First impressions
So, what does everyone think of Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight?
Here are my first impressions of the book:
1. Great opening paragraph--v. compelling.
2. I thought it was interesting that Fuller writes from the POV of her child self; she doesn't filter her memories through her adult consciousness.
3. Related to #2, she makes no apologies for racism (hers and others'), except for one passage late in the book.
4. I was so conscious of smell throughout this book, which is unusual for me. I don't generally pay much attention to setting, but I definitely noticed Fuller's discriptions of the smells and sights of Africa.
5. I wanted to know more about Bobo's family members, especially her sister.
How about y'all--what were your first impressions?
posted by Clementine @ 3:51 PM
6 Comments:
Tangent to your #4, I really enjoyed her treatment of the environment as one of the main characters--a living, feeling (or more accurately, unfeeling) being. And I felt that the love/hate (or admiration/distrust) relationship that the author felt toward her mother was nicely reflected in her feelings about Africa.
I noticed the approach to racism as well, and I think that's about the only way you could handle it without turning the book into something else all together, which wouldn't necessarily be bad but would be different.
I found myself being jolted by the stated dates--the author is pretty much my age but I often felt as though I was reading about a story that happened much farther in the past.
The parts about her sister Olivia and her guilt over O's death nearly killed me. Seriously.
I actually ended up listening to the unabridged audiobook (you wouldn't believe the hold list that's still on this puppy at the libraries here!) which isn't something I usually do but which worked nicely with the book being a memoire.
I had not thought of it but Africa was almost like another character in the book.
I also was struck by the difference in her life compared to mine, since I too am near her age. We are so sheltered in the USA from so many things. Like the impending sense of violence all around her from the uprisings and the plants and animals. Like having worms growing up.
It was interesting to read how each person dealt with the losses so very differently and individually. I felt like despite being in a family, she was so very alone.
Also, they drank a shitload.
And smoked like a chimmney!
The alone-ness in the book really stuck with me after. It felt like everyone was so alone in their pain. Even the mother, who freely expressed it to all the guests when she was drinking, no one never connected to anyone about what they felt. And they all found different ways to cope. Van shut down. Bobo cried. Mom drank. Dad patrolled. How alone they all were in their grief and fear.
Okay, first impressions - I loved how the surroundings were brought to life by the writing. The smells, the heat, the colours. The alcohol. (watermelon and straws, anyone?)
The way it was written drew me in, liking the way the story was told. But hating the story. Totally. I couldn't get past the "we fought to keep one country in Africa white-run". Why? Why take your children to a place where there isn't clean water, adequate food, proper health care -in order to fight for something that isn't yours? And after losing a child and returning home, why go back? The death, constant and hovering. The violence - poor Violet, slashed and left for dead. And Nicola nursed her back, but still wanted to keep one country white-run. I don't get it.
There are many reasons to go and live somewhere else - aid workers, missionaries, or even to try something different (escape from England - they wouldn't be the first). But there really didn't seem to be a reason beyond the racism, and that bothered me. The whole book made me feel unsettled, and I had to take a break after Olivia's death. The guilt that the author felt, and I think that her mother didn't try to discourage or assuage in any way. . . ugh! She was EIGHT for crying out loud. And the adults were completely irresponsible. It made me very angry and upset.
As for why they lived in Africa, it seemed to me that beyond the racial ideal of keeping one country run by whites, it was where Bobo and her family felt at home. It is an odd idea to me that a harsh unforgiving enviornment with the threat of constant violence is a place someone longs to be in. But I thought the author really painted with her words that Africa is her home, where her heart is.
The racism was very unsettling to read. It was presented in such a matter of fact manner without explainations or shame, which lead to futher unsettling feelings in me. But I also felt the author was being honest to her feelings, the words and actions of those around her, and to the times. I think this truth telling is important. South Africa has done more to stop racism with their Truth and Reconciliation than most countries. Saying it like it is without softening it or explaining it is a step to identifying and stopping racism. But it does not make it easy to listen to or to read. I think it is a good thing to be disturbed by the racism.
Another thing that wasn't stated outright, necessarily, and that goes along with the racism is the British classism (is that a real word?) So it isn't just that the black Africans are black, it's also that they are the "servant" class. Having lived in Britain, I'd wager that having the people her parents and their peer viewed as servants taking over the country probably was as distasteful as the fact that they weren't white.
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