Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness

By: Alexandra Fuller

Narrated by: Bianca Amato

Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Alexandra Fuller won worldwide attention, popular acclaim, and critical accolades for her memoir of her childhood in Africa, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight. This engaging follow-up explores Fuller’s parents’ childhoods and charts the trajectories of their lives through all the British couple’s experiences in war-torn Africa.

Fuller braids a multilayered narrative around the perfectly lit, Happy Valley-era Africa of her mother's childhood; the boiled cabbage grimness of her father's English childhood; and the darker, civil war- torn Africa of her own childhood. At its heart, this is the story of Fuller's mother, Nicola. Born on the Scottish Isle of Skye and raised in Kenya, Nicola holds dear the kinds of values most likely to get you hurt or killed in Africa: loyalty to blood, passion for land, and a holy belief in the restorative power of all animals. Fuller interviewed her mother at length and has captured her inimitable voice with remarkable precision. Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness is as funny, terrifying, exotic, and unselfconscious as Nicola herself.

©2011 Alexandra Fuller (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

A fascinating life well written.

What made the experience of listening to Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness the most enjoyable?

Nothing ordinary in this woman's life, funny and poignant.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nicola Fuller of Central Africa was both ridiculous with her snobbery and admirable for her strong core.

What does Bianca Amato bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I like Amato's plain reading. Too many readers feel compelled to over dramatize, rather than give a plain, strong delivery. Her accent added location, but didn't interfere with understanding the story.

Any additional comments?

This book is well and tightly written.

I didn't want it to end!

The "awful book" that was many times referenced in this wonderful book is Let's Not Go To The Dogs Tonight. I listened to that one first and found this a wonderful addition to their family story. The beautifully descriptive storytelling made me feel like I was there. Absolutely beautiful!

Wonderful!

I started this years ago and for some reason got side tracked and didn’t finish. However I just picked it back up and finished it in no time! I couldn’t put it down and was so charmed by the characters and moved by the storytelling. Fabulous narrator- altogether a terrific book.

Singing

Would you consider the audio edition of Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness to be better than the print version?

An interesting, well-read book EXCEPT for the singing. Why, oh why, did the publishers require -- if require they did -- the reader to sing the songs in the text? It's utterly painful.

What other book might you compare Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness to and why?

When The Crocodile Swallowed The Sun.

What three words best describe Bianca Amato’s voice?

Fine except for the singing.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

No

Breathtakingly beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking; one of my favorite authors.

Breathtakingly beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking; one of my favorite authors. I’m transported by Fuller’s magical choice of words, lyrical, rhythmic — “jewel colored liqueurs” to one’s senses

Brilliant storytelling

Very enjoyable book by Ms Fuller. If you liked Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, then definitely read this one!

Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness

I enjoyed Ms. Fuller's first book as well. Tales of an era gone by. How we do forget!

Charming character describes her African life

Would you consider the audio edition of Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness to be better than the print version?

Cant say.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Obviously Nicola Fuller of Central Africa

Which character – as performed by Bianca Amato – was your favorite?

The narrator

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The Rhodesian confrontation with liberation fighters.

Any additional comments?

A distinctive voice of a charming, although flawed, woman and the adventures she has lived through in various central African countries over the last 60 years or so.

Beautiful story of a complicated time.

I laughed and cried and felt deeply with both the author and the complex woman she describes, her mother. Her humor makes a terrifying story easy to listen to. Having lived on the beautiful continent during this same time period, I was able to appreciate the loyalty Nicola Fuller felt. It is the narrator that makes this book come to life. Amazing job!

Interesting and provides some historical insights

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Gives you insights into what British settlers experienced, some humor, some sad, good description of dynamics of mother/daughter and siblings. Is the Mother stable? Yet we all have someone like this and move through life. Pace is a bit slow, but good for long runs.

Would you recommend Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness to your friends? Why or why not?

To pass the time, doesn't grab you but does entertain you.

Which scene was your favorite?

Discovering the tree, talking on the veranda

Could you see Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Maybe a movie, definitely Meryl Streep, maybe Judy Dench both have the underlying "iron" with a shade of crazy in some of their performances.