While set in Botswana and praised by Alexander McCall Smith as a "striking portrait of one of the world's most beguiling countries," the deeper subject of Twenty Chickens for a Saddle turns out not to be Africa at all. Rather, Robyn Scott has written a searching portrait of the limits of individualism and an exploration of education in its several forms. Ordinarily, the problem with being idiosyncratic is that there you...
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If you enjoy Alexander McCall Smith's books based in Botswana, you will probably enjoy this book very much. It tells of a young girl growing up in a rather eccentric family in Botswana. Her father is a doctor who works in a number of small clinics, and her mother chooses to home-school, albeit in a very unconventional fashion, her three children. Their adventures (even when they weren't looking for adventure) will keep you...
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I loved this book. I am so excited to see that there is another writer on a par with Alexandra Fuller. I enjoyed Robyn's descriptions of her life growing up in Botswana - she is incredibly funny. I especially liked her horseback adventures and her description of the ticks on her horse as being the "welcoming committee" was hilarious. Each time I picked up the book, I felt transported back to my own African childhood. ...
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After finishing this book I was left with a rather strange feeling of nostalgia for someone else's childhood. In part I think that's a testament to the quality of the writing, as the setting of rural Botswana, and the many colourful characters encountered in the book, are rendered with a vividness and eye for detail such that you almost feel like you've been there. The other aspect was a recognition that the type of childhood...
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Arundel Books is an Independent Bookstore in Seattle. Our staff believes that this is the BEST Non-Fiction Debut of 2008. Robyn Scott's Twenty Chickens for a Saddle is an astonishing debut. Set in Botswana, it is her account of growing up with one of the most wonderfully mad families you are likely to meet, whether in real life or between the covers of a book. She has a remarkable ear for language, and a descriptive prose...
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We’re all pretty excited about David Baldacci’s new novel. Like many of Baldacci's scintillating political thrillers, The 6:20 Man features a complex, deeply flawed protagonist who finds himself embroiled in a high-stakes confrontation with shadowy forces.