"Longing For Darkness - Kamante's Tales From Out of Africa" is one of my favourite coffee table books
Laid out in a scrap book style, the book contains many original photographs & quotes of Karen Blixen's, aswell as Kamante's own illustrationsI’ve been meaning to write a blog post on this book for some time now, as it’s a really special book, and one of my standard “coffee table books” which I always have out on the table in our TV lounge, as it’s so easy to pick it up at any time and leaf through it and find something of interest to read.
Many people are familiar with Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen) who wrote the book “Out of Africa” about her life on a coffee farm in Kenya, and those who have read it will be familiar with her loyal staff member, Kamante, who features both in the book and in the movie. This book, “Longing For Darkness – Kamante’s Tales from Out of Africa” is a book which has been written by Kamante (and collected & put together by Peter Beard), about the time he spent with Karen on her farm in Kenya, at the foot of the Ngong Hills.
For those of you who don’t know, Kamante was a loyal staff member of Karen Blixen’s, who came to work for her when he was nothing more than a young boy, and stayed with her for all her time in Africa (and maintained contact with her once she left). She first met him when she helped him with medical treatment – she helped many of the local people this way, although she was not a trained medical professional, she simply helped out where she could (as many people still do here in East Africa today – although in the first world, we’d probably be arrested !)
She taught him to cook and care for her animals, and many other skills along the way, and he was eventually sent for training in some of Nairobi’s top hotels (many – like the Norfolk Hotel and the Stanley Hotel are still in existence today) and became an excellent Chef – the dinner parties she held, and the wonderful food served at them (and cooked by Kamante) were renowned all over Kenya.
I would say that this is more like a scrapbook than a novel or an autobiography (and was put together long before “scrap booking” as we know it became so popular) and has a very personal feel to it – almost as though you were reading through someone’s diary, and looking at their personal collection of photographs, newspaper clippings and drawings.
It contains copies of original photographs spanning the years 1914 to 1931, and original quotations from Karen Blixen, and many of the stories which Kamante recounts are ones which readers of “Out of Africa” will be familiar with – only these ones are, rather charmingly, told from Kamante’s perspective.
Kamante tells tales of Karen’s adventures, his day-to-day life on the farm, the visitors which they had, the hunters, the places he went whilst working for her and the experiences he had – all peppered with his own magical drawings throughout the book. The last section of the book also contains many delightful fables (“The Fables – From Karen Farm Days”) with titles such as “The Frogs Who Demanded A King” and “The Leopard Without A Tail”.
If you enjoyed the book “Out of Africa” and wish to learn more about life on this famous Kenyan coffee farm from the perspective of a local African man, then Kamante’s “Longing For Darkness” is a must read, and his words and outlook on life will remain in your heart long after you have closed the book ......
Many people are familiar with Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen) who wrote the book “Out of Africa” about her life on a coffee farm in Kenya, and those who have read it will be familiar with her loyal staff member, Kamante, who features both in the book and in the movie. This book, “Longing For Darkness – Kamante’s Tales from Out of Africa” is a book which has been written by Kamante (and collected & put together by Peter Beard), about the time he spent with Karen on her farm in Kenya, at the foot of the Ngong Hills.
For those of you who don’t know, Kamante was a loyal staff member of Karen Blixen’s, who came to work for her when he was nothing more than a young boy, and stayed with her for all her time in Africa (and maintained contact with her once she left). She first met him when she helped him with medical treatment – she helped many of the local people this way, although she was not a trained medical professional, she simply helped out where she could (as many people still do here in East Africa today – although in the first world, we’d probably be arrested !)
She taught him to cook and care for her animals, and many other skills along the way, and he was eventually sent for training in some of Nairobi’s top hotels (many – like the Norfolk Hotel and the Stanley Hotel are still in existence today) and became an excellent Chef – the dinner parties she held, and the wonderful food served at them (and cooked by Kamante) were renowned all over Kenya.
I would say that this is more like a scrapbook than a novel or an autobiography (and was put together long before “scrap booking” as we know it became so popular) and has a very personal feel to it – almost as though you were reading through someone’s diary, and looking at their personal collection of photographs, newspaper clippings and drawings.
It contains copies of original photographs spanning the years 1914 to 1931, and original quotations from Karen Blixen, and many of the stories which Kamante recounts are ones which readers of “Out of Africa” will be familiar with – only these ones are, rather charmingly, told from Kamante’s perspective.
Kamante tells tales of Karen’s adventures, his day-to-day life on the farm, the visitors which they had, the hunters, the places he went whilst working for her and the experiences he had – all peppered with his own magical drawings throughout the book. The last section of the book also contains many delightful fables (“The Fables – From Karen Farm Days”) with titles such as “The Frogs Who Demanded A King” and “The Leopard Without A Tail”.
If you enjoyed the book “Out of Africa” and wish to learn more about life on this famous Kenyan coffee farm from the perspective of a local African man, then Kamante’s “Longing For Darkness” is a must read, and his words and outlook on life will remain in your heart long after you have closed the book ......
