Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight

Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight (2002) is a memoir by Alexandra Fuller. Fuller recounts her childhood during the tumultuous years of the Rhodesian Bush War and life in post-independence Southern Africa. The author details her family‘s tragedies against the backdrop of political upheaval and social change as they settle on a series of struggling farms in Zimbabwe (then known as Rhodesia), Malawi, and Zambia. The memoir was a New York Times Notable Book for 2002, a finalist for the Guardian’s First Book Award, and the winner of the 2002 Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. Its title alludes to a joke by the writer and humorist A. P. Herbert: “Don‘t let‘s go to the dogs tonight, for mother will be there” (King, Nina. “In and Out of Africa.” Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2002.).

This guide uses the paperback version published by Random House in 2002.

Content Warning: This guide includes graphic descriptions of violence and suffering inflicted on both soldiers and civilians. It also discusses death and the extreme violence that accompanied colonialism, as well as systemic racism and racist attitudes. It also features depictions of alcohol use disorder, child death, and sexual assault.