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Hardcover Twenty Chickens for a Saddle: The Story of an African Childhood Book

ISBN: 1594201595

ISBN13: 9781594201592

Twenty Chickens For A Saddle

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Format: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

$4.99
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Book Overview

An exquisitely rendered portrait of an African childhood from an astonishing new talent When Robyn Scott 's parents decide to uproot their young family from New Zealand and move to a converted cowshed in rural Botswana, life for six-year-old Robyn changed forever. In this wild and new landscape excitement can be found around every corner, and with each misadventure she and her family learn more about the quirks, charms, and challenges of living in one of Africa's most remarkable and beautiful countries as it stands on the brink of an epidemic. When AIDS rears its head, the Scotts witness the early appearances of a disease that will devastate this peaceful and prosperous country. Told with clear-eyed unsentimental affection, Twenty Chickens for a Saddle is about a family's enthusiasm for each other and the world around them, with the essence of Africa infusing every page. This description may be from another edition of this product.

Customer Reviews

7 customer ratings | 5 reviews

Rated 5 stars
A Coming of Age Story of a Girl and a Country

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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Rated 5 stars
Delightful Botswana Viewpoint

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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Rated 5 stars
An amazing African childhood

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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Rated 5 stars
Strangely nostalgic

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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Rated 5 stars
OUR VOTE FOR BEST NON-FICTION DEBUT OF 2008

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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