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Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
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Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight: An African Childhood
Author: Alexandra Fuller

Book Information
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Book Type: Paperback
Rating:

ISBN-13: 9780375758997 - ISBN-10: 0375758992
Publication Date: 3/11/2003
Pages: 336


Other Versions of this Book: Hardcover, Audio Cassette (Unabridged)

Book Description:
In Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, Alexandra Fuller remembers her African childhood with candor and sensitivity. Though it is a diary of an unruly life in an often inhospitable place, it is suffused with Fuller's endearing ability to find laughter, even when there is little to celebrate. Fuller's debut is unsentimental and unflinching but always captivating. In wry and sometimes hilarious prose, she stares down disaster and looks back with rage and love at the life of an extraordinary family in an extraordinary time.

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TagsAfrica

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Top Member Book Reviews

Monica W. (hookedonmonix) wrote on 10/26/2007...

12 member(s) found this review helpful.

There are books and movies that I love, but can't bear to experience again, and this was without a doubt one of them.
Alexandra's childhood is so foreign to my own that I was spellbound by it. I went from horrified to angry to amused to heartbroken and back to horrified several times throughout. The book weighed on me like a sad movie for long afterward.
If you don't like books that are emotionally draining, this one isn't for you. But if you need an eye opener to dysfunction and danger, this definitely is.

K. K. wrote on 12/26/2006...

9 member(s) found this review helpful.

Entertaining and honest. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The author's abilities never lead you to think that she is trying to impress you with her use of language. I related to her family experiences and the perspectives where told from a child's perspective. A good read.

Sarah M. (sarahmonahan) wrote on 4/24/2007...

8 member(s) found this review helpful.

This biography reminded me of "Running with Scissors " with is blunt descriptions of a harsh upbringing and highly difunctional parents. Ms. Fuller is able to retell the events of her life with insight and humor. A very good read.

Laurie H. wrote on 4/18/2007...

7 member(s) found this review helpful.

This is a beautifully written memoir of a an English family's life in Africa. It is told by "Bobo", Alexandra Fuller, in a compelling and descriptive style that will have you hooked in the first chapter. This tale is sad; three of the five Fuller children do not survive infancy, but it is also humorous in parts. A wonderful read.

Kelly N. (mommytsunami) wrote on 6/3/2007...

5 member(s) found this review helpful.

I didn't find this book interesting enough to finish. The author jumped around a lot and made it difficult to follow. The writing style was boring.

Nancy S. (nancys) wrote on 1/6/2007...

4 member(s) found this review helpful.

a very enjoyable read. having spent time in africa, i appreciated her honesty - admitting that she grew up in a family that believed in white superiority. i just wished i could have gotten a bit more insight into her parents - why they chose to live in zimbabwe during the midst of a war of independence.

Sandra D. (bookcrazychick) wrote on 11/27/2006...

4 member(s) found this review helpful.

This book is awsome, beautiful, terrible. I will be thinking about this one for a long time.

Sue K. (Bossmare) wrote on 3/6/2007...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Interesting biography, I read it in a day. The author now lives in Wyoming which is where I live. It's nothing like Africa but can seem like it at times. I do recommend this book.

Jeffrey S. wrote on 2/24/2006...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Great story of a poor British childhood in the former Rhodesia. A real treasure.

Ruth R. (yomamaruth) wrote on 1/2/2006...

2 member(s) found this review helpful.

The autobiography of a woman who was brought to Africa as a child and spent her life there with difficult parents, and tribesmen in several counties


Please Rate these Book Reviews

Robert C. (racprint) wrote on 9/12/2009...


This came highly recommended, and I wish I could say I really liked it. I didn't. I couldn't get past about 75 pages. The story is quite interesting, but the jumping time frame is disorienting, and the florid prose really turned me off: way, way too many adjectives for my taste. If you are fascinated by recent African history, and can overlook my objections, you may enjoy this book.

Madeline F. (madelinefox) wrote on 6/13/2009...


Alexandra Fuller's rich and unique writing style had me rereading sections just to savor her descriptions. From one honest circumstance to the next, you will find yourself immersed in a world that is at once thrilling, scary, and sad, wondering at the fortitude of the family who insisted on living in Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia during some incredibly tumultuous times.

Cindy (summerlady46) wrote on 6/9/2009...


Could there possibly have been a childhood more dissimilar from my own? That made this book fascinating and wonderful! Raised in Africa with her sister, her daredevil farm manager father, and her strong, hard-drinking, bi-polar mother, Bobo Fuller lived more adventures in 20 years than most people will in a lifetime.
Though the family was unusual, I wouldn't call it dysfunctional since they truly cared for each other and made the most of their life together. I highly recommend this memoir if for no other reason than to discover a foreign country through the eyes of those who lived there as ex-pats.

Lori C. (lcharbonneau) wrote on 5/16/2009...


Good book! I really got a picture of a life so foreign to mine in her story. It was an amazing experience that I can still vividly recall months after reading the book.

Shirley P. (booknookchick) wrote on 12/28/2008...


If you enjoyed the Liar's Club by Mary Karr or the Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, you'll probably enjoy this equally tragic, yet beautifully written memoir. I had already hoped Ms. Fuller would write another book and share her talent ... perhaps someday she will.

Gloria L. (lee51) wrote on 8/31/2008...


I have not read the book. The info. on the back of the book, was interesting. kind of drew me to it.

Lyn K. (LynK) wrote on 5/12/2008...


This is a story of growing up in Africa with a mother who is deep in the bottle. According to a friend who is from South Africa, it is right on the money. Humorous, poignant. You won't want to put it down.

Meredith S. wrote on 4/27/2008...


Didn't like it

Jayne S. (dazyjayne) wrote on 4/14/2007...


Amazing story.

Susan M. (petvet) wrote on 4/7/2007...


very interesting book about a quirky family


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