Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
Fuller, AlexandraThe author vividly recollects her extraordinary childhood in southern Africa where terrorism, curfews, ambushes and the AK-47 are part of the vocabulary of daily life. A story of bravado, driven by fire-in-the-belly love of Africa.
Comments from Groups
The whole group appreciated reading this book. We think it's our favourite so far this year. Plenty of discussion points. We generally liked that the author chose description over analysis e.g. of racism. It gave the book a fresh and honest feel and left the reader to analyse if they wanted. Auckland 107A great read, how well she wrote about what to her was a 'normal' childhood, to us it was amazing and disturbing. Excellent book. Waikanae 002A fantastic read about an interesting time in history. Wonderfully told from a childs point of view and remembrance. Auckland 248Very good discussion. One member who lived in South Africa, felt guilty about how much racism was a way of life. Generally this book affected all in different ways. A good read and thought provoking. Christchurch 115Most people loved this book. Some of the descriptive writing was very good. We thought the child as the storyteller was very honest - telling it how it was. We admired the mother who could turn her hand to anything. Dunedin 007
Pages
310
310
Year
2002
2002
Reviews
15-01-2024
Most in the group enjoyed the book. Informative of the time.
08-11-2022
Enjoyed by all members of our group as an honest and vivid portrayal of African life. The viewpoint of white children living in Zimbabwe as it transitioned away from colonial rule was brilliantly expressed and we would all look for other work by this author.
31-08-2022
We were all pretty horrified by elements of this book, and some found it hard to understand the choices made by the author's parents. It made for very lively discussion. Most of us would seek out the next memoir by the author.
31-08-2022
Only 1 out of 9 people at our discussion did not like the book - we enjoyed her honest writing and found it easy to read.
25-11-2020
Those in the group that enjoy biographical and historical reads found this ok, but not overly exciting. The harsh portrayal of the mother was difficult to stomach for many and created a lot of discussion around alcoholism. Some members did not go beyond the first couple of chapters.
02-10-2020
We all agreed that it was very well written, evocative and poignant. The authoress brought the countries and their people vividly alive. Aspects of the book struck people differently, so we had a very interesting discussion. We were fortunate to have someone who had lived in Africa to give us some alternative perspectives.
14-02-2020
Book enjoyed by all of us. Some really enjoying it, scoring it 9/10! Good balance of humour, sadness and very well-written.
14-02-2020
Loved the book - good discussion about mother/daughter relationships.
14-02-2020
Enjoyed by all. We were impressed by her ability to recreate the sounds, feelings and events of her remarkable childhood. Descriptions of horrifying, scary happenings often alleviated by humour.
14-02-2020
Lots of positive comments - discussion centred mostly around Bobo's mother, her lessons and the isolation but not critical of her drinking. General opinion was that of a close family.
14-02-2020
Well-written book; easy read that led to a good discussion.
14-02-2020
The whole group really enjoyed this book - had a great discussion. We have sourced a couple of her other books and are looking forward to reading them.
14-02-2020
We all thought the book was well-written with the horrors of impending violence through war, treated with a modicum of humour. Much discussion on the subject of racism and superiority of white settlers.
14-02-2020
Great read. We thought the kids had a pretty traumatic upbringing, but also lots of love. It changed our perception that all the whites were wealthy.
14-02-2020
Half of the group was interested in the book and half weren't. It's an oddly compelling book with many ups and downs told in a pretty raw, stream-of-consciousness style.
14-02-2020
Our Book Club Group is extremely lucky to have a member who lived in South Africa as a child, although not in the same region as 'Bobo'. Her knowledge helped us immensely to understand the circumstances and the conditions at that time. The general consensus of the group was that this was a most unusual and incredible family with a lifestyle almost incomprehensible to most of us. The author handled the narrating of the family's experiences with a casual acceptance and we felt the love of family and the love of Africa coming through.
14-02-2020
Good insight into life in South Africa through a volatile period of history. Able to compare what was happening in our own lives during the period covered.
13-11-2019
This book produced mixed reviews in our group. 3 didn't finish it as they found it too harrowing. Those that finished it felt better educated about that period in Africa - not a happy story but well-written.
23-08-2018
The book was not what we expected from reading the title. Lively discussion and we all loved the book; we found it thought provoking and disturbing.