Kuki Gallmann
Author of I Dreamed of Africa
About the Author
Works by Kuki Gallmann
Sonhei Com África 1 copy
Associated Works
Flirten met het leven : droomreizen van Karen Blixen, Jung Chang, Rosetta Loy, Carolijn Visser en vele anderen (1996) — Contributor — 8 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Gallmann, Kuki
- Legal name
- Gallmann, Kuki
- Birthdate
- 1943-06-01
- Gender
- female
- Education
- University of Padua (Political Science)
- Occupations
- environmental activist
poet
author - Organizations
- Founder of The Gallmann Memorial Foundation
Co-founder of Laikipia Wildlife Forum
Co-founder of Land of Hope - Awards and honors
- Grosso d’Oro Veneziano International Award for life time Conservation achievement (2012)
The Mimosa d’Oro for Woman of the Year award in Catania (2012)
The Africa Hero Award by the Africa Foundation (2010)
Event of Year World Award by the Peace and Sport Foundation (2009)
The Peruvian Order por la Protecion del Ambiente (2006)
Illchamus Elder (2005) (show all 8)
The American Association for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (2002)
the Order of the Golden Ark by the late HRH Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (1991) - Relationships
- Baccazzi, Cino (Père)
- Short biography
- Kuki Gallmann (1943— ) is an Italian writer and poet. Born in Treviso, near Venice, she moved to Kenya in 1972 with her husband and son and is now a Kenyan citizen. She wrote several books about her life in Africa, all of them in English; the best known is I Dreamed of Africa. A movie adaptation of the book was made in 2000. She lives in Kenya with her daughter, and she manages several social, environmental and scientific projects. Her son died of a snake bite. Her husband died in a car accident.
- Nationality
- Italy
Kenya - Birthplace
- Treviso, Italy
- Places of residence
- Treviso, Italy
Padua, Italy
Ol ari Nyiro, Kenya - Associated Place (for map)
- Italy
Members
Reviews
This has got to be one of the most heart wrenching yet uplifting books I have ever read about one woman's life experiences in Africa. After divorcing her first husband Kuki marries the widower of a friend (Kuki survives the same car accident that her friend did not). Paolo convinces Kuki and her young son to move to Kenya, a far cry from the life of privilege in Italy. There, Kuki and her son, Emanuele Pirri-Gallman, fall in love with the land, the animals, and the people of Ol Ari Nyiro. show more Even after Paolo is killed in a tragic accident, Kuki is determined to stay in Africa. Pregnant with his child, Kuki buries Paolo at the ranch and continues to carry out their dreams. Three years later, even after her seventeen year old son dies of a lethal snake bite, Kuki is even more determined to stay on the ranch. She buries Ema next to Paolo and slowly, through grief and time, finds new purpose to her life. show less
I have to sympathise with some of the reviewers of Kuki Gallman's other work 'I Dreamed of Africa' who are exasperated by her obsession with death, grief and healing in her personal life. They probably, and I certainly, chose these books for the potential they had to reveal facets of Africa; the people, the landscapes, the animals and the spirit. It's a little frustrating to have someone who is so sensitive to the world around her restricting her observations to her own life. There's show more glimpses of Africa, but it always seems to be through the window and at a distance. Gallman never seems to get out of the bunker of her own thoughts and grieving.
All that said, she is entitled to grieve, and to indulge herself in that and to take up with shamanism and religious beliefs. But it is telling that they aren't African beliefs that she connects with. Ultimately for all of her connection with Africa - which she 'proves' with her use of the local language - she seems to see herself and portray herself as a citizen of the world, an enthusiastic consumer and advocate for of any sort of spirituality that comes her way. it's as if the events that swept her up (and her husband and son away) could have as easily occurred in Manchester or Chicago.
I can't recommend this book for anyone who is interested in Africa, because it's not about Africa. She has reduced the entire continent to background scenery. But if the reader is interested in the spiritual healing and recovery from grief there is something here for them. But I'd note again that there's no special African aspect to that spirituality - none at all. All that said, I'll keep this book because it is - ultimately - a story told with genuine feeling. show less
All that said, she is entitled to grieve, and to indulge herself in that and to take up with shamanism and religious beliefs. But it is telling that they aren't African beliefs that she connects with. Ultimately for all of her connection with Africa - which she 'proves' with her use of the local language - she seems to see herself and portray herself as a citizen of the world, an enthusiastic consumer and advocate for of any sort of spirituality that comes her way. it's as if the events that swept her up (and her husband and son away) could have as easily occurred in Manchester or Chicago.
I can't recommend this book for anyone who is interested in Africa, because it's not about Africa. She has reduced the entire continent to background scenery. But if the reader is interested in the spiritual healing and recovery from grief there is something here for them. But I'd note again that there's no special African aspect to that spirituality - none at all. All that said, I'll keep this book because it is - ultimately - a story told with genuine feeling. show less
Memoir reading is something very personal - it requires your own personal identification with the experiences of the author. This then, is not fiction - and requires from us, the readers, an emotive attribute that is sometimes missing in other works we read. Yet, for me, while reading I Dreamed Of Africa - I missed this emotional attribute. Gallmann's story is well-known - her enduring love story with Paolo, and her love for Africa resulted in a movie by the same name.
I am fascinated by show more Africa, make no mistake about it, which is why I purchased the book despite the hefty price tag of more than $12. (Well, in these recessionary times, I guess that qualifies as hefty). Gallmann writes well but I found very little about Africa in the book. The people of Africa are there only as stage props, as loyal servants to Gallmann, and thus, a vast void is immediately apparent.
As a personal story, Gallmann scores - she is weepy, sentimental, psychic, loving, and courageous. But after a point, I just had enough about superhuman characters who are divinely beautiful. Paolo was one - he was the one who foretold his own death, (all of Gallmann's family seem to foretell their own death), and when he was not out shooting elephants to death, he was 'taking care' of the vast ranch. Kuki's son Emmanuel - ah, like all mothers, Kuki idolizes him. His craze of snakes causes his death eventually - and Kuki spares no effort in ensuring that his memory is still alive in the reader, who by this time must surely be wondering if there are any characters in this book who are not "beautiful," or "handsome" or "wise."
By now, you must be getting my drift - if you are interested in a lot of details about beautiful Paolo, and Emmanuel, then, by all means, pick up this book. If it is Africa you are searching for - Achebe, Wole Soyinka or Achak Deng may be a better choice. show less
I am fascinated by show more Africa, make no mistake about it, which is why I purchased the book despite the hefty price tag of more than $12. (Well, in these recessionary times, I guess that qualifies as hefty). Gallmann writes well but I found very little about Africa in the book. The people of Africa are there only as stage props, as loyal servants to Gallmann, and thus, a vast void is immediately apparent.
As a personal story, Gallmann scores - she is weepy, sentimental, psychic, loving, and courageous. But after a point, I just had enough about superhuman characters who are divinely beautiful. Paolo was one - he was the one who foretold his own death, (all of Gallmann's family seem to foretell their own death), and when he was not out shooting elephants to death, he was 'taking care' of the vast ranch. Kuki's son Emmanuel - ah, like all mothers, Kuki idolizes him. His craze of snakes causes his death eventually - and Kuki spares no effort in ensuring that his memory is still alive in the reader, who by this time must surely be wondering if there are any characters in this book who are not "beautiful," or "handsome" or "wise."
By now, you must be getting my drift - if you are interested in a lot of details about beautiful Paolo, and Emmanuel, then, by all means, pick up this book. If it is Africa you are searching for - Achebe, Wole Soyinka or Achak Deng may be a better choice. show less
GREAT book! At first I was prepared to take issue with the whole founding premise of this book: Europeans buying land in Kenya that originally belonged to native African tribes. But at least this woman, Kuki Gallman, didn't abuse what she called her "privilege" and reponsibility to care for the land. She worked really hard to protect the wildlife from poachers, beautify and preserve the land, and coexist peacefully with the native Kenyans. All her work has earned international recognition, show more and her land is still one of the most beautiful, best-preserved places in Kenya.
The overarching narrative above/behind all of that--that of the Gallmans' experience in Kenya--is very well-written and often heart-breaking. I was crying practically all the way through. If you like a good cry, read this book. It's very cleansing. Once you read it, you feel like you've been there, and lived through all of what Kuki did. Highly recommend. show less
The overarching narrative above/behind all of that--that of the Gallmans' experience in Kenya--is very well-written and often heart-breaking. I was crying practically all the way through. If you like a good cry, read this book. It's very cleansing. Once you read it, you feel like you've been there, and lived through all of what Kuki did. Highly recommend. show less
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