The narrative leaves some pretty big questions about author herself, mainly: What kind of badness was going on in her life to make her think it was a good idea to go on a road trip with an unstable vet to see people and places associated with his PTSD.

And if she has taken significant liberties, how okay is that from a journalistic point of view? I wonder if the character she draws as K isn't a composite of a number of veterans of his time. (I'm betting that isn't even his real initial.) The big climactic scene also occurs at a suspiciously convenient point in the narrative which, along with the nature of the event, makes me wonder about how the timing and details may have been altered or whether it happened at all. In a more meta sense, the reader also is left with questions about the story i.e., to what degree was it interpreted and fictionalized? In the introduction, he author assures the reader that she is taking pains to keep the identity of her traveling companion confidential and, to drive this point home, refers to him only as K. about war, freedom, poverty, religious faith, mental illness. The sparing commentary leaves the reader a lot of food for thought. Little to no judgment from the author about her subject, letting the man and the events speak for themselves. Quite good! I have previously enjoyed Fuller's rich descriptions of the people and locations in her corner of Africa and she doesn't disappoint here.Ī strange adventure.

Scribbling the Cat by Alexandra Fuller