African Nights

Kuki Gallmann, whose haunting bestseller I Dreamed of Africa so perfectly captured the beauty and drama of the Kenyan Highlands, and who so generously bared her heart to its readers, here evokes through a tapestry of interwoven true episodes the magic that touches all African life.

The adventure of a moonlit picnic on a vanishing island; her son’s entrancement with chameleons and the mystical visit of a king cobra to his grave; the mysterious compassion of an elephant herd – in each event, Kuki Gallmann conveys her delight and wonder at the whole fabric of creation.

She recounts touching moments with people passing through, and enduring friendships constantly renewed; strange and wonderful encounters with animals; the magnificence of the coast and mountains, forest and savannah, and reveals, in addition to the harmony between man and his environment, the intrinsic beauty of Africa’s soul.

Continuing the book I Dreamed of Africa, this volume is written in episodes, and covers Kuki’s life over the last ten to twelve years. She refers, glancingly, to the deaths of her husband and son, covering family issues, the conservation and preservation of the animals around her, the fear and beauty of being lost in the bush at night, a king cobra who visits the tree planted over Emanuele’s grave and, in the eyes of the local Pokot women, therefore, brings evidence that Emanuele’s spirit is at peace, an encounter with a baby rhino, and a new man in Kuki’s life.