Top Ten Tuesday for August 16th!!

Upon first reading this week's topic, I didn't think I could come up with a list of ten books I have read all set within the same locale, but then it occurred to me...

Of course I could--AFRICA!

I love to read about Africa and novels set in Africa...

always will, I guess!
Top Ten Books Set in Africa
This weekly meme is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Perhaps I was able to make this connection because I just 

read West With the Night, Beryl Markham's autobiography. 

I am in the midst of composing the review to post, and there is 

so much that I want to quote directly from the text!

I agree with Hemingway:

Did you read Beryl Markham's book, West with the Night? 

...She has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed 

of myself as a writer. I felt that I was simply a carpenter with words, 

picking up whatever was furnished on the job and nailing them together

and sometimes making an okay pig pen. But this girl, who is to my knowledge

very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings 

around all of us who consider ourselves to be writers ... it really is a bloody wonderful book."

It was, in fact, this praise that brought the book back into the limelight and 

reissued this 1946 release in 1983 when Markham was 80 years old.

I read Markham's autobiography as a direct result 

of having read Paula McLain's 

Circling the Sun, a historical fiction 

novel depicting Markham's 

childhood and early adulthood, 

including, of course, all her 

"first female" achievements!

This woman was a go-getter, to say the least!

I venture to say there was nothing much she wouldn't try...

and after all, if you never try, you never achieve.

I am glad to have read Nadine Gordimer's My Son's Story. 

I felt it was rather depressing, though authentic and 

I definitely appreciated Gordimer's writing skill. 

I guess I'd not read much of anything before that dealt

with the children of activist parents and their sense of

abandonment and neglect. I felt so badly for both Will and Baby.

Then to realize his mother was also leading a duplicitous life!

In fact I immediately started researching and have decided I 

really want to read her novel The Conservationist.

One of the first books I ever read that was set in Africa was 

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith! 

I absolutely love this series and feel as if I am there...in Africa, as I read each installation. Book #17, Precious and Grace, is due to be released October 11, 2016. I need to catch up before that time and then post a review on this blog, though I have mentioned McCall Smith and this series, as well as others of his (e.g. Corduroy Mansions and Isabel Dalhousie), 

I have yet to post a review here. 

Heart-wrenching, yet I feel this is 

a very necessary story 

that should make each of us think about 

every single gallon of gas we consume...

Little Bee by Chris Cleave. 

From my Goodreads review: 

This story depicts the ultimate in loving sacrifice. 

And not just once... 

I cannot purchase gas without thinking of this one...

and regretting that I cannot do more.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier 

by Ishmael Beah 

These children! 

Such abuse and terror they suffer, 

and through no fault of their own 

other than being alive! 

All these people displaced from 

their homes and villages, 

living in the wild and trying 

to obtain food just to survive, 

never knowing when they may be attacked yet again! 

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild 

My Goodreads review posted January 25, 2013:

Read this about 2 years ago for book club and 

I can't remember when I have absolutely loathed and 

despised a historical figure as much as I 

now do King Leopold II. 

I realize it was a very different age with attitudes and 

beliefs that were very different, at least among the 

majority of people, but I can't stand it. 

The exploitation of others for purely monetary gain, 

power, and prestige sickens me. 

I equate this with the present-day corporations that 

exploit workers outside the U.S. because they can 

get by with paying a small pittance for labor and 

thereby greatly increase their 'profit margins.' 

Another huge advantage for companies 

in this global production enslavement--no need 

to provide safe work environments, decent living wages, 

and FORGET any benefits or protections on the job! 

Why we allow this, I will never understand, except that I guess 

the white guys who make up the 1% really DO control the world! 

It is beyond reprehensible, in my opinion! Anyway, I apologize for my rant! 

This book gives an excellent history of the invasion of Africa and literal and figurative 

enslavement of the people living there and is well worth the read 

to gain this knowledge, though it literally makes me nauseous to even think of 

this historical genocide. The stats will blow you away...

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver 

The Cross-Cultural Book Club I founded at Borders read this at the same time as 

King Leopold's Ghost to get a more comprehensive picture of the invasion of Africa 

by greedy self-serving white men. 

My Goodreads review:

This was one remarkably illuminating fictional work!

 This work depicts how well-meaning yet ignorant self-centered 

narrow-minded "conservative" people 

(typical "white folk," in my opinion) can destroy so much 

while intending to "convert" others (especially "savages") 

to their belief system. This "preacher"/white "American" 

was extremely disrespectful of the people whose country and 

village he had "invaded" and disrupted! Not only that, 

but he drags his family out to a very primitive 

(in comparison to the U.S.) society with absolutely 

no preparation or research to determine what they might need most to survive, let alone thrive. This was an extremely powerful and intense read; enlightening, to say the least! Lesson: meaning well is not enough! Be smart! Research! The fact that you have white skin does not make you smarter than anyone else, 

and especially doesn't mean you know what is best for anyone else!

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

My Goodreads review:

For me, this book was quite reminiscent of the 

writing style of African authors I have read, 

so no surprise to learn the author was 

born and raised in Ethiopia. 

This book was quite intense and dramatic, 

yet in an understated way at times. 

The characters were authentically true to 

themselves throughout the book which created 

a very stable foundation for the story. 

My only hesitation with this lengthy saga was 

the Sister's mysterious/unknown impregnation. 

I found the medical details fascinating, as well as the characters, and I thrive on characterization!

What is your favorite setting for a book?

Happy reading!

                                                                         --Lynn

Top Ten Tuesday for July 19!!

A weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!
Besides the distraction of work this week, 

I carved out some time to spend with my very best friend who is abandoning me!

Yes, you read that right! She. Is. Abandoning. ME!!

But, I'm doing my deep breathing and reminding myself that 

although she will now be living almost 700 miles away, I can do this..

Breathe in. Breathe out. There is email and texting, 

and other social media which she uses very little, 

but we WILL stay in touch...often! Yes! We will!

And when we do see each other face-to-face it will inevitably 

be even more intense and enjoyable! Whooooooo...okay.

I just realized it is Wednesday and I have yet to complete and post this week's 

Top Ten Tuesday meme although I started it about 3 weeks ago! 

For that, you can blame "the BadLynn," as my BFF is known to me! 

Yes, we are both named Lynn. However, for each of us it is our middle name 

but we have used it our whole life as our first/preferred name! 

And...we were born just a bit more than three months apart!

And...the first time we met we talked for hours and hours, nonstop. 

Yep! We have A LOT in common!

So, although it is now Wednesday, I am determined to complete and post this TTT!

This week's meme is the 

Top Ten Eleven Books I Have Read Set Outside the U.S.

Honestly, I am blaming the fact that I am now 60 years old for my inability to count!
Seriously, I thought I had only 10 books listed for this posting, 
and not until I completed it and started counting again, 
did I determine I had included 11 titles! EGAD!!
I particularly enjoy reading books set in other countries than the one in which 

I have lived my whole life. Since I'm unable to travel much, 

this is one way in which I educate myself as much as possible 

about those other cultures and landscapes, etc.

One of the first books I read set in the "Middle East" as many of us in the U.S. mistakenly term it, was Born Under a Million Shadows by Andrea Busfield. I read this years ago while working at Borders and it was one of the first books we read and reviewed for the Book Club I founded there. It was selected as a "Fiction Expert" read by Borders and I am so grateful it was! I have communicated with Andrea through the years sporadically. She is so open and accepting to readers! One thing about this book that most impressed me and made me connect even moreso with it, was the multiculturalism represented among the characters. I felt this demonstrated the thought processes and reactions that I might have if in the same situation. Actually, I really want to reread this one so I can review it thoroughly on this blog. This would be perfect as a re-read to schedule for Bex's Re-Readathon #4, August 10-21! Yay! 'Cause I was wondering what I might read for this event! Problem solved! :) And I'm hopeful Andrea will be willing to complete an author interview for me to post along with my review! YAY!! 

A book I recently read that proved to be truly inspirational and instilled within me hope for ourselves (the human race), was The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo by Paula Huntley. this is an autobiographical debut and I found it well-written and easily read, though very informative in so many ways. Huntley managed to include much historical information as well as detailing her experience while stationed in Kosovo with her husband. I was reminded of Kabul Beauty School: An American Woman Goes Behind the Veil by Deborah Rodriguez, in that both of these women simply put their skills to use while in another country/culture, and succeeded in improving others' lives. Isn't that truly the point of our existence in this world? To help others to the best of our ability? Realistically, most of us are only capable of directly impacting our immediate environment, but still...whatever positive contribution(s) we can make, we should do exactly that. I particularly loved the way Huntley used literature to relate to others and help them relate to their world, each other, and to ponder humanity overall.

The Disobedient Wife by Annika Milisic-Stanley was the 21st book to be reviewed by the Literary Wives Online Book Discussion Group, and it was an excellent read! Very informative on so many levels. It is set in post-SovietTajikistan and was both poignant and philosophical in easily accessible language and organization. All the Literary Wives co-hosting bloggers appreciated it in many ways. This was a close-up view of life in a country with virtually no infrastructure or services and a rigid Islamic belief system. There was evidence of outside agencies helping females escape life-threatening marriages and situations, through no fault of their own, simply because they were female in an extremely patriarchal society/culture. However, it also demonstrated just how unhappy and displaced a female can be made to feel in an unsatisfying marriage relationship that is not based upon any religious foundation, too! There was some balance! 

A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King is the second installment in her Russell and Holmes series and is rather intense. Set in the aftermath of World War I in the U.K., it focuses on the social impact of so many males being eliminated from the population and what changes can occur to the females as a result. Of course, I would LOVE this series, since it combines two of my favorite genres, historical fiction and mystery! Must complete a blog post soon! The library book is due back! :)

The Borders Book Club just finished reading and discussing Susanna Kearsley's most recent release, A Desperate Fortune--three of us loved it and one thought it was "okay," with a shrug! :) This was set in France and dealt with a myriad of issues: the Jacobites, the displaced King James, code-breaking, spying, thieving, intrigue, some romance...and autism! This may appear to be a very odd combination, but trust me, it made for a compelling read in so many ways! I loved her novel, The Firebird, which I learned is the second in her Slains series. I really want to read the rest of that series. Time. I just need more reading time! 

Speaking of romance and relationships, Paula McLain's Circling the Sun dealt with so many relationships that were definitely not of the "traditional" variety. But then Africa is basically 'wild,' especially in the early 20th Century! I cannot recall one couple that stood out to me as a 'traditional' couple since so very many of them loved (and even lived with!) someone other than their spouse. These were the most 'faithful' couples of all! Beryl was in love with someone who was the definition of totally independent in his personal life; unmarried and unfettered by any social mores or traditions. Perhaps one thing I came away from this reading experience with was the fact that the largely unsettled landscape seemed to leech into the people living there and create more freedom to be whomever or whatever they wanted to be with few to no boundaries. She was quite a remarkable woman and I am thrilled to have read this book! I do love McLain's writing, having also read and loved The Paris Wife. (Yes, that was my first ever blog posting and oh, boy, you can definitely tell! :) As you know, I love historical fiction, and this was amazing for taking me there! 

Speaking of wild and largely unsettled territory, Enchanted Islands by Allison Amend, was set in the Galapagos Islands located just off the coast of Ecuador, during World War II. This work is historical fiction, based upon Francis Conway's memoirs. I guess you could say that Francis' marriage to Ainslie was one of 'convenience,' though I am stretching the definition of that word in several ways. Suffice it to say that she is an untrained spy except for the few weeks of training she completes just prior to traveling to the Island to LIVE, where there are few people and no shelter, etc. Francis was one of the bravest people I've ever known of in history, in so very many ways, especially settling in a basically uninhabited/uninhabitable environment with a stranger to whom she is now legally married. Let the 'fun' begin! Because she has so very many new discoveries and knowledge to gain! I found this one to be poignant and yet inspiring.

Now that we're among islands and South America, we can move on to The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell, which is also set along the shores of South America. I found this to be a totally delightful read, especially since I love animals and human-animal relationships! The Borders Book Club read and discussed it and we all agreed it was wonderfully uplifting, though there was some sadness. Though not totally unexpected, it was nonetheless, sad. This is all about Tom's relationship with Juan Salvador...but Juan is not human. :) Ah, did you already guess Juan's identity? (You are good! No one's gonna fool you, huh? Ha! Ha!) This one is adorable!


More islands, but this time, in the Caribbean. The Cay by Theodore Taylor is set during World War II. Add one torpedoed vessel, then one boy, one older man, one missing-presumed-dead mother, and one cat on a never-before-seen-by-you raft, and what do you get? An amazing story of survival and love, that's what! Did I mention Phillip is white and Timothy is black? Yep! It is quite an adjustment for them both. I so admire the skills they develop to survive, much as I did Francis' same determination in Enchanted Islands. And the big question? Do they? Survive... I am anxious to read Timothy of the Cay which is a prequel. Time. Just need more time... :)
Still more water settings, and another vessel also torpedoed by the Germans during World War II. But, this disaster is presented through the eyes of various passengers and we learn much about these seemingly very different people, who really all yearn for the same thing in the end, safe passage to another land and a new life. 
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys is technically classified as a YA book, though I take these classifications with a grain of salt. If I enjoy reading a book, I don't care about the supposed 'reading level' as determined by someone else. Hence I read and review children's literature, even picture books on occasion! I love them all! I do not necessarily state that a book is identified as 'YA' vs. 'adult.' I am thrilled because I just purchased a copy of her book, Out of the Easy, at Indy Reads Books which is a non-profit totally staffed by volunteers to support the Indy Reads adult literacy program in Indianapolis, Indiana. And...bonus! While there, I was able to donate the bag and box of books that have been riding in my back seat for months! Yay! :)

Last, but by no means least, we will travel back to Africa (after Circling the Sun listed above) and this time explore Apartheid in South Africa. My Son's Story by Nadine Gordimer was a revealing exposé about the damage that can result when a parent devotes their life to a social cause. Sonny is always 'pushing the limits' during this time. As a black man, he moves his family into a restricted white neighborhood. He also forms an intense romantic relationship with a white woman, also against the law at the time. However, he appears very self-centered and unable to devote the time, love, or energy to his family that he should. He would rather be gone, campaigning/fighting 'for the cause' against Apartheid. That is all well and good, but who truly suffers by his absence? His family, of course, those about whom he should care the most... Doesn't this seem to be the way of it? A social 'crusader' so many times cannot develop and maintain strong monogamous relationships. It is a conundrum... I initially felt I didn't resonate well with Gordimer's writing, though in the aftermath, I believe it might just have been the rather 'depressing' subject matter of this novel that made me feel that way. I intend to read The Conservationist to further explore her writing on a different subject matter. I rarely make a determination about an author based upon only one of their published works. I like to read at least two if the first one doesn't seem super-appealing to me. I like to be as certain as I can be about whether an author's writing style truly resonates for me or not. Though, to be sure, there are those (John Green, Laurie R. King, Erica Bauermeister, Garth Stein, etc., etc., etc.) whom I fell in love with immediately!

Can you recommend yet another title of a book 

you really enjoyed that is set outside the U.S.?

So much more than horse trainer or pilot!

I really liked The Paris Wife by Paula McLain when 

I read it almost exactly three years ago as the second book 

to be reviewed in the Literary Wives online book discussion group. I think I've mentioned in the past that it was this 

"club" that motivated me to finally establish a blog 

whereby to post reviews of books I have read. 

And now McLain has captured my heart yet again with 

Circling the Sun, a historical fiction work 

detailing the life of Beryl Markham (nee Clutterbuck). 

Yes, Clutterbuck was this woman's 'maiden' name. Oh, my, 

that name alone would motivate you to be a strong person 

and stand up for yourself, wouldn't it? :) As McLain explains in this All Things Considered interview, once she had read 

West With the Night, she was struck by the similarities 

between herself and Markham, and the lack of personal details.

I am eternally grateful to whatever motivated McLain to research and write this book about Beryl Markham. It was such a pleasure to read! As with The Paris Wife, I was not only drawn into another world, but felt as if I was living there, breathing the same air, viewing the same landscape as Beryl. That is why I love historical fiction--feeling as if I am THERE, wherever THERE is! :) McLain has accomplished this twice now, and with distinctly diverse environments! This book starts with 28-year-old Beryl attempting the first nonstop flight by a female pilot from England to America:

I have a chart that traces my route across the Atlantic, Abingdon to New York, every inch of 

icy water I'll pass over, but not the emptiness involved or the loneliness, or the fear. 

Those things are as real as anything else, though, and I'll have to fly through them. 

Straight through the sickening dips and air pockets, because you can't chart a course around anything your afraid of. You can't run from any part of yourself, and it's better that you can't. Sometimes I've thought it's only our challenges that sharpen us, and change us, too--

a mile-long runway and nineteen hundred pounds of fuel. Black squadrons of clouds muscling 

in from every corner of the sky and the light fading minute by minute. 

There is no way I could do any of this and remain the same. (4)

As I read this I thought to myself that really, each and every day of our lives is like this, isn't it? Each moment we live we are changed a bit, aren't we? 

After all the planning and care and work and mustering of courage, there is 

the overwhelming possibility that the Gull will stay fixed to the earth, more elephant than butterfly,        and that I'll fail before I've even begun. 

But not before I give this moment everything I've got. (4)

And it is that last sentence that sums up Beryl more than any other sentence--she definitely gave everything she had to everything she did in life. She is literally packed into this Vega Gull plane, The Messenger, with fuel tanks forming a "close-fitting wall" around the pilot's seat with petcocks within reach, though she's been instructed to 

...let one run completely dry and close it off before opening the next, to avoid an airlock. 
The engine might freeze for a few moments, but will start up again. I will have to rely on that. (3)

Yikes! That is all I could think as I read these instructions! That is definitely putting your life on the line. And it isn't like it would be now, with instant communication or even another plane flying alongside you for emergency purposes...nope, she was definitely putting her life on the line! 

Here is a sample of McLain's skill in 'setting a scene':

Before Kenya was Kenya, when it was millions of years old and yet still somehow new, 

the name belongs only to our most magnificent mountain. You could see it from our farm 

in Njoro, in the British East African Protectorate--hard edged at the far end of a stretching 

golden plain, its crown glazed with ice that never completely melted. 

Behind us, the Mau Forest was blue with strings of mist. 

Before us, the Rongai Valley sloped down and away, bordered on one side by the strange, 

high Menengai Crater, which the natives called the Mountain of God, and 

on the other by the distant Aberdare Range, rounded blue-grey hills 

that went smoky and purple at dusk before dissolving into the night sky. (11)

I felt as if I was standing in the middle of all this landscape! Beryl was two years old when her family moved to Kenya from England and a mere four years old when her mother packed up her brother and those two headed back 'home.' Interestingly, no mention was made of how this decision was made to split up the children, one with their mother in England and one with their father in Kenya, but it was done. To be abandoned at four years of age by your own mother. Not to say her father wasn't a good, sincere, hard-working man, but he certainly was not a nurturer of children! Very little communication, and absolutely no acknowledgement or discussion of feelings! No sirree! This was when the Kipsigis basically adopted Beryl and gave her a tribal name, Lakwet, meaning "very little girl." To a great degree, the Kip nurtured and raised her during the remainder of her childhood. Kibii was her best friend, a young male Kip about her age, and she spent most all her time doing what he did, to train as a warrior. Though tribal females learned only 'domestic' skills, the elders allowed her this nontraditional role. 

...I belonged on the farm and in the bush...I had come alive here, as if I'd been given a second birth, and a truer one...for as long as childhood lasted it was a heaven fitted exactly to me.

A place I knew by heart. The one place in the world I'd been made for. (18)

I could understand this attachment to the land, a place, this farm called Green Hills, much as I had always felt attached to my grandmother's farm. (I believe I have mentioned before that I knew every square inch of those 180 acres!) Unlike Beryl, I didn't have human companions, only my dog and the livestock! I'm fairly certain I would have been much like Beryl given the same environment and opportunities! 

Mrs. O, the first of many a governess and/or tutor, arrives, and Beryl thinks to herself:

I would show her I wasn't a bit of cobweb in the corner, something to be wiped or straightened, but a rival worth her notice. I would learn her ways and habits, and track her closely until I knew what she was and how to best her, and what precisely it would take to steal my good life back. (31)

Ah, just like hunting any other animal and besting it, eh? :) I admit I can appreciate Beryl's thought processes! Once Beryl turned twelve, Charles (her father) took her along on a business trip to the Elkingtons' farm where there is a 'pet' lion that runs loose. As he explains to Beryl, Paddy the lion

"...has no fear, you see, not as we understand it. He can only be exactly what he is, 

what his nature dictates, and nothing else...You can take a cub from the savannah as they have...feed it fresh meat so it never learns to hunt and brush its coat so it carries a human smell wherever it goes--but know that what you've done is twist something natural into something else. And you can never trust an unnatural thing. You don't know what it is, and it's baffled, too." (37)

As Beryl runs through the bush area around the house, Paddy attacks her, though the lion does let her go, many stitches and weeks are required for a complete recovery.

I had lived to tell the tale. That alone had a powerful effect on me. I felt slightly invincible, 

that I could come through nearly anything my world might throw at me, 

but of course I had no idea what lay in store. (43)

Kibii began walking three steps behind Beryl and avoided hunting with her, etc., as they became teenagers, citing that she was the "memsahib" and that was proper behavior. Although this initially angered her, she knew he was correct and that their relationship had permanently changed, simply due to the color of their skin and disparate genetic heritage. I always think such situations are so sad. All due to "societal expectations" of 'decency' and what is 'proper.' However, this is only the first of many times that Beryl will wish to defy such norms, and in her future, she will do so, and suffer the consequences for it! And little does she know that her mother's own such actions had already set into motion inescapable life changes in Beryl's near future. It is at this same time that Kibii informs her he now has "a moran's [warrior's] name. I am arap Ruta." 

Although Beryl seemingly takes the easy way out and chooses to remain in Njoro, marrying their neighbor, Jock, as he kisses her, she tries "to meet the kiss and to take it in, I couldn't quite feel it. I couldn't feel us." She may only be 16, but she is wise beyond her years to realize she should feel an "us," in my opinion. Beryl soon brokers a "deal" with Jock so she can live on a neighboring farm to become a horse trainer, and at the age of 18 she becomes the first female license horse trainer in the WORLD! That was just one of the firsts she would accomplish! On the first race day that one of her trained horses is running, she thinks of her father:

...if I'd had the power to conjure anything, it would be for him to suddenly appear 

out of the crowd to stand next to me for those thunderous, dizzying minutes. 

That would mean so much more than winning--more than anything. (118)

Ack! Poor Beryl! No wonder this poor child was so scared of marriage, realizing she'd only seen one successful relationship played out in her childhood, that of her 'neighbors' seven miles away, the D's. Her parents certainly provided her with nothing even close to a successful model. This continued throughout adulthood. In fact, I had to become accustomed to recognizing the "happy" couples as those who were not married, while all the married couples were living out farcical 'for show only' relationships with no mutual love underneath the surface. It was a bit confusing for me at first! 

Beryl is no exception, as both of her husbands prove. They both expect her to change to meet their expectations, but she is true to herself and refuses to do so. As one of these estranged wives states,

"No one really knows how it is with anyone else. That's the truth. 

That's our only real retaliation when the gossip starts to churn."

[Beryl] "Maybe that's the secret to surviving all sorts of trouble, 

knowing who you are apart from it, I mean."

[Tania/Karen] "Yes...But like many things, it's so much easier to 

admire that stance than to carry it out." (161)

It is, as they say, much easier said...than done! 

Neither of Beryl's marriages were "happy." The only man she truly loved was one who was as wild and independent as herself, so ironically, the qualities they shared were also those that kept them from 'settling down.' Beryl earns her B-class pilot's license and becomes the first/only professional female pilot in Africa. 

More than anyone I'd known, Denys understood how nothing ever holds still for us, or should. The trick is learning to take things as they come and fully, too, with no resistance or fear, not trying to grip them too tightly or make them bend. I knew all this from my Lakwet days, but being with him helped me remember it, and feel it all again powerfully. (336)

As Beryl completes the first trans-Atlantic flight by a female pilot from England to America:

I drop lower and am crawling soon, as if after so many hours in the clouds, 

I have to remember all over again how to walk. 

As if I must relearn just where I am going, and where--impossibly--I have been. (355)

You can also read the NPR review written by Jean Zimmerman. 

I regret that I was unable to attend the author-signing event with McLain.

I do so love her writing!

And, oh, if you're at all interested in reading this one, please do!

Thought-provoking quotes:

"I have fought for independence here, and freedom, too. 
More and more I find they're not at all the same thing." (Tania/Karen-161)

"We're all of us afraid of many things, but if you make yourself smaller or 

let your fear confine you, then you really aren't your own person at all--are you? 

The real question is whether or not you will risk what it takes to be happy." (Tania/Karen-165)

This from Denys after Beryl has told the story of Paddy's attack to him and Tania/Karen:

I'll bet it was important for you. We all have those moments--

though not always so dramatic...They're meant to test us and change us, I think. 

To make plain what it means to risk everything." (177)

[Beryl to Denys] "Africa is the cure, then, the opposite of being boxed in...

can you imagine this place starting to pinch on you, too?"

[Denys] "Never...It always seems to be reinventing itself, doesn't it?"

[Beryl] Kenya was forever shedding its skin and showing itself to you all over again. 

You didn't need to sail away for that. You only needed to turn around.

Beryl of Tania/Karen:

Her words were so full they made you think you knew everything about her, 

but it was a magician's trick. 

The truth was she kept her secrets closest when she said them outright. (197)

Beryl of her mother, Clara:

Maybe Berkeley had been right about family--maybe we never survive them, 
or anyone we love. Not in the truest way. My feelings for Clara were tangled at the root, unresolvable. Whether I liked it or not, I would always carry the ghost of her leaving. 
But it also didn't seem right somehow to walk away and ignore her need." (253)

A Swahili phrase:

"A new thing is good, though it be a sore place." (312)
As I have often said, "change is change," and 
even if it is a "good"/positive change, it still requires adaptation. 
It will likely be a bit of a 'sore place' for awhile until the adjustment is complete!