‘Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood’ by Alexandra Fuller

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Rating: 5 out of 5.

This memoir reads like an African version of The Glass Castle. It is a candid and unflinching story that brought both tears of laughter and sorrow to me. I loved this author’s writing style, so funny and poignant at the same time. Because we also lived remotely in Africa, there was so much that was familiar to me in this book. This family was not always ok, and the way the children grew up is at times so harrowing as to be unbelievable. Fuller fearlessly tells the story from childhood memories that are unsentimental and matter-of-fact. But the reader is aware of how dangerous and dysfunctional the situation is, while at the same time realising the fierce love for home and family that the author has.

A big thank you to the person who listened to the podcast that I was a guest on (What Should I Read Next, Episode 324) and left a comment recommending Fuller’s memoirs to me. As she said, “based on geography alone” she thought I should read this author, and she was right. It is exactly the kind of gem I am always looking for. Thanks Erin! I inhaled this book and loved the photographs of the family sprinkled throughout the book. There’s also historical background about the war of independence, about her father joining up on the white side of the war, and how the family lived in the midst of the fighting. Known to her family and friends as Bobo, the author lived in Zimbabwe (known then as Rhodesia), Zambia, and Malawi.

Racism was inherent in Fuller’s upbringing. Raised by white supremacists in Rhodesia, Alexandra talks about the ways in which racism becomes enmeshed in children and the task of their adult self to undo. It’s a powerful and heartfelt speech. This TED talk is a story about her lifelong attempt at self-liberation and the difficult, rewarding work of raising socially-conscious children in a system of racial capitalism. TED Talk: My Liberation is Tied Up with Yours

This is my first Alexandra Fuller memoir and will definitely not be my last. I will carry on very soon with the sequel called Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness. There are more books in the backlist as well, click here. This short interview with the author is worth a listen.