First published 2003
Alexandra Fuller chronicles her mother Nicola's turbulent journey through a changing colonial East Africa. As political upheaval and armed conflict tear through the region, Nicola struggles to maintain her vision of refined colonial life while her family flees from country to country. Each move compounds her losses and resurrects buried pain from their nomadic existence across the continent. War shatters her romanticized view of African colonial society, leaving her adrift and heartbroken. Yet gradually, Africa itself becomes her source of healing. The land that once seemed hostile begins to restore what violence had broken. Nicola and her husband discover solace beneath the legendary Tree of Forgetfulness, a place where memory and peace converge. Fuller reveals how the continent that first inflicted wounds on her mother ultimately provided the cure.
Genres: biography, literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, autobiography, memoir
Vibes: contemplative, healing, introspective, lyrical, poignant
Tropes: coming-of-age, found-healing, generational-trauma
Setting: Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, Zimbabwe
Period: 1965-1980, 1970-
Paperback · The penguin press
Content warnings: colonialism, war
See all books like Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness
View on Siftivo