[13Q]⋙ Download Tick Bite Fever David Bennun 9780091886899 Books

Tick Bite Fever David Bennun 9780091886899 Books

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Tick Bite Fever David Bennun 9780091886899 Books

This is a memoir of a childhood spent in several countries, but mostly in Kenya. I`m drawn to the memoirs of people who lived in Africa because it helps me to relive an important part of my life, now left behind and for which I have frequent bouts of homesickness. I was especially drawn to this book because the author lived [briefly] in Zambia and he had suffered from "Tick Bite Fever," both of which stirred memories for me.

He didn't stay long in Zambia but his reminiscences of Kenya still resonated for me and I found it a good read, highly entertaining and evocative. His sense of humor made the book all the more enjoyable and on several occasions caused me to laugh out loud, which is not something I do all that often when reading.
On the other hand, at times his frequent resort to hyperbole fell flat and was over-stretched: "... khaki-clad figures sneaking out of the school gate at a rate to rival Albanian asylum seekers making a dash for the Chunnel," being one example.

He also at times became somewhat bogged down in cataloguing every last detail of events that didn't really warrant such attention and left me flipping pages to skip to the next part of the story.

Nonetheless it was a good read. Surviving Africa is no mean achievement even if it is only due to random good luck. It is probably best survived by those who can find humor in the trials and tribulations that seem never ending ... at least in retrospect. One of his final comments, "I don't think I could go back now," definitely struck a chord. I found it very difficult to leave, I frequently feel a need to reconnect, and yet I agree that I don't think I could go ever really go back again.


Tags : Tick Bite Fever [David Bennun] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In this warm and very funny memoir about growing up in Kenya, where the author’s family transplanted themselves in the 1970s,David Bennun,Tick Bite Fever,Ebury Press,0091886899,2150735916,Travel Essays & Travelogues

Tick Bite Fever David Bennun 9780091886899 Books Reviews

Tick Bite Fever is David Bennun’s memoir about his childhood a British boy growing up in Kenya, from 5-21 years of age, in the 1970s and 80s. Most of the tales are about his schooling and the adventures that school boys get up to, such as the many pranks and jokes with other children. Many tales include an animal or two – such as a lion in the camp site and the baboon burglar. He writes of the wildlife to be viewed, those that attack humans, and those those humans can eat. There are many hairy, scarey, and comical animal tales in this book.

Bennun tells of the national radio station that has only three records. Whether true, or whether it is a case of an unreliable memory, is not the point. Anything he writes is sure to make readers remember their own schooldays and laugh out loud.

This is not a conventional memoir, although it is chronological and it does mention historic and political events. More often, it reflects a wonderfully funny reminiscent mood, as if readers are friends collected around the dinner table. His style, though well-written, is very much in the British vernacular, and a comical one at that.
It brought back so many memories from Africa! As a child raised in Africa, I could understand what the narrator and his family went through.
being an ex-Kenyan it had a huge appeal. I associated with many of David's experiences. It is very funny and witty. I love his writing style. I didn't want it to end.
I really wanted to enjoy this book, especially as I lived in Kenya for twenty years and looked forward to taking a trip down memory lane.

The first part I did find amusing. David was the kid from hell, always getting into trouble. The family's camping trips were also a good read, and I loved his doctor father's enthusiasm for playing around with old vehicles and his ability to get the family out of some of the predicaments into which he got them.

However, I felt that the tone of the book changed dramatically after the divorce of his parents, and from then on it rather lost its zing and the writing became less witty and less interesting. There are still occasional sparks of humour and a wry look at life in East Africa, but I found it finished on a flat note and was not as funny as I had expected it to be.

Speak Swahili Dammit, by James Penhaligon is in my opinion a far better book about an East African childhood.
This is a memoir of a childhood spent in several countries, but mostly in Kenya. I`m drawn to the memoirs of people who lived in Africa because it helps me to relive an important part of my life, now left behind and for which I have frequent bouts of homesickness. I was especially drawn to this book because the author lived [briefly] in Zambia and he had suffered from "Tick Bite Fever," both of which stirred memories for me.

He didn't stay long in Zambia but his reminiscences of Kenya still resonated for me and I found it a good read, highly entertaining and evocative. His sense of humor made the book all the more enjoyable and on several occasions caused me to laugh out loud, which is not something I do all that often when reading.
On the other hand, at times his frequent resort to hyperbole fell flat and was over-stretched "... khaki-clad figures sneaking out of the school gate at a rate to rival Albanian asylum seekers making a dash for the Chunnel," being one example.

He also at times became somewhat bogged down in cataloguing every last detail of events that didn't really warrant such attention and left me flipping pages to skip to the next part of the story.

Nonetheless it was a good read. Surviving Africa is no mean achievement even if it is only due to random good luck. It is probably best survived by those who can find humor in the trials and tribulations that seem never ending ... at least in retrospect. One of his final comments, "I don't think I could go back now," definitely struck a chord. I found it very difficult to leave, I frequently feel a need to reconnect, and yet I agree that I don't think I could go ever really go back again.