false 83477 13 Thomas Wolfe's trusted axiom about not being able to go home again gets a compelling spin through the African veldt in Alexandra Fuller's <I>Scribbling the Cat: Travels with an African Soldier</I>. Fuller (<I>Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight : An African Childhood</I>) journeys through modern Zambia, to battlefields in Zimbabwe and Mozambique with the scarred veteran of the Rhodesian Wars she identifies only as "K." Intrigued by the mysterious neighbor of her parent's Zambian fish farm and further enticed by her father's warning that "curiosity scribbled the cat" ("scribbling" is Afrikaans slang for "killing"), Fuller embarks on a journey that covers as much cratered psychic landscape as it does African bush country. Though she and "K" are both African by family roots rather than blood, she quickly discovers that 30 years of civil war have scarred them--and the indigenous peoples they encounter--in markedly different ways. "K" is a figure of monumental tragedy, a decent man torn by war-fueled rage, a failed marriage, and painful memories of an only son lost to tropical disease. His adopted Christianity offers him only partial absolution, and Fuller details his gut-wrenching confessions of quarter-century old atrocities with compassion and rare insight. Her prose liberally salted with a rich, melange of Afrikaans and local Shona slang, Fuller nonetheless struggles with a narrative whose turns are often unexpected, yet driven by humanity. There's a clear sense that the author's fitful journey into the past with "K" has opened as many wounds as it has healed, and spawned more questions than it has answered. It's that discomfort and frustration that often reinforces the honesty of her prose--and reinforces Thomas Wolfe's adage yet again. <I>--Jerry McCulley</I> 4008910 2004 Scribbling the Cat total:747|5:151|4:277|3:234|2:67|1:18| 747 2717 1017 144 0 0 false false Thu Feb 05 09:25:52 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 09:25:52 -0800 2009 Author of the highly acclaimed memoir Don't Let's Go To the Dogs Tonight, Fuller has developed a masterful prose style; the Kansas City Star calls her "powerful as a lion on the move." But lions aren't known for their self-reflection, and this is where Scribbling the Cat runs into trouble....

more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Oct 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 13:24:31 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 13:30:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Feb 21 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 13 11:06:19 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 11:10:49 -0700 2009 what keeps me from giving this the fifth star is this: alexandra was exceptionally outward looking in
this book. i know that was the focus: i wanted to see more of her. she provided limited p...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sat May 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 14 04:26:06 -0700 2009 Mon May 04 08:15:36 -0700 2009
I'm still processing this book. I think what bothe...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Dec 10 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 08:00:38 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 15 08:01:05 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Jan 02 13:36:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 13:36:48 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Aug 29 15:51:59 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 16:06:26 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 27 22:15:30 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 27 22:15:35 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Feb 19 12:53:10 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 27 14:39:30 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 11 07:11:34 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 25 21:29:02 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 10 06:27:49 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 10 06:31:39 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Jun 14 09:11:07 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 09:17:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Apr 28 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Feb 17 10:48:18 -0800 2009 Sun May 17 12:23:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Fri Jul 10 06:26:39 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 10 06:29:00 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Sep 14 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 10:02:59 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 10:10:39 -0700 2009 4 0 true false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Apr 11 16:29:36 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 11 16:37:33 -0700 2007
The writing is what I like most about this book. The visual and emotional landscapes just bleed into one ano...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Sep 06 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Aug 19 05:40:33 -0700 2008 Sat Sep 06 05:48:05 -0700 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 08:07:09 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 16 08:09:23 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Mon Jul 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 19:47:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 13 19:48:16 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Tue Jun 17 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 17 20:55:30 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 17 20:55:36 -0700 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=83477