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By: CHCH 298
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2024-01-15 11:13:17 |
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Most in the group enjoyed the book. Informative of the time. |
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By: CHCH 043
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2022-10-27 12:59:05 |
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Enjoyed by all members of our group as an honest and vivid portrayal of African life. The viewpoint of white children living in Zimbabwe as it transitioned away from colonial rule was brilliantly expressed and we would all look for other work by this author. |
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By: TIMAR 013
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2022-08-31 09:53:04 |
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We were all pretty horrified by elements of this book, and some found it hard to understand the choices made by the author's parents. It made for very lively discussion. Most of us would seek out the next memoir by the author. |
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By: FEILD 004
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2022-08-31 09:51:22 |
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Only 1 out of 9 people at our discussion did not like the book - we enjoyed her honest writing and found it easy to read. |
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By: NELS 064
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2020-11-25 09:03:24 |
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Those in the group that enjoy biographical and historical reads found this ok, but not overly exciting. The harsh portrayal of the mother was difficult to stomach for many and created a lot of discussion around alcoholism. Some members did not go beyond the first couple of chapters. |
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By: AUCK 422
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2020-10-02 16:37:45 |
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We all agreed that it was very well written, evocative and poignant. The authoress brought the countries and their people vividly alive. Aspects of the book struck people differently, so we had a very interesting discussion. We were fortunate to have someone who had lived in Africa to give us some alternative perspectives. |
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By: RICH 008
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2020-02-14 14:59:32 |
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Book enjoyed by all of us. Some really enjoying it, scoring it 9/10! Good balance of humour, sadness and very well-written. |
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By: QUEEN 001
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2020-02-14 14:57:30 |
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Loved the book - good discussion about mother/daughter relationships. |
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By: QUEEN 006
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2020-02-14 14:56:29 |
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Enjoyed by all. We were impressed by her ability to recreate the sounds, feelings and events of her remarkable childhood. Descriptions of horrifying, scary happenings often alleviated by humour. |
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By: AUCK 290
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2020-02-14 14:54:09 |
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Lots of positive comments - discussion centred mostly around Bobo's mother, her lessons and the isolation but not critical of her drinking. General opinion was that of a close family. |
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By: RIVER 001
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2020-02-14 14:51:02 |
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Well-written book; easy read that led to a good discussion. |
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By: RENW 001
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2020-02-14 14:49:08 |
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The whole group really enjoyed this book - had a great discussion. We have sourced a couple of her other books and are looking forward to reading them. |
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By: WELL 058
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2020-02-14 14:46:25 |
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We all thought the book was well-written with the horrors of impending violence through war, treated with a modicum of humour. Much discussion on the subject of racism and superiority of white settlers. |
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By: NELS 031
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2020-02-14 14:38:47 |
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Great read. We thought the kids had a pretty traumatic upbringing, but also lots of love. It changed our perception that all the whites were wealthy. |
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By: DUNED 086
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2020-02-14 14:36:49 |
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Half of the group was interested in the book and half weren't. It's an oddly compelling book with many ups and downs told in a pretty raw, stream-of-consciousness style. |
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By: MARTO 001
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2020-02-14 14:29:35 |
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Our Book Club Group is extremely lucky to have a member who lived in South Africa as a child, although not in the same region as 'Bobo'. Her knowledge helped us immensely to understand the circumstances and the conditions at that time. The general consensus of the group was that this was a most unusual and incredible family with a lifestyle almost incomprehensible to most of us. The author handled the narrating of the family's experiences with a casual acceptance and we felt the love of family and the love of Africa coming through. |
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By: CHCH 422
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2020-02-14 14:25:43 |
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Good insight into life in South Africa through a volatile period of history. Able to compare what was happening in our own lives during the period covered. |
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By: TAUR 058
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2019-11-13 10:27:29 |
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This book produced mixed reviews in our group. 3 didn't finish it as they found it too harrowing. Those that finished it felt better educated about that period in Africa - not a happy story but well-written. |
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By: CHCH 378
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2018-08-23 17:20:58 |
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The book was not what we expected from reading the title. Lively discussion and we all loved the book; we found it thought provoking and disturbing. |
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