Travel Light, Move Fast by Alexandra Fuller

Alexandra Fuller can't get over watching her mother save a pack of terrified dogs from a large cobra with her walking stick. Her father used to say that reptiles kept everyone on their toes! This kind of courage is probably what you need to successfully run a farm in Zimbabwe, and Alexandra's formidable parents had been through even worse times. There are many anecdotes like this in this enjoyable book.

It is both a love-letter to her larger-than-life parents and a love-letter to Zimbabwe, and not the vanished colonial world but modern Zimbabwe as well. It sounds like an idyllic life with wild birds and frogs, and beautiful countryside, but, of course, it's extremely dangerous now. But when Alexandra's father suddenly dies in Budapest, she realises even more deeply what her parents and her homeland mean to her.

I found that this book moved fast, like its title, and tended to flit between tragedy and comedy. However, life can be like that, and, perhaps, it increased the poignancy of the situation. I'd love to read more of Alexandra Fuller's books.

I received this free ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest review.