The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley

genre: novel/memoir

When Elspeth arrives with her parents at their new piece of property in British East Africa, there is really nothing to see. It is the beginning of the 20th century and Africa is a new frontier.  Where once there was dry plains of grass, Elspeth’s father is determined to create a coffee farm, and this book is based on the memories of the authors’s childhood in the remote wilds of present day Kenya.

For a book I actually enjoyed, this took me a surprisingly long time to read. There just isn’t really much a plot, it’s more of a really unique walk through a daily life that no longer exists. I felt like I was in a lost world, the setting is so immersive.  Sometimes my 21st century understanding made the language uncomfortable as colonizers spoke about and interacted with the colonized.  The “native” versus “civilized” mindset is definitely an overarching theme and while the author clearly so very attached to many of the people she comes to know, the divide is there. I also had to let go of this being TOO much of a memoir because there is so much detail and so many conversations that I had to realize this is just loosely based on her lived experience - and that's okay.  I’m glad I made time for this one even if it wasn’t a page turner.