The Flame Trees of Thika
Remember when you use to curl up with your family in front of the television on Sunday nights in anxious anticipation of Alistair Cooke and his introduction of Mobil Masterpiece Theatre? Yeah, me neither…
Alright, alright, I must admit we were one of the THOSE families. Specifically I can remember family viewing of the TV adaptation of The Flame Trees of Thika which featured Hayley Mills (all grown up of “The Parent Trap” fame) and Ben Cross (”Chariots of Fire” anyone?).
Lost in the fog of childhood memories, I picked up a copy of The Flame Trees of Thika at Powell’s with the intention of reading it with Mila. I ended up cracking it open one sleepless night and burned right through it.
The Flame Trees of Thika is basically Little House on the Serengeti. Like Little House, Flame Trees is a memoir of a young girl’s childhood and, also like Little House, it centers around the sense of adventure and hard, and sometimes tragic, realities of pioneer life. But the homestead is in Kenya, the crop is coffee, and Ma and Pa have been replaced by Tilly and Robin (this is a British family after all).
Flame Trees is extremely engaging and paints a vivid picture of a time and place that is now lost – an unspoiled Africa, the simple pleasures and freedom of childhood. Flame Trees is also illuminating as a snapshot if history. The engagement between this British family and the land and native people is deeply detailed. So the context of colonialism and its effect on the African people and environment isn’t hidden.
I’m looking forward to rereading Flame Trees with Mila and hope to get the DVD of the series from the library someday as well.
