Scribbling the Cat.

SCRIBBLING THE CAT Alexandra Fuller. 2004. Read by Lisette Lecat. 7 tapes. 9.5 hrs. Recorded Books. 1-4025-8277-3. $63.00. Vinyl; content, reader notes. SA

The civil war that raged in Rhodesia from 1969-1980 was a horrific conflict that pitted native blacks against colonial power. Fuller, author of a well-received memoir, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, was born in England and moved to Rhodesia with her parents to a fish farm in 1972. Life took her to the US. When she returned one Christmas to visit her parents, she met K., an oddly religious, violent man, a soldier of the wars, and got his permission to write his story. They traveled from Zambia to Zimbabwe to Mozambique, visiting old battlefields. But this isn't a journalist's account; indeed, readers who know the war and the area will find plenty of factual errors. Fuller has written not a report but a powerful exploration of the effect the war had on its participants. Listeners may like a clearer picture of relationships, but they are secondary to the story of the war. Lecat's African roots helped her get the voicing more accurately than any nonnative narrator could have. There is much profanity and scatological language but it is probably not gratuitous. Deeply moving. Note: scribbling = killing. Edna Boardman, Bismarck, ND

S--Recommended for senior high school students.

A--Recommended for advanced students and adults. This code help librarian and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help extend KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.