African Nights: True Stories from the Author of I Dreamed of Africa
Gallmann's collection of true stories of her life in the Kenyan Highlands reads like a novel. One story flows into the next as Gallmann writes of her interactions with the Kenyan people, other European farmers, and African animals. Central to the stories are the customs and rituals of the Kenyan tribes: the offering of cattle for courtship of a daughter, rain dances, sacrifices to gods and spirits, and female circumcision. Gallmann, an Italian, fell in love with Africa 30 years ago and has since made Kenya her home. These stories examine what Africa has given her, but the author also writes of what the land has taken away: her husband, Paolo, died in a car accident and her son, Emanuele, died of a snakebite. The triumphs and hardships of a passionate life are in these stories, set against the spiritual and mysterious African culture. By publishing these stories and selling her first novel to Hollywood, she hopes to bring the environmental issues so crucial to Africa's future to the world's attention. This is wonderful adventure reading.Michelle Kaske