I always knew mum loved me - tough, look-after-yourself love, as if she knew she wouldn't always be there. Alexandra Fuller More Quotes by Alexandra Fuller More Quotes From Alexandra Fuller Once, I discovered the skulls of two impala rams, their horns locked into an irreversible figure-of-eight; the two animals had been trapped in combat, latched to each other during the battle of the rut. The harder they had pulled to escape from each other, the more intractably stuck they were, until they had fallen exhausted, to their knees, in an embrace of hatred that had killed them both. Alexandra Fuller eight animal two In ways I don't entirely have the words for an experience, thought or a lesson isn't real for me until I've written down. Alexandra Fuller lessons real way In general, I almost always watch foreign films. Alexandra Fuller film watches I love my mother so much, because I see the whole of her. Alexandra Fuller i-love-my-mother whole mother Retaining culture takes effort and persistence and discipline. It's a commitment, not a flag. You can't just pull it out and wave it about when it's convenient. Alexandra Fuller you effort discipline culture I think for writers, I think it's really important to court eviction from your tribe: to expose things and to wake people up. And so I think that that can feel like a violation to the people you love the most. Alexandra Fuller feel you love people The most basic human impulse is toward entropy and laziness. The less we have to do to grow spiritually, the more likely we are to do it. Alexandra Fuller grow human more laziness There is no way to order chaos. It's the fundamental theory at the beginning and end of everything; it's the ultimate law of nature. There's no way to win against unpredictability, to suit up completely against accidents. Alexandra Fuller beginning win nature law In retrospect, I have come to recognise just how astounding my mother was during our childhood. She kept a woodwork shop and made beautiful furniture, as well as raising the pair of us in a society dominated by men. There really is nothing like war to reveal the power of patriarchy, but she always retained her independence. Alexandra Fuller childhood mother beautiful war The memoirs that have come out of Africa are sometimes startlingly beautiful, often urgent, and essentially life-affirming, but they are all performances of courage and honesty. Alexandra Fuller honesty courage beautiful sometimes I think that being raised the way I was, where everything was so uncompromising, where, you know, we're prepared to fight to the death for the soil that you believed belonged to you - that kind of extreme engagement is very difficult to flush out of your system - or your belief system, anyway. Alexandra Fuller fight think you death I think there's a big difference between loving someone out of duty and dependency and loving someone because you really are able to sort of grow and be whole in the context of that relationship. Alexandra Fuller grow think you relationship I remember Karoi as a very hot, flat place, but in reality, it is all hills. We just lived next to an airstrip - the only flat piece of land around. That was my world as a three-year-old and sums up the indelible power of memory to a young child. Alexandra Fuller memory power hot world I grew up in southern Africa but was born in England, so my family was afflicted with the stiff upper lip of the British. When coupled with the violence we saw as children, that can be a fatal combination. Fortunately, I have an outlet for trauma in my writing. Alexandra Fuller born family violence children I adore my family. I don't love their politics. I think they're wonderful parents. They were dreadful at parenting. Alexandra Fuller parenting family politics love I write and I read, and I write and read my way into and out of ideas and life. And that's what we do. That's what storytellers do. Alexandra Fuller write life way ideas I want to make words out of life. That's bigger than me. That's as big a creative force as - bigger than, for me, even having children. That felt more accidental - wonderful, but accidental. Alexandra Fuller words me life children I did try to write fiction. I wrote 10 novels. And they were all just awful. Alexandra Fuller write just try fiction Being a white southern African who saw the transition from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe, the sense of being an outsider was absolutely instilled in my limbic system. Alexandra Fuller outsider sense being white Being a writer but also having been raised the way I was, I tend to turn to books for answers. Alexandra Fuller turn being answers way
