Book Description

The progeny of a South Carolina gentleman and his slave, the Harleston family rose from the ashes of the Civil War to create an American cultural dynasty and achieve an affluence that afforded them the comfort of chauffeurs, tailored clothes, and servants whose skin was darker than theirs. Their wealth also launched them into a generation of glory as painters, performers, and photographers in the "high yellow" society of America's colored upper class. The Harleston's remarkable 100-year journey spans from the waning days of Reconstruction to the precious art world of the early 1900s, down the back alleys of the Jazz Age, and to the dangers of the dawning Civil Rights movement.

Enhanced by the recollections of the family's archivist, 84-year-old Edwina Harleston Whitlock, The Sweet Hell Inside draws characters rarely seen before: cultured, vain, imperfect, rich, and black, a family made up of eccentrics who defied social convention yet whose advantages could not protect them from segregation's locked doors, a plague of early death, and the stigma of children born outside marriage.

This engrossing story raises the curtain on a unique family drama in the pageant of American life and uncovers a fascinating lost world.

Reviews (10)

Another remarkable family history!
Author Edward Ball has done it again by successfully writing the history of another American family originating from the south - the Harleston family.

"The Sweet Hell Inside" starts with story of the relationship between white slave owner, William Harleston and his black slave Kate Wilson. They had eight children.

The narrative spans from the mid-1800s to the year 2000 and describes the lives of the family members during different times in America's history. This includes the time, which the author accurately describes as "America's cruelest years" -- a time when black and interracial Americans struggled to survive when laws were established to deny them basic human rights.

The Harleston family was able to survive those hard times to become what Ball describes as "American cultural pioneers" because of their professions and achievements - some in the area of art, photography and music.

Ball uses Harleston family papers, interviews and other documentation, much of which was given to him by Edwina Harleston Whitlock, a relative, direct descendant of the Harleston family and archivist of the family papers.

Like Ball's first book, a genealogy chart is provided to help follow the family characters. In addition, an abundance of photos, which alone tell an enticing story, is provided.

"The Sweet Hell Inside" is appealing not only because of the special family characters but because of the historical context (such as the revolutionary war, civil war, the Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow and more) in which their biographies fall. The author provides interesting tidbits about the times and other historical figures, adding to the interest subject of the book.

Fafa Demasio

Illuminating one family's history in Black America
I found "The Sweet Hell Inside" to be an illuminating, informative read! Being an African-American especially interested in the black/white dynamics of American history, I found Edward Ball's story of the Harlestons of South Carolina hard to put down!

The in-depth story of how the black Harleston family began, prospered, endured, and survived;the digressions Ball made re African-American parts in jazz, art, the funeral-home industry;the "Harlem Renaissance";and the very human traits of all the various characters, combined to make "The Sweet Hell Inside" a voyage of discovery and enlightenment for me. I think most other readers will find it likewise! This book is a treasure-trove of family, racial, and American history.

I especially liked this book because the author allowed the characters to "speak" through their papers, records, and other memorabilia, and via his sixth cousin,Edwina Harleston Whitlock!

An unforgettable story...
Author Edward Ball comes from a long line of plantation owners from the Low Country of South Carolina. In his first book, National Book Award-winner Slaves in the Family, Ball set out to trace the ancestors of slaves once owned by the Ball family. Little did he realize that this research would lead to the discovery of his own ancestors of color, and what a fascinating tale this would be. This story is the basis of his second book, The Sweet Hell Inside, which is one of the most moving, poignant and haunting books I have ever read.

The Sweet Hell begins with plantation owner, William Harleston. Harleston never married, but took a house slave named Kate as his common-law wife. Together, they produced eight children. After the Civil War, William purchased a house in Charleston for Kate and the children, and even left her an inheritance when he died (something rare in the 19th century South). The story of the Harleston family is a study of Charleston's high yellow society, or the black elite. Not accepted into white culture, they were also not comfortable among their freed slave brethren. Ball follows four generations of the black Harlestons. We see that they were educated, sent to college, trained in various professions, and lived a very comfortable life. The members of this family were also multi-talented. They became businessmen, sea captains, artists, musicians, pastors, photographers, and influential members of Charleston's black society.

Much of the success of the Harleston family begins with Kate and William's son, Edwin. Edwin started the Harleston Funeral Home to provide upper-class black families with the same services offered by white undertakers (who would not handle black clients). The short history that Ball provides about the mortuary business is fascinating. Several other family members stand out in this book. Edwin's son, Teddy, becomes a classically trained painter. Unfortunately, he is needed in the funeral business and his painting career suffers. Edwin's daughter, Ella, marries the Rev. Joseph Jenkins. Together, they run the famous Jenkins Orphanage. There are a host of other brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews that make-up the tapestry of this wonderful story.

But for as fortunate as this family was, they also suffered more than their share of heartaches including infertility, economic setbacks, illness, and early death. They also faced discrimination in their hometown. A musician moved to Europe to earn the respect he deserved as a performer and composer. Teddy had to travel north to enjoy classic artwork in museums (Charleston's museums were for whites only). Also, his own city never recognized his artistic talents until after his death. Pneumonia, heart disease, a ruptured appendix and TB were among the maladies that cut down family members in their prime.

The Sweet Hell was a book I didn't want to end. There is a family tree and many photos of family, places and even Teddy's artwork. But I wanted more. So on a trip to Charleston, I visited many of the places mentioned in the book. First, I rode by Kate Harleston's house (the original homestead). Since the book was published, this dilapidated house is now being renovated. I discovered that I have passed the Harleston Funeral Home hundreds of times, but never noticed it before. It is still in operation, although no longer run by the Harleston family. I found the Plymouth Congregational Church, where most of the Harleston's worshipped. The most moving sight was the old Jenkins Orphanage. The orphanage and the Old Jail both share a block. It was eerie walking in this now quiet, residential neighborhood, trying to imagine what it must have been like when hundreds of orphans and hundreds of inmates were both in residence. Add a Jenkins band or two, and it must have been a happening place!

All in all, I just can't say enough good things about The Sweet Hell Inside. Edward Ball's new effort proves that he is a writer with an incredible voice.

Powerful Story
As a genealogist researching my ancestors from South Carolina I felt compelled to read this book. It was fascinating, although I had read Slaves in the Family, I felt like this was a continuation not to be missed. I felt deeply for the members of the Hairston family. It was sad see how Kate lost her inheritance which she deserved. All of the other slights the family is dealt but still some how the family went on. Its an important aspect of American history which you don't always see.

Amazing Once Again
I was dazzled once again by the depth and scope of effort and research put into a book by Edward Ball. I was such a big fan of his first book, Slaves In the Family, I was doubtful he could equal his own work. What a nice to surprise to find that as good as Slaves In the Family was, The Sweet Hell Inside was even better.

The book follows generations of the Harleston family of South Carolina from the early 1800s to the present. Harleston was a white ancestor of the author who took a black common law wife with whom he had five children. Being of mixed blood the Harleston family lived a separate, more priviledged life than other black South Carolina residents, but one that was also very separate from the white residents. The family history is fascinating with members working in various performing and visual arts, participating in the Harlem Reniassiance, and educating some children who would grow up to be pioneers in jazz music. Its astounding that one family could have had such an influence in so many areas and that they have the documentation to prove it. Much of the documentation and oral history come from Edwina Harleston Whitlock a direct descendant of white Mr. Harleston and his former slave/wife Katie. The compilation of material provided from Ms. Whitlock coupled with Ball's narrative talent make this a must read. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Anything but boring
C. Everett Koop is a man of strong opinions and firm actions, yet who places high value in attempting to be fair in his judgments. This book of memoirs tells the story of a courageous and admirable man's career, focusing most of the text on his eight years as surgeon general. I found the book very easy to read, not tedious or pedantic, and I give it a rating of 9 instead of a 10 because I wish he would have devoted a little more space to his career in pediatric surgery (which lasted 35 years). It's good reading. ... Read more

Book Description

A dramatic presentation of events as they unfold when family members encounter and deal with the problems-some heart-rending, some touchingly amusing-caused by their mother's Alzheimer's disease. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

I found this book to be both delightful and insightful.
A Childhood in Scotland is a delightful and insightful book. Despite its size(90 pgs.), it is remarkably full of intriguing details of the author's castle itself and her adventures growing up within its walls. It seemed amazing to me that Christian had such a vivid recollection of her few short years there. Her writing clearly showed how much she loved the out of doors as opposed to the bleak, cold, impersonal life within the castle itself. With that in mind, it doesn't surprise me at all that at the age of 58 she took a bicycle ride from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast. She had learned at a very early age that the outside world held many wonderful adventures for her. I do wish, however, that there could have been more information about her siblings and what became of them in their latter years. She did such an excellent job of recording and reporting about her childhood that I have been left with a strong desire to read more books about castles and the life of the people who lived in them. I plan to share this book with several of my friends and will undoubtedly give it as a gift to some of them. It was one of those books that makes the reader wish the final page would never come. My four star rating is only because of that fact - I wish it could have been longer. ... Read more

Book Description

"ASTONISHINGLY MOVING...The Family Heart is a tough and challenging work, for it reminds us that empathy is a humble but radical virtue, if lived."
--USA Today
" I'm gay.' Every day, parents around the world hear those words from their children. Most are utterly unprepared for them. By writing The Family Heart, Robb Forman Dew has done such parents an extraordinary service."
--The Washington Post Book World
"TOUCHINGLY WRITTEN."
--The Boston Globe
"At the heart of this memoir lies a true epiphany: the author's sudden, galvanizing awareness of the suicidal consequences of homophobia. It is a chilling moment, and it is described with a writer's eloquence and a mother's rage....Dew's intense imagination, combined with her ignorance of homosexuality, was as much a hindrance as a help, and it is to her credit that she has recorded the occasionally wacky assumptions and painful readjustments of her own odyssey with such care and humor."
--The New Yorker
"POETIC, HONEST."
--Fort Worth Star-Telegram
"Eloquent and absorbing...The true testament of Mrs. Dew and her husband as parents, and the most powerful moments of this inspiring memoir, occur when they come out' to their community as parents of a gay child....Though Mrs. Dew imparts a lot of self-gained wisdom in this perceptive and beautifully articulated story, in the end she realizes she has something she has always had--a strong loving family and two good sons."
--The Dallas Morning News
"AMEN FROM ANY MOTHER, EVERY MOTHER."
--Anna Quindlen
The New York Times
... Read more

Reviews (10)

Sweet, but I couldn't relate that well.
I found the book to be more a look into the priviledged life than a look into parents dealing with a gay son. The dialogue between parents and son were wonderful to read, but unfortunately, there was very little of it. The book begins with Steve, the Dews' 19 y.o. son, coming home to Massachusetts for the summer after his second year at Yale. After a few days at home, he comes out to his mother when she asks if he's dated any girls at school. His mother comforts him and tells him she still loves him. Later that night, she tells her husband, and he rushes to comfort Steve, also telling him that he will love him no matter what. Throughout the rest of the book, the author discusses the summer, Steve coming out to his younger brother, how the family deals with homophobia from schools and supposed friends, and their eventual involvement with PFLAG. As a lesbian, I was really looking forward to reading this book to get a glimpse of what my parents might have gone through when I first came out. Some of the dialogue ran true for me, but for the most part, I couldn't relate to the author's life enough to enjoy the book. Mostly I just couldn't relate to the family's lifestyle. The two sons both went to private schools and only saw their parents every few months. Then, during the summer when Steve came out, he was only home for a few weeks before the family drove down to VA to his brother's graduation. After the graduation, the brothers went off to Mexico for a Spanish-language immersion program for 6 weeks, leaving directly from D.C. While I appreciate Steve's mother writing a book about her son's homosexuality, the book was primarily about the author since her son was never around. When she said she was shocked that he was gay, I slapped my head thinking "Of course she didn't know! She never even saw him day to day, growing into a young adult!" I ended up feeling like it would have been a much more interesting book if the author actually spent more time with her son or if the book had been written by Steve's younger brother.

Brilliant writer. Timely subject. Magical book.
Robb Forman Dew teaches us all about REAL family values...the kind where you love and support your children, rather than destroying them. Dew is a master storyteller, and her search for truth and love make this heart- wrenching fiction...except that it is NOT fiction. It is real, and it is a story that most people NEED to read, because every day there are many people who learn that they have a gay son, daughter, friend, relative or co-worker. Everyone NEEDS to read this book.

An experience of the heart
One of life's most painful (and unjustifiable) tragedies is a parent's total and absolute rejection of their gay or bisexual child solely on grounds of sexual orientation, and little of substantive value has been written on the psychological and social dynamics (many dysfunctional) that collide to rip a family soul to shreds. What literature does exist is usually in the form of some self-help advice that is admirable in intent but unlikely for practical application. "The Family Heart ..." is one of the few published works that doesn't go into scholarly psychoanalyzing about the implications when a gay child comes out to his parents. Instead, its author, Robb Forman Dew, shares with refreshing and candid honesty one family's reaction when its son came out. Its welcome candor rests in the dismantling the parental feeling that they "failed" their gay child, the fallacy of keeping the family "secret" and, all too frequently, the "why" for the total loss of parental love because of some prejudicial homophobia that also serves to send the gay child into self-exile, shame and self-loathing. Any family who has endured or is going through problems accepting their gay child can benefit from one family's actual experience and, as important, how it managed to embrace its child as a total product of more than his sexual orientation. In the end, "The Family Heart ..." empowers the parent of the gay child to say, "My child's gay. Big whoop!" With that conclusion, we finally get the idea that the "problem" with homosexuality isn't homosexuality: it's homophobia! And that, reader, is another form of prejudice and ignorance that serves only to inflict pain, degredation and isolation.

Everyone Should Read This Book.
Powerful and moving. More evidence of how heterosexism and homophobia hurt EVERYONE.

AN EYE OPENER!
Upon finding out our 18-year old son was gay, my immediate thought was terror for his safety, having come out right around the time of Matthew Shepard's murder. While reading this book and learning about Bobby and Scottie, it really dawned on me as to how hard it must have been for my son growing up knowing he was gay. I am so thankful that nothing ever happened to him and that we were able to deal with it as a family. I called my son and apologized for not addressing that issue immediately and he confirmed that it was very difficult, but he knew that we would never reject him for any reason, he just knew it would be not be easy for us and he wanted to avoid causing us any pain. I think the typical parental reaction upon hearing that their child is gay is that they will be hurt physically, the loss of a dream for their lives, and how it will affect their own lives. I'm ashamed that I didn't think about my son's feelings before my own. This book really opened my eyes. My husband I have been attending PFLAG meetings for about 10 months now and plan to continue. Initially I was there to receive help from others but now I can actually help others. I'm so glad there are people like Robb Forman Dew out there. ... Read more

Book Description

The book is a series of letters that Karen wrote to her son, Gabriel Michael, who was born prematurely and died two hours after birth.Karen expresses the bond between mother and child with incredible tenderness and love.Through her lived experience and deep faith, Karen makes a bold and profound statement about the gift of life, family values, the bond between parent and child, the grieving process and the paradox of suffering.What began as a normal pregnancy for Karen ended with serious difficulties just as her husband Rick Santorum (Republican - Pennsylvania) was leading the charge against partial birth abortion in the U.S. Senate. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Beautiful!
Letters to Gabriel is the most beautiful and precious book that I have ever read. I will cherish it forever.

As the proud and loving Mummy in my 7th month of pregnancy to my beautiful baby girl, Bethany Anne, who was diagnosed with Anencephaly in my 12th week of pregnancy through transvaginal ultrasound.. I relate so much with everything Mrs. Garver-Santorum expresses in her lovely letters to her precious little boy.

Thank you Karen for writing such a beautiful masterpiece. Mums everywhere will not feel alone after reading your great words of comfort and love.

my healing book
I have had this book for years; my mother gave it to me when I began having children, so I could understand the depth of a mother's love for her child. I cried when I first read it, and this past week, when I lost a baby myself, I cried more.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough to other grieving mothers out there. Karen's honesty about her struggles allowed me to see my pain in someone else's tragedy, and somehow, that helped so much--to know I was not alone in my anguish, that I was not crazy, and that, perhaps, someday, there is hope.

I simply do not understand the horrible, negative diatribes among the reviews posted here. I cannot believe people would let their politics lead them to berate and mock a family that endured such a loss. Such people are the very people who make me afraid to leave my house, afraid to pick up the phone, because there are those kind of people out there who will not understand how much it hurts to lose a baby at any stage of a pregnancy.

Please, if you have lost a child, read this book and allow Karen's courage and wisdom to help you endure your sorrow. Do not listen to heartless, callous, cruel bystanders--after all, does it make sense to listen to someone who has suffered the loss of a child or someone who doesn't think unborn or newly born babies count for very much?

I am certain that in the weeks ahead, as I try to accept the fact that I will never see my Michael Jude grow up, I will return to her book again and again. Blessings, Karen and family.

Santorum, go to the Sanitarium
I found it terribly disturbing in this book when, upon reading this right wing rant of a book, that being a prominent politician entitles one to handle a dead infant's body, taking it home so that one's entire family may observe the new family member, and then burying the remains. And conservatives call late term abortions barbaric?! To induct a dead infant into a family is downright insane, and it is sad that so many do not see this for the mere political grandstanding that it is. I guess that a white Christian male senator from Pennsylvania should speak for all women in America who carry fetuses in pregnancies that are potentially life-threatening. And for a political faction that places so much emphasis on the role of God in morality, it is intriguing that such a public official would assume the authority to judge when, or even if, a pregnant woman's life is in danger due to a pregnancy. Maybe Rick Santorum professes so much faith in God because he believes himself to be that very deity.

I hope there are some good Democrats running for the Senate in Pennysylvania for 2006.

A response to the previous reviewer.
I hope the reader from San Francisco never has to experience the death of a child...I have, and holding my child before my wife and I gave her to God was one of the most precious events of my life. I applaud Mrs Santorum on having the strength to write a book that could help many, many people. The comment that she needs mental help for wanting to share the experience is bitter and evil. although you are a negative, horrible person (who is too much of a coward to use your name), I know her response would be the same as mine...May God have mercy on your soul....

And I hope God blesses the Santorums

Valuable insight into the role of right-wing Christians
This book is a great way to explore the depraved thinking of right-wing Christians. The part where Karen brings the fetus home to have her children handle it before burying "Gabriel" makes one think that she needs psychiatric counseling! I do feel sorry for her for being married to that idiot, however. ... Read more

Book Description

In the spirit of Pete Hamil's SNOW IN AUGUST, the author of four New York Times bestsellers, including REPORT FROM ENGINE COMPANY 82, creates a moving memoir of growing up Irish Catholic and poor in New York City.

Growing up on the rough-and-tumble streets of New York City in the 1940s and '50s, Dennis Smith was a "tenement kid," dirt-poor, Irish-Catholic, and missing a father. According to his mother, who fought desperately to keep her children on the right track, his father had a disability which required him to stay in a hospital and have no visitors. By his early teens, Smith had become an angry rebel, and was involved with drugs, alcohol, and various kinds of criminal mischief. Just as his life was about to spin out of control, he learned the truth behind his father's absence, and begun a difficult process of personal healing and spiritual renewal. Told in first-person narrative, this lyrical remembrance is a powerful odyssey of one young man coming of age in a confusing and sometimes hostile world. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

An American "Angela's Ashes"
Dennis Smith's "A Song for Mary" is a powerful, emotionally gripping memoir that is one of the finest published in recent years. Along with Pete Hamill's "A Drinking Life", and Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes", it belongs in the first rank of great memoirs written by Irish-American authors. Speaking of Hamill, it is a Manhattan version of "A Drinking Life", replete with the chaos and woe associated with growing up poor and Irish in New York City. Smith's vivid prose conjurs up the Irish-American neighobrhood that was once the East Side of Midtown Manhattan. We see a young, bright Dennis Smith almost drawn into a life of petty crime, yet saved by love and devotion from his mother and local Catholic priests. Eventually the book ends positively, with his arrival as the rookie fireman at Engine Company 82, setting the stage for the events he described two decades ago in his bestselling memoir "Report from Engine Company 82". I am surprised that this fine book hasn't earned the wide audience it deserves. Anyone who has fallen in love with Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes" should also fall in love with Dennis Smith's "A Song for Mary".

Uncertain of where the author was taking me
Until the last few pages I wondered who Mary was, his mother, his girlfriend, his fellow student, a teacher? Having been raised in an Irish Catholic community during the Depression, I could identify with much of what the author described. But it was not until the end that "Mary" became clear. It seemed to be a Song to the Author. Yes, I enjoyed it, but if I had not been determined to read it through, I would have probably set it down about half way through and considered the book unremarkable.

SUCH A WONDERFUL MEMORY!
This shows the greatest love in the world: a mother's love for her son. As a result of this love, her son has a great desire to please his mother and a need for her to be proud of him.====Growing up in a New York City neighborhood during the 1940's and 1950's is very difficult for Dennis because of peer pressure and also because he is very resentful and resistive of all authority in his life, but grow up he does!====You cannot read this well-written narrative without some laughter and some tears,but you do come away from it with some understanding of the universal mother-child love.====If you read and loved Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes", you will certainly love this wonderful memoir. Good for you, Dennis Smith!!!

THANKS FOR THE MEMORY
I READ THIS BOOK IN ONE WEEK END WHILE VISITING MY DAUGHTER. IT WAS A DELITE FOR ME . ALTHOUGH RAISED IN THE CITY OF CHICAGO , AND BEING FEMALE, THE TIME PERIOD MATCHED AND SO DID THE FELLOWS THAT GREW UP IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. WE WERE EITHER IRISH, ITALIAN OR JEWISH. HE REALLY TAKES ONE INSIDE THIS LITTLE FELLOW AND WOULD CERTAINLY GIVE ANY MOTHER WITH A REBEL SON HOPE. I LOVED IT!

A masterpiece!
Encore, encore. . . what a beautiful, wonderful story. I did not want this book to end I enjoyed it so thoroughly. What a brave and determined woman Mary was, and such an incredibly loving mother. This book is such a touching tribute to her, as well as a gut-wrenching look at growing up dirt poor and finding your own way in life. I loved this book and highly recommend it. Bravo Mr. Smith! ... Read more

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. ... Read more

Reviews (106)

Brilliant, funny insight into post-colonial Africa
What makes this book worth reading -- aside from a captivating style and humorous content -- is precisely what separates it from other excellent books about similar subject matter (Godwin's Mukiwa, Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions): the fact that Fuller makes no attempt to analyze, excuse, or explain the racism and insanity of her family history. Rather than rationalizing her parents' racist attitudes, Fuller chooses instead to simply describe in her wry, matter-of-fact voice precisely how the end of the colonial era was experienced by people implicated in it. She does not try to gloss her childhood experiences with politically correct hindsight, and in so doing thrusts the reader into the desperation and the joy of rural African life in the last three decades. Bobo's mother is one of the most memorable and remarkable personalities I've encountered in African literature. The book is worth reading entirely for its hysterical concluding scenes. Fuller's characters are real and human, in all their extraordinary bizarreness!

Having spent many an hour, like Bobo Fuller, poking grass into ant-lion holes in the hot dusty veld, this moving story captivated me and painted a moving portrait of people fighting the cruelty of the African landscape. Myth and reality are intertwined in a witty and beautiful story. Everyone should read this book!

A different perspective
It was interesting to read a book about life in Africa, from the perspective of a white woman brought up in a family who clung fiercely to the notion of white supremacy with every last bit of their strength. I disagree with a previous reviewer, however, who seemed to excuse the racism of the Fuller parents by implying that the historic and political situation they were in "made" them that way. Racism is racism, no matter what the circumstance.

Despite the attitudes of the Fuller parents, their daughter Bobo has documented a well-written account of their life in various African countries, and provides vivid details about the smells, sights, and emotions that the continent evokes for her. Her writing really gives the reader a sense of both the incredible harshness and danger(poisonous snakes, itchy vegetation, scary militaristic governments, etc) of Africa, but also its gentleness and great beauty.

Although I think Alexandra Fuller writes very well, and I appreciate her honest writing about her parents' behavior and attitudes, I couldn't warm to the family. Despite their numerous trajedies and troubles, I found it difficult to feel sympathetic. In contrast, when I read "The Flame Trees of Thika", another memoir of an African childhood by another white woman, Elspeth Huxley, I rooted for her colonial, turn-of-the-century, white-is-right parents, Robin and Tilly, through all their successes and setbacks. They held the same attitude of racial superiority as the Fullers, yet there is something intrinsically more likeable about how they handled themselves on a continent where they were the minority race, political upheaval or no. After reading Fuller's memoir, it was a relief to pick up "Nervous Conditions" by black female Zimbabwean Tsitsi Dangarembga, and read about three-dimensional black Africans. Her book is set in 1960s Rhodesia, for those interested (A. Fuller recommends it herself in the Afterword section of her memoir). Despite my personal reaction to this book, I recommend it to anyone interested in African writing, because I think that Alexandra Fuller's perspective is just as important and valid as that of any other African writer.

Bravo
A wonderful insight into the mind of a child and a precise memoir of life itself. Life isn't straightforward and simple, yet we survive, thrive and love, even in the most difficult situations. Ms. Fuller: You said it all and you said it well.

Just meanders . . .
I read this book for my book club. It just seemed to meander through her childhood, no real plot or climax. Yes, this girl definitely had a different type of childhood, but what makes it that interesting or significant?????

A very different childhood
Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller is an extraordinary memoir of growing up white in war ravaged Africa. Alexandra, called Bobo by her family, was born in 1969 in England. Her parents moved the family to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1972. Always suffering from "bad, bad luck", which included losing three children, the family moves from farm to farm within Rhodesia and Malawi.

Fuller's writing style is rich, lyrical and many times, funny. I could picture the land, feel the heat and smell the smoking fish that embodies the Africa she describes. I found myself laughing even as I was shaking my head in disbelief at some of the choices her parents made. Bobo's mother, Nicola Fuller, is racist, resilient, strong and mad as a hatter. In other words, she's the most memorable character in the book.

Of course, to Fuller all of this stress and strife was, while not exactly normal, expected. She was a child, after all, and it's all she'd ever known. As I was reading, I couldn't help but think that American kids really have no idea how hard their life could be.

Overall a captivating read. It left me reminiscing about my childhood and reflecting on how simple and uncomplicated (read boring) it was. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Full of fun and amazing stories
This book consists of many short stories for the first half, and the other half is dedicated for Leo (the lion that they've raised at their park ranger's house).

Lots of fun and amazing stories of the wild visitors and temporarily adapted wild orphans while the author and her family lived in the park rangers houses in 10 years in south Africa.

The later half is about Leo - the cute and sweet lion. Some parts are heart aching but he'll eventually settle down fine in the comfortable environment.

The authors love of nature, love for her children, and great love and respect to the wild animals are beautifully written with lots of nice photograph inside.

One of my favorite books! I've read this book on the way to my safari trip in Africa. ... Read more

Book Description

Soaked in the sunshine of Corfu, where Gerald Durrell lived as a boy with his "family and other animals," this book evocatively chronicles his five-year sojourn on the Greek island. With hilarious yet endearing portraits of his eccentric family and their many unusual hangers-on, My Family and Other Animals also captures the beginnings of Durrell's lifelong love of animals. In its passionate understanding of Corfu's natural history, this is an entertaining and enduring memoir. ... Read more

Reviews (70)

Wow! Humorous, creative, and well-written!
I REALLY loved this book! It is the story of Gerald Durrell, a 10-year-old boy in Corfu, a beautiful island off of Greece. It is a comic tale of Durrell's family, friends, and, most importantly, animals. I laughed my way through this book at the antics of Roger, the dog, Achilles, the tortoise, Widdle and Puke, the puppies, the Magenpies, a fierce sea gull, pigeons, a gecko, Gerry's hilarious family and friends, and much, much more! Don't waste too much time reading the reviews... get out and read this book!

I want to live on Corfu - this book is responsible!
I can trace the fact that I've always been drawn to the Greek islands directly to this book. I first read it as a child, and the careful and playful descriptions of people, places, flora, and fauna made me long to live on Corfu. I must admit that the author's descriptions of the misadventures of his eccentric family (including his brother, author Lawrence Durell) were my favorite parts of the book. I'm buying a fresh copy for my 18-year old daughter, who is lucky enough to be headed for Greece for 3 months. I want her to see Greece through the eyes of the person who most strongly influenced my vision of the country - Gerry Durell.

Way better than Croc Hunter
In todays day and age of Steve Erwin and Jeff Corbin who go around hunting for animals, it is easy to forget where it all started. With people like Gerald, and the London zoo. In this book, he collects animals, deals with his demented siblings and his long suffering mother who has to raise four kids and fend off the advances of a really persistent Colonel who gets increasingly vulgar and `grabby' when he drinks. This is a rare story that combines a humorous story with humorous writing and I once caused passengers in a flight to turn around and give me strange looks, so hard was I laughing.

Skeleton of a Plot embellished with tonnes of vocab
My Family and Other Animals is a bare-bones story in terms of plot. The Durrell family goes to Corfu, lives through what could be termed as a soap opera, and leaves. It's humourous, but not particularly challenging.

However, the older Gerald Durrell utilises vivid vocabulary over and over when describing the setting and people of Corfu. Fifteen-letter words that paint a crystalline picture are used frequently, relieving the never-ending roller coaster that is the life of the Durrells.

Overall, this is a highly entertaining book that will keep you engaged for the week or so that you will spend reading it every spare second you have.

A Critique of "My Family and Other Animals" For Class
Author Gerald Durrell continues his fascination with animals in "My Family and Other Animals." The true, personal narrative discusses the adventures that take place as ten-year old Gerald finds a family of scorpions in a plaster wall. The settings are full of frenzy as Durell becomes captivated with his new friends. The series of events show a typical family's response to the antics of the "Dennis the Menace" in the family.
As the story proceeds, Gerald is ripping sections of plaster away from a decaying wall in order to capture his new-found friends. Finding a female scorpion with masses of babies clinging to her, the young boy decides to give them a new home. He sneaks the arachnids into his family's home by means of a matchbox. As the twenty-three year old brother, Larry, starts to light up a cigarette, the story becomes explosive. Even though the female scorpion means no harm, she hoists herself up and scuttles onto the back of Larry's hand as he slides open the matchbox. His scream of horror terrifies Lugaretzia, the maid, and she drops a plate, which in turn brings Roger, the family's black woolly dog, out from under the table. Larry flicks the enemy between Margo and Leslie, Gerald's older sister and brother. Margo swirls a glass of water towards the scorpion, but instead drenches Mother. In a comical sequence, the Durrell family exchanges a series of terrified comments.
"Look out! Look out! They're coming!"
"Quick...quick...do something!"
"Look out...there's another one!"
In the mean time, Roger the dog assumes the family is being threatened. Since Lugaretzia is the only stranger in the room, he feels it is his responsibility to attack. And, so, she receives a nice bite to the ankle. As the story draws to an end, the pandemonium stops, and the family retires to the drawing room. Gerald conjures up all his spider friends and take them on a one-way flight to the garden wall. The only repercussion for the ten-year old comes from Mother as she procees to update his education by means of the belt. The author's purpose to enact an entertaining event in the lives of the Durrells is met.
The author moves form character to character in a spordic chain of events. What begins as a typical evening at home with the whole family ends in a total uproar in the household. The scenes definitely show the expressiveness Durrell is trying to present. From one character to another, each action produces a reaction. The auther presents great visual imagery concerning the chaotic nature of the whole affair. The personal narrative being told by Gerald, the ten-year old, adds an additional amount of humor.
Durrell does an exceptional job in depicting a typical family and its struggles to survive. The character portrayed by Gerald shows the immense imagination and curiousity that most children of that age have. Gerald's nature of learning and growing could be overlooked by the reader, but a lot has to be said about his meantality. He discovers scorpions like to eat bluebottles, grasshoppers, moths, and lacewing flies. He even notices one scorpion eating another! At night he takes a flashlight and delves into the walls of plaster and catches the scorpions in their sexual acts. Mother fails to see that the best education Gerald is receiving is the one about life.
The results of the events were many. Brother Larry developes a phobia about matchboxes. Lugaretzia walks with a limp due to the dog bite. Margo and Leslie wants to slaughter the whole batch of baby scorpions, but Mother allows me to release them in the garden. The author uses lively verbs and comical sequences in allowing the reader to enjoy the confusion of the Durrell family. My personal views on "My Family and Other Animals" include a pronounced invitation for others to read and enjoy its contents. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

I implore any reader to read Woodruff - unbelievable
You don't have to have been born in Blackburn (as I was) to appreciate this wonderful true story of a childhood in poverty with all the wit and humour and honesty of the working class. Their hopes for a better and fairer future are vivid and the story ends with an emotional desire from the reader to know how and if this young man succeeds as he takes his steps away from Lancashire. Inevitably the reader will read the sequel Beyond Nab End which is even better but read this first. ... Read more