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

This has been on my TBR list for a bit and I was a little surprised that it felt difficult to get through. I wasn't sure why, I just knew I wasn't picking it up as often to get it finished.

The writing is great, I had no issues with that. I felt every piece of Africa with the author through her words. There were really no slow parts, no bad characters, or whatnot. I think my main problem was....this felt like a rough life and a rough childhood and THAT made it hard to read.

Alexandra Fuller's family moved to Africa when she was just a wee baby. She had an older sister, Vanessa, a mom and a dad. They went on a work permit and were tending farms for a living. Often poor, often hungry, they seemed to always have the bad luck to land in the middle of war-torn, landmine-encrusted areas. Nicola, the mom, gave birth to 5 children but only 2 lived. The life they chose was a harsh one.

Fuller doesn't shy away from the brutalities, the day to day normalcy to them (carrying an Uzi wherever you go) seem horrible to others. The racial bias and descriptions on how whites (like the Fullers) are treated vs their black neighbors is pretty terrible as well. And Fuller recognizes that.

All in all, a very good book that is worth the read. I realize that I really don't know much about Africa, it's history or it's culture. Thankfully, Fuller recommends books at the end to help bridge that gap of knowledge.

And honestly, this has to be my favorite cover of all time