Our House in Arusha (The Snowbird Chronicles)

An interesting memoir by a woman who married a most extraordinary man, born French but lived most of his life in Africa. I really related to her first few chapters describing her life in Arusha, Tanzania, but much of her marriage and her husband’s life was in west Africa and involved political coups and corruption. Her husband lived a life of adventure both dealing with governments and all that implies in west Africa, or working with animals and safaris. His willingness to change jobs and roll the dice with his finances meant a very unsettled lifestyle.Well written and interesting to read, a real front row seat to some amazing African political history, but definitely not something I would be willing to do myself.

What an adventure and at midlife no less. Not your typical 20 something nomad with an Instagram account but a family trying to make a living and living in Africa.

While the description of the locations is wonderful and puts you right into the setting, letting you dream of being there yourself, the story does not seem to have much of a beginning or ending, it does not flow smoothly and there is not really much happening that is of essence. I understand it is like an autobiography (so clearly it does not have an ending) but it just keeps going on and on without any aim or punch or point, ending without any closure or relation to the story. I enjoyed the trip to Africa (in my mind) but the story lacks interest. It is a pleasant enough read but definitely not a page turner.

An organized woman writer on a trip to Africa to do a story meets an impetuous safari guide who beguiles her with stories of his life. They end up married and living in his home in Arusha with his young son. The Descriptions of the area are full of interesting details and characters. Their struggle to maintain a home amid the stresses of job changes, long separations, and a scary situation in Togo add to the tale. I enjoyed the honesty of their family Dynamics too.

I absolutely love this book, so glad I happened on it. The writing right from the get go is clear and engaging. For a person who dreams of Africa, as I do, the content is splendid in it's breadth and in Tucker's ability to capture detail, her style is concise and telling.Simply put, this book boils down to being about love. Love of a continent, it's people, it's exasperations and it's about the author's love of the man who inspired her to remain there with him. M. Texier's life story is one that carries an astonishing breadth politically, with stories ranging from smuggling, poaching in game preserves done by very high level government entities to witnessing the result of the Kissinger/CIA-initiated assassination of Chile's former, democratically elected president, Salvador Allende. The ability to capture all this in Tucker's agile writing style is sheer inspiration.As well, the story of M. Texier is among the most romantically inspired patchwork hop-skotches through life I have ever heard of. He found in Sara Tucker not only a "proper mother for his son" but one excellent storyteller who, in the end, conveys a very moving heart-felt love for the man and his love for the continent. When in the story it becomes necessary for them to come live in the US, this reader felt très désolé, a sense of loss as keen as any I've known in leaving behind places I've loved. But it is his spirit, his optimism, his ability to make the most of what is which she writes about. Therein lies the love.

An enjoyable read although there were one or two things that bothered me. Eland definitely do not have antlers - they have horns. I think that more description about the places would have made better reading. I live in Africa so I can imagine Arusha but to folks in other parts of the world, a more graphic picture would have been good. The same goes for Togo. But all said, I enjoyed reading Sara, Patrick and Thomas' story.

Sara Tucker's Our House in Arusha is simply wonderful. She captures Africa in all its post-colonial disarray. She casts a wise and loving eye on a kaleidosope of characters, from the French adventurer who steals her heart to his nine-year-old son who needs a mom, to the night watchman who somehow comes into possession of her warm socks, to Mr. Happy God Matoi, who -- while performing her marriage ceremony -- thinks to ask, "Will this marriage be polygamous, monogamous, or potentially polygamous?"Tucker sees the funny side with a clear eye, while writing with genuine warmth about Tanzania and Togo, about people and places that she might never have seen, had it not been for a chance event that switched her plan to go to Kansas to a safari that took her to the Serengeti and beyond. The people she meets along the way -- and describes with loving accuracy -- all seem to have leapt from the pages of the likes of V.S. Naipaul or Paul Theroux. Our House in Arusha is an adventure story, a love story, a story about making major life changes at a time when most are content to dream about impending retirement. Tucker relates these events with honesty, gentle humor, and descriptions so vivid that you can feel the humidity, see the jacarandas in bloom, and hear the roar of the lions in the bush.

This book was first published in 2011, has 287 pages, 14 chapters, 16 B/W photos but no maps. The book is dedicated to author's mother. When a Frenchman, already married 3 times tells SARA TUCKER a tale about Africa, she leaves her job, ends her 18 year marriage, closes her apartment in Manhattan and leaves for Tanzania ! She was warned that the longer she lived in Arusha, the poorer she would get. She was also told that the new man in her life had not paid his taxes and his work permit may have also expired. Sara had moved to a house in SEKEI with PATRICK TEXIER and his son Thomas (12). Patrick had lived in Africa for 35 years and lost all his money, moving from Paris to Sierra Leone and then to Tanzania. On a good day, one could see Mt MERU from their house.Sara had met Patrick on her 1st working safari, when he narrated his African adventures to her. She eventually saw the mad and chaotic life and traffic of Arusha in Jan 1998. In the next 10 years, Arusha had doubled in size. Sara had travelled between New York and Arusha many times. Her difficult married life in New York had come to and end after 18 years. Back in Arusha, Sara married Patrick (55) on 16.11.1999, at the old German Fort. She said Arusha was a dump but she liked it. After the wedding Sara collapsed with exhaustion and it was not malaria. Like many break-ins in near major African towns, Sara's house was also broken into despite an askari outside (asleep).Patrick was offered a job in anti-poaching in a National Park in TOGO, 3,000 miles away. That year, the short rains failed, crops and cattle were left to die, the dust on the roads was fine, soft and 6 inches deep. The power and water was intermittent. After rains, the dust turned to mud. Fatal crashes were common in roads. Mean while Thomas was suffering from food allergies and rashes and was taken to doctors in Arusha and Nairobi. Sara and Thomas also when to Togo, staying in an apartment in a hotel. Sara remembers Patrick telling her all his years of wanderings and various jobs in different countries of West Africa. He had also grown apart from his first two children - Valerie and Lionel.After a stay in Togo, full of hassle, Sara, Patrick and Thomas return to grubby Arusha, to collect their belongings to return to Togo. After the rains, Arusha was in blossom and dusty snow on the blown peak of Mt Meru. Patrick's contract in Togo fell through and their house in Arusha was broken in, they decide to leave Tanzania for America in 2001. Patrick's days in Africa were coming to an end. They lived in Westfield, New Jersey. Thomas had behaviour problems, so they moved to Vermont to live with Sara's mother. Thomas flew to Prague to study. Patrick got a job with an Airline. Thomas met his real mother after many years. Patrick still thinks of Africa everyday.Some other books of interest are:-(1)The Roaring veldt, Gretchen Cron 1930(2) My farm in Lion Country, Joyce Boyd 1933(3) Momella, Maximilian Rogister 1957(4) A Fly in Amber, Susan Wood 1965(5) The Otherside of Kilimanjaro, Erika Johnston 1971(6) Barefoot Over Serengeti, David Read 1979(7) A Tale of Maasai Girl, Grace Sicard 1998(8) Where Lion Still Roars, Joyce Baker 2002(9) Three Dreams on Mt Meru, Devenne 2007(10)Between Two Fires, Capstick 2011Having born in Kenya and passed through Arusha 5 times to Northern Tanzanian National Parks, I found this book interesting.

This is a compelling read, but it lacks any sort of romantic element between Sara and Patrick. They meet on a platonic level and the next thing we know is they are getting married. There is no passion, there are no love scenes, unless I missed them, and the story jumps about so much between the past and the present it is difficult to keep track. Sara and Patrick appear to be more like brother and sister or business partners than lovers, and living in Arusha is only part of the story, the rest is about Patrick's past life in Africa, which didn't seem relevant.

If you like books about Africa you'll like this, it has it all adventure, suspense, safari, humour, love, family, sadness, wit and reality. Also the great thing about kindle is you can read it again which I plan to do again next year. The only thing I can't tell is how much of this book really happened I mean is it an autobiography? Finally i was sad when it ended, thank you Sara Tucker for a really lovely book!

Thought it would be more like the Wilderness family, but more of an account of living in Arusha without any mention of interactions with the animals. Disappointing in that respect.

great story which unfortunately "meanders" a bit when not talking about Patrick and his exploits. For someone born and raised in Nairobi, a lot of the narrative struck a major chord with me.