Rules of the Wild Author:Francesca Marciano Twenty-something Esme, a beautiful Italian-American woman, searches for a sense of place and a sense of self amidst the serene beauty and searing horrors of Africa. Looking for the Kenya of Karen Blixen (a.k.a. Isak Dinesen, author of Out of Africa), Esme can't escape the present: dinner parties and safaris are all tinged--damaged, as it were--w... more »ith news of war-torn Somalia and Rwanda. Like Blixen, Esme is devoted to one man, in love with another. The resulting tale, which encompasses about 12 months in the life of the narrator, is both personal and political.
The daughter of a poet, Esme chooses her words carefully and is observant of all around her. Her knowledge of Italian and the rhythms of that language give the prose an added lyricism and an often-dreamlike quality that is enhanced by Penelope Ann Miller's reading. (Running time: 3 hours, 2 cassettes)« less