A mesmerizing novel of love and nostalgia set in the vast spaces of contemporary East Africa.
Romantic, often resonantly ironic, moving and ... read full description
Romantic, often resonantly ironic, moving and ... read full description
reviews
Sep 01, 2011
Alison
rated it: 
Disclosure: my favorite voice in novels is the first-person narrative of a challenged female protagonist. But even if yours isn’t, I think you would be pulled in as I was by Rules of the Wild. Its vivid prose makes the outer world of modern Kenya and the inner world of a flawed, vulnerable young woman, Esme, into entrancing places we inhabit for a time, as we would a safari.
I can picture my friend Vicki reading Rules of the Wild and saying to me, “Why do you like Esme when she’s so mat More...
I can picture my friend Vicki reading Rules of the Wild and saying to me, “Why do you like Esme when she’s so mat More...
Oct 23, 2010
Nadia
rated it: 
This was an absorbing book about the life of white expats in Kenya although the writer continually refers to it dramatically as "Africa." The author is an Italian screenplay writer and it shows in the dialogue and descriptions. Everything feels like a movie, and the author often even describes a particular person or scene as straight out of a movie (boring!). Everyone is gorgeous and sexy. People do coke and smoke joints and have stormy love affairs while genocides are happening aro
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Jan 21, 2011
Stimple
rated it:
Is this really all young women sit around and worry about - their men? I guess I am not the perfect one to be reading a book in whatever genre this book is apart of but I did really want to read about Africa and ex-pats and all of that. And to this end, the author wrote well and convincingly. But I must say that after awhile I felt like screaming, "Get a freakin' life. Quit worrying about them. Just be yourself. Sheesh!" Um, well, ok. I'm better now. Anyway, thankfully a fast
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Apr 29, 2010
Em
rated it: 
Oh my God, I can't believe that this has become my favorite book so far. I can really relate with the main character, aside of course that we have the same name. And I deeply feel that I am going through the same situation as Esmeralda. I like the way she has described her feelings and experiences, like they were mine. I can fully sympathize with her thoughts, struggles and everything else.
This book will always stay with me.
I so love it!
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This book will always stay with me.
I so love it!
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2 comments
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Feb 24, 2008
Jason
rated it:
This book is kind of a tough one to review... it's definitely a worthy read, and maybe on a different day I would give it four stars. I had some false starts with it - not always a good sign for a novel, but in this case I blame my own schedule and competing claims on my free time. The fact that I was able (and not reluctant) to return to it after several rather long breaks is, I think, actually an indication that it had captured my imagination in some way.
The writing was very love More...
The writing was very love More...
Oct 22, 2011
AfricaAdventureConsultants
rated it:
This book is set in expat East Africa. The main character Esme visits Africa and decides not to leave. She settles in suburban Nairobi and builds something of a life there. Little has changed with racial attitudes in the expat community since colonial times and Esme and her contemporaries mostly lead lives of leisure and often excess.
When she meets a local journalist named Hunter, her ease dissapates. She is faced with the uncomfortable realities just outside her door that Hunter More...
When she meets a local journalist named Hunter, her ease dissapates. She is faced with the uncomfortable realities just outside her door that Hunter More...
Nov 28, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it:
Cynical story about a group of shallow, narcissistic expats living in Kenya. Their trust funds allow them to lead the kind of aimless lives that are often shown in the movies.
That said, I enjoyed the book: great descriptions about Africa (both the beauty and the horror), relevant political undertones (colonialism, race, violence), and interesting plot. The main character, Esme, is a mixed-up young woman who makes questionable choices (and realizes the irony though seems helpless to a More...
That said, I enjoyed the book: great descriptions about Africa (both the beauty and the horror), relevant political undertones (colonialism, race, violence), and interesting plot. The main character, Esme, is a mixed-up young woman who makes questionable choices (and realizes the irony though seems helpless to a More...
Dec 26, 2009
Sarah
rated it:
This is a great guilty pleasure read. This is not great writing, but the story is spot on. If you have spent any time living in a foreign county among other ex-pats, many of these characters and situations will ring true. It exemplifies how being a stranger in a strange land can lead to bad behavior and bad decisions.
Jul 30, 2009
Laurel
rated it: 
expatriates living in Nairobi - many of them bored and lost - interesting, but not gripping. Liked thinking about the western reporters who come back to Nairobi (from Rwanda, other hot spots)to "recover" from the horror they have observed, only to have their companions partying from dusk to dawn.
Jun 03, 2008
Tanti
rated it:
I'd have loved to read this book in one sitting, at my leisure, under a shady tree during a hot afternoon, instead of some minutes before work, some minutes during lunch, some minutes before bed. The African landscape is very beautifully described in this book, that it's a pity to let your imagination rush through while reading it, instead of savoring every little detail and make them walk slow motion in your mind.
As for the story... well, it's just okay. Maybe it's because i'm not More...
As for the story... well, it's just okay. Maybe it's because i'm not More...
Aug 21, 2010
Mary
rated it:
Author has been compared to Dinesen and Hemmingway. The story "evokes the startlingly exotic world of expatriates living in Nairobi." "Sensual and detailed". It transported me to another world, and I haven't found another book like it since I read it.
Apr 26, 2009
Robin
rated it:
Another novel of Africa. This one is set in Karen, Kenya of an expat community of journalists after the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. Top five favorite books! I've read it about 10 times.
Aug 12, 2011
Maggie
rated it:
fun to read while in peace corps and compare my own life to some of the hardships of an expat living in kenya...not too many parallels though.
Sep 10, 2011
Michelle
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Picked this one up at a book sale. Always like reading books set in Africa. This one was a very quick read - more of a love story.
Aug 05, 2011
Out of Africa decades later? A good read for anyone wanting to go to Kenya as a tourist or to live there.
Aug 04, 2009
Erin
rated it:
Loved it. Easy to ready, engaging, touching, thoughtful. I loved the characters and, most of all, the setting.
Feb 26, 2009
Set in present day Kenya. Fun read before my trip to Ghana, but a little self absorbed twenty something.
Aug 08, 2009
Jenn
rated it:
I'm not recommending this book, but I enjoyed it. As someone who's a little bit obsessed with Africa these days (missionaries, adoptions, fiction, many meal conversations), the soap opera of young expats there was entertaining. And to be honest, that's what I look for in my fiction - entertainment.
Apr 29, 2009
J
rated it:
trashy but fascinating subject - who are all of those white people in Kenya and what are they doing there?
Aug 19, 2011
Holly
rated it:
Not particularly deep, but I enjoyed this book. The images stayed with me for a long time.
Jun 09, 2009
Emma
rated it:
Simply reminds me of home, and some of the people that I knew growing up!
Nov 15, 2009
Merry
rated it:
The author is a documentary filmmaker and this was her first novel.
Esme is the main character, who has feelings for two men, a Kenyan man and a British journalist. I read this sometime ago, and recall it was not a page turner, but an interesting story.
Esme is the main character, who has feelings for two men, a Kenyan man and a British journalist. I read this sometime ago, and recall it was not a page turner, but an interesting story.
Jul 05, 2010
Audra (Unabridged Chick)
rated it:
Elle magazine compared this book to The English Patient but I, respectfully, must disagree. This isn't to say Rules of the Wild isn't a wonderfully enjoyable read -- it just doesn't have the same sense of poetry or plot that The English Patient has. Rules of the Wild is more of a beach read, a little bit of escapist fiction set in Kenya featuring international ex-pats, drugs and alcohol, and a fringe of romance.
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Apr 03, 2007
cagey
rated it:
I really love ex patriot stories. I find it interesting to read the experiences of folks dropped into strange lands and then learning about how they adjust. Furthermore, I am especially interested in stories about Africa.
This author had an amazing writing style when it came to describing how it felt to be in Kenya - in the cities, in the bush, on the ocean. Amazing. This book did not a 5th star simply because the love story didn't do much for me. It smacked of melodrama and didn' More...
This author had an amazing writing style when it came to describing how it felt to be in Kenya - in the cities, in the bush, on the ocean. Amazing. This book did not a 5th star simply because the love story didn't do much for me. It smacked of melodrama and didn' More...
Sep 18, 2010
this book is amazing.giving additionnal info about expats living in Africa.
