SHE LEFT ME THE GUN My Mother's Life Before Me

Emma Brockes's memoir is given authenticity by her British accent as she recounts her story. To learn more about her late mother, Brockes travels from Britain to South Africa. There she discovers her mother's siblings and a history of scandalous family events, which her mother escaped. Skillfully, Brockes weaves the story of a family’s dysfunction with the political atmosphere of South Africa during her visits. The nation’s tensions add to the atmosphere of violence that Emma's mother fled. Although a gun figures into the drama, it functions merely as an intriguing title for this memoir and is given no emphasis during its brief appearance. M.N.T. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2013]