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

Loved this book!

Started with Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight which I loved so I just had to listen to this one which I enjoyed even more! The narrator is one of the best readers ever. Just ordered all of Alexandra Fillers other books. Great stories, great reading. Can't get enough. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!

Unique story, a life you could not imagine!

Great, fun read, and informative read. This book provides insight into a bit of colonialism, Africa, and relations among peoples and families. More importantly it provides a great insight into what life was like during Colonial times in Rhodesia or Kenya. Fuller writes about her family, their dreams, their lives, and their faults with frankness and love. I bought this book during one of their sales and I was not disappointed. Though I did not read her first book "Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight" I was able to thoroughly enjoy this book. If you thought your childhood was tough, or your family was eccentric read this book and you will realize that maybe your life was relatively normal. The performance is not 5 stars because the narrator's voice, or accent takes a little getting used to.

Life in Africa during a war of revolution

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

I love the truth and relationship between the family members. For the main character to have the nickname of a monkey is just the beginning of the joy, not fun, buy heartfelt joy of reading this book. The narator did a fantastic job and made the book even more enjoyable. I remember as a kid hearing of the wars in Africa between the ruling whites and the majority blacks, but this book gives you a feeling of life in that world.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I love the Mom. She is both as trong character and so fragile psychologically. I love that she tries to make a family of artist during the trying time of war

Have you listened to any of Bianca Amato’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This book would not be nearly as interest without Biance. I found that her reading made the book for me. Out of my hundreds of audio books I have listened to she is probably the finest reader I have heard.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. I could not stop. I listened to it while driving to work, at the gym or even sitting in my driveway before going in for the night. I could not put it down.

Any additional comments?

I had not listened to Ms. Fuller works before but now have all her audible works on my wish list which I will buy each month. She is like great candy and I will pace myself to enjoy her over the longest time possible. I strogly suggest this work.

A lot of Lulls

Well written but the story drags a little.
I didn't dislike the book but it didn't wow me.

Entertaining and educational, but mostly fun!

Loved everything about this book! the Locations,characters,and story, with a bit of African history thrown in!

I was disappointed

I adored Don't Let's Go To The Dogs Tonight and suppose I expected the same. While Cocktail Hour is perfectly fine, it just did not grip me the way Dogs did. I also found the bits when the mother sang (which was many times) annoying rather than additive.

Disappointing after Don't Let's Go to the Dogs..

This was the highly recommended book... When I did my research I decided to start with Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which maybe spoilt this experience for me. There is a fair amount of repetition which is not really a problem. What didn't work for me was a narrator who sounded about a hundred years old - and whose pregnant pauses made me think that my iPad had run out of battery. I drifted off to sleep whilst listening - and did not feel too inclined to rewind. It got better as I got into it - but combining events with characterization in The Dogs worked better for me than the focus on Mum who became annoying as she drifted in and out of functionality. Maybe this was a therapeutic experience for Alexandra Fuller - for me it was tedious putting up with a 'spoilt' self indulgent woman who deserved more empathy in the Dogs than in this book which was too much about her - and too little about how she weighed down the family members who incomprehensibly seemed to stand by and put up with her.

Such a beautiful story

This book is an entertaining, touching, and enthralling. You won’t be able to put it down!

Authentic

A bit slow to get into for the first few chapters but builds over time. Quite an enchanting chronicle bringing this family’a story of their life in Africa to life.

A GOOD BOOKCLUB READ

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

DO NOT KNOW I JUST ENJOY THE AUDIO

What did you like best about this story?

THE DEPTH OFIT

What about Bianca Amato’s performance did you like?

GREAT

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

NO

Any additional comments?

I NEVER WOULD HAVE CHOSEN THIS BOOK TO READ. I DID ENJOY IT. LOVED THE NARRATOR