I Dreamed of Africa

Rating:
Summary: A Beautiful Dream
Review: An autobiographical novel about Kuki Gallman's experiences in Africa...
The book is filled with wonderful descriptions of the African landscape and the struggles of daily life in this enigmatic
country. Kuki engages the reader with tales elephants in her garden to the very real threat of lions that can kill in one moment of carelessness. It is clear through her writing that she truly loves and feels a spiritual conncetion to this land.
Her upbeat attitude, "There has never been a day of boredom" and sincere desire to protect the environment has bolstered her through two tragedies that would break a lesser person.
You may not agree with some of Kuki's life choices but you will be inspired, awed and envious of the adventures and environmental achievements she has made in her lifetime.

Rating:
Summary: Left me a bit uneasy
Review: I have to admit, I did enjoy both the movie and the book both a great deal, as a sort of escapist fantasy. Despite the tragedies, it seems like fantasy because it is, in fact, a wealthy and aristocratic person's reality. (Who does one purchase an African ranch from and what was it before it was a ranch, anyhow?) I am most uneasy when the author describes how wonderfully accepted she is by the native people and how much good she has done for them, when it seems like the primary role they had in her life was as her servants.