Dawkins, Louise. Natives and Strangers. Houghton Mifflin, 1985.
Reason read: Kenya gained independence in December. Read in recognition of that event.
Natives and Strangers examines the human heart through the lens of culture and status in an African landscape. Natives and strangers, whites and blacks, rich and entitled. British colonists and native Africans. Young Marietta Hamilton hasn’t been brought up to be colorblind, but despite her English heritage her friendships are without barriers. Her best friend is the daughter of her mother’s servant. Natives and Strangers tracks Marietta’s coming of age as she navigates her identity through childhood, college, marriage and motherhood. This was a struggle for me to read because I didn’t really care for the characters.
Detractors – Dawkins gets a little didactic by addressing religious differences like Christianity versus Paganism.
Another negative: I have read reviews complaining about how unnaturally the characters speak. Dawkins tells the story of Natives and Strangers mostly through the classic vehicle of monologue and dialogue. For example, Virginia needs to explain to Marietta why she is sending her daughter away to a boarding school. The monologue is mostly historical context and more for the benefit of the reader than for Marietta. Because all characters do this (even the children) Dawkins loses believability and authenticity. All of her characters appear long-winded and unwieldy in their manner of speech and their conversations.
Author fact: Louisa Dawkins is a pen name.
Book trivia: I was warned that the dialogue between characters in Natives and Strangers is not natural.
Music: the Rolling Stones.
BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Africa: a Reader’s Itinerary” (p 2).
~*LunaSea*~ 