Cocktail Hour under the Tree of Forgetfulness

A quick mention for this thoroughly entertaining and, on occasions, quite poignant book of reminiscences  by Alexandra Fuller of her parents' alcohol sodden, peripatetic and wildly eccentric life in Africa at a time of its transition to from colonialism to independence. Her mother, the romantic, dramatic and sometimes tragic self proclaimed "Nicola Fuller of Central Africa" and Tim, her stoically supportive, pipe-smoking, salesman/nightclub bouncer/jobbing farmer father move from Kenya, to Rhodesia as it then was (leaving briefly for a couple of dull and dreary years in England) before returning to the war torn country (a farm on the border with Mozambique being a risky option for white Africans with small children) and then eventually on to Zambia, where they live today.

I've never been there and Africa is an itch which I still have to scratch but the prose is evocative (as far as I can tell) and seems to buzz with the heat, dust, smells and noises of Africa. The overriding emotion in the book is the love of the land of those who lived there: "Land is Mum's love affair and it is Dad's religion".

Whilst, with the exception of some historical background and a passing reference to 250,000 white Rhodesians being unwilling to criticise a government policy which gave them preferential treatment over 6 million blacks, this book is almost entirely devoid of the politics of colonialism and independence (which on occasions feels very odd - you can guess what the Fullers think but nothing is explicit) it is a bracingly good read for anyone who is interested in Africa or who has lived there. It is also an interesting take on a very different, sometimes delinquent and sometimes flamboyant, style of parenting..... Alexandra Fuller has a fascinating story to tell.