing. It details the author's relationship with a neighbour of her parents,an enigmatic veteran of the Rhodeisa-Zimbabwe war, and her travels with him through Zimbabwe and Mozambique visiting other veterans and battlefields from the war. The author's motives for writing this book are complex - she seems to be exploring her own conscience with regard to the war in Rhodesia, when Rhodesia was becoming Zimbabwe. The result is a very reflective piece of writing that is shocking and harrowing to read and makes the reader think about the wider consequences of war. There is very good background information on this conflict and others related to it. I re-read and highlighted many passages whilst reading and gained a lot from reading this book.

United Kingdom on Nov 16, 2015

Jameson Callahan: This is a very well-crafted book from the point of view of a young woman growing up in Rhodesia with her parents and sister. This book chronicles her friendship and travels with a somewhat rebellious and broken-down African soldier, the unnamed K, as they journey through his life and her insight. It touches her life in a very spiritual and emotionally informed way. It is not mushy emotional but insightful in a way that becomes a mirror for the reader as is all of her work. It is a terrific read as are all of her books and is sprinkled with African colloquial slang. Don't worry, a small lexicon in the back defines her terms. (And don't worry, what it means to "scribble the cat" is only one interesting turn of the phrase that will delight the reader. She is a very talented writer, very talented. She is a word-crafter and I would recommend this to anyone who is an avid reader of anything. Book clubs should pick this or ANY of her books!

United States on Apr 12, 2015

Bob K: I read Ms. Fuller's first book strictly by accident. I thought Don't Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight would have been a political view of the struggle in Rhodesia between the white settlers and the indigenous people. It wasn't, however, and while at first I was disappointed as I kept reading I found a brilliantly told tale of a family that lived in Rhodesia that is very similar to many families I know all over America.

Scribbling the Cat is another Fuller memoir set in Africa, and this one is even more personal. The first book tells the story of the Fuller family, and as the mother is the focus of the family the story is truly a mother daughter tale. This book is a story about who Alexandra Fuller became, not how she grew up, and I love it.

Just as in the first book, this is a story that is distinctly rooted in Africa, but if you change some of the names and some of the locations, it truly has played out in America as well. Fuller meets a former Rhodesian soldier, warrior more like it, and is awestruck by his lifestyle. He is now a gentleman farmer living in an area that doesn't have many white gentleman farmers, especially ones who in the past were killing their African...

United States on Oct 22, 2014

Dragoon: This is the follow-on story by Alexandra Fuller to her previous book, Let's not Go to The Dogs Tonight. Alexendra is now a mature woman and mother who has returned to Africa on assignment. While visiting her parents she meets an old soldier who was involved in the Rhodesian crisis. The two go on a journey to the old battle areas and visit old soldier friends who have chosen to stay on in Africa. It is a moving account of post traumatic stress disorder, how some seemingly cope or appear to cope with it. It is the continuing story of the changes shaping the regions in the post clonial era and those who survived the civl wars, and stayed on because of their love for Africa, including Fuller's parents. A moving, sometimes funny,sad,loving and thoughtful journey in Africa, a country and people she understands and she loves. A very moving and enjoyable story of life.

Canada on Aug 31, 2012

zimbean: Comme beaucoup d'autres zimbabwéens, j'essaie de comprendre qui je suis et qu'est-ce qui est arrivé à mon pays. Je le fais à grand renfort de livres comme celui-ci. Etant née juste après la guerre d'indépendance, et ayant perdu 2 oncles dans cette guerre, ce livre fait partie des témoignages qui m'aident à connaître le passé pour mieux envisager l'avenir.

Alexandra Fuller, zimbabwéenne blanche en exil comme beaucoup d'autres, fait un voyage initiatique avec K, un ancien soldat blanc de l'armée rhodésienne, qui a mené une guerre de brousse contre les "terroristes" indépendantistes pendant les années 70. Ils revisitent ensemble le passé, et plusieurs lieux où K a combattu pendant la guerre.

Il se dévoile petit à petit, avouant crimes de guerre, réalités d'une guerrilla de brousse, mais aussi son appartenance profonde à ce pays qu'il aime, et les traces que cette guerre a laissés dans sa vie: vie de famille brisée, souffrance psychologique et émotionnelle qui n'a pas encore trouvé de guérison, son seul refuge étant sa foi profonde en Dieu.

Je conseille vivement ce livre à tous ceux qui souhaitent mieux comprendre le Zimbabwe. Il est...

France on Nov 06, 2010

Judith Price: Alexandra Fuller's Childhood memoirs  Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood  would be a must pre-read BEFORE reading this book- otherwise her lack of presence (except as an observer) in Scribbling the Cat would lead one to think she is, perhaps, shallow and niave.

Other reviewers here have stated that Ms Fuller is cruel, manipulative and lacks honesty, I disagree - it is a telling of the story - and "K" opened up to her (even if he was struggling with a delusion that she was the "promised one") of his own volition. Other reviewers have critisiced her for bring a married woman travelling in the company of unmarried men -I suspect the sense of outrage and male ownership of women's lives and bodies have more to do with that opinion that acknowledged in the reviews. From a different perspective, who would care if the story was told by a man - about his wife and kids in Wyoming?

This story is honest - Alexandra's adventure into the life and history of "K" the former Rhodesian soldier is more journalistic that autobiographical - she protects herself (and if you read her childhood memoir one would understand why) and is trying, I think, to sort...

United States on Apr 12, 2009

Katharine Kirby: I would highly recommend reading both "Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight" followed quickly by "Scribbling the Cat". That way you would be at home with Bobo - Alexandra Fuller - and her strange and quirky life, without trying to work out whether she was just downright brave or stupidly unaware. (Very, very brave) Also the setting is complicated it is worth looking up in an Atlas if you aren't familiar with Zimbabwe and Mozambique. As in the first book the accompanying photos are of poor quality and have a 'looking through Granny's album' feel although there are some very odd ones to get you in the mood. Anyway you won't find a picture of "K" as AF explains, she covers her tracks. This book is rich in atmosphere and the descriptions are beautiful. AF has a finely tuned ear for dialect and idiosyncratic expression. This sets the mood perfectly. "K" is barely controlled and rather frightening, you wonder if AF recognises the power of the embers that she is poking. I liked the way in which she points out that "It should not be physically possible to get from the banks of the Pepani River to Wyoming in less than two days, because mentally and emotionally it is impossible". This...

United Kingdom on Aug 06, 2005