Aminatta Forna is a wonderful writer and through the collection of stories in this volume we get a taste of the life experiences which have made her who she is.

A recommended read.

This collection of nonfiction essays reflects the author’s experiences living a “wandering” life from childhood to the present and covers episodes in Sierra Leone, England, Scotland, the Middle East, Virginia in the United States, etc, and various times throughout her life. Her observations are sharp and exact, yet also humane. She doesn’t suffer fools but doesn’t bludgeon them either. She presents facts, behaviors and results.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of each essay is the way in which she moves from her opening thought through a central premise and then on to a new, associated idea which actually completes everything in a manner I never anticipated. Her subjects are varied: the “wild” dogs and their vet in Sierra Leone; power walking-and what that means as a woman; insomnia; varieties of wild animals in the modern world, etc. You will learn some history of Sierra Leone; experience what Washington D.C. was like on January 20, 2017 to this biracial writer.

Forna’s voice is accessible, friendly but also educated and open. I will read more of her work and highly recommend this book.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This is an excellent collection of essays, that captures Aminatta Forna's peripatetic life, and her wonderful insights on the human ( and sometimes animal) condition. I loved her memoir about her Childhood and search for her father. This book is as moving and as well written. The essays cover a wide range of topics, from aviation, to SUVs and the violent ways they can be put to use, family, the interactions of humans and animals, and her famous NYRB essay on Obama and the Renaissance Generation. My favourite essay is her account of her adolescence in Iran on the cusp of revolution, and her reckoning of it as an adult with a more informed perspective. Each essay is beautiful and rewarding, unlike a lot of collections that tend to be uneven. I'm very grateful I was given this ARC by Netgalley to review!

Like all of Aminatta Forna's book, this was a delight to read. She's one of the best writers we have, and this was especially rewarding because it's a collection of essays offering insight into her rich history and what she's seen -- first hand -- of global politics.

These are deeply personal reflections on the odd, joyous, and terrifying experiences Forna has survived in Africa, Europe and the United States. I will never forget the veterinarian in Sierra Leone who tries to save all the dogs who cross his path, since there is no one else in his country to do it. The story was made richer by Forna's comparisons of treatment of animals in Africa and the United States (and no, we Americans do not fare well.)

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for an advance readers copy.

‘To fly alone as a child was my first taste of what it might feel like to be on my own in the world.’

What can I tell you about this beautiful collection of non-fiction essays? Ms Forna writes about the past, of significant events, of her own experiences. She invites you to think about colonialism, to revisit your own childhood experiences while reading hers. I see Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979 through different eyes, I think about the importance of sleep while reading of Ms Forna’s experiences of insomnia.

‘Sleep left me in the year 2001. I realise now that my sleeplessness coincided with my decision to become a writer.’

I am taken on journeys around the world (in the window seat, of course) and am reminded of the importance of ancestry and the pain of displacement. I see a different view of the Trump inauguration and read about the only qualified vet in private practice in Freetown. Diverse topics indeed.

I finished this compilation of beautifully written reflective pieces, take a deep breath, and return to my own world.

So far, the only other work of Ms Forna’s I have read is ‘Happiness’. I have added Ms Forna’s other books to my reading list.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Grove Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

A few years ago I read Aminatta Forna’s exceptionally beautiful novel The Memory of Love and was really excited to read some of her non-fiction work. The Window Seat definitely did not disappoint! It is a collection of previously published, and a few new, essays that the author has penned over the years, threaded together by the themes of travel and migration. If you know me they are also themes that tie my own life together, so there were many areas in this collection where I found myself nodding my head, and moments that I related to in ways that sometimes brought me to tears.

Aminatta Forna’s beautiful prose translates well into non-fiction, and her essays teach us and take us places, all the while remaining very personal and close to the heart. I love how she uses animals metaphorically ( I like to think that I am a puffin, but maybe I have become a robin, I’m not sure anymore), and how she turns a simple trip into a story in which the reader feels they are intimately involved. I also really love how she manages to take a story and her own observations and weave them together to provide acute and important overviews on tough topics like institutionalized racism, civil war, and slavery.

I personally loved the essay describing her trip to the Shetland Islands with her mother and brother, discovering her ancestral grounds), and it made me think about how I yearn to visit the Hebrides to find mine. And of course, all of the references to “home” and how that does not mean the same thing to people like her (or me) that it does to others. “Where is home?” is such a loaded question to me, and I love reading works by other people who have traveled so much and lived in so many different places from such an early age.

All in all this is just a beautiful collection of essays, and I would highly recommend it!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately sucked in by the first line: "Here are four words you rarely hear today: I love to fly." Yes! I do too! Here was someone who, like me, still loves the excitement and adventure of travel, even with all its trials and inconveniences. This first piece had me nodding along and laughing at her stories of flying as an unaccompanied minor in the days when flying was still pretty glamorous and there were only "stewardesses." I'd never read anything by her before and this gave me a taste of how open, observant, and funny she is. Here is an excerpt:

"To fly as an unaccompanied minor was to enter a topsy-turvy world where children were, for once, the most important people. We boarded first and had our own reserved rows, always aft, close to the galleys and the staff. We were served our meals ahead of all the other passengers, and we were given tuck boxes of games, colouring books, comics, pencils, and, inevitably, a die-cast model Boeing 747 or DC-10. The flight crew became our surrogate parents. The stewardesses were our mothers, only more patient and more elegant than our real mothers. These Stepford mothers possessed bright smiles, soothing voices and limitless supply of snacks. The never ignored us, rather came whenever we called. The uniformed captain already looked like a hero, he commanded three hundred tons of aircraft and two hundred passengers. He did not bother much with us until after take off, when his smooth voice sounded over the tannoy: 'This is your captain speaking.' And we raised our heads to listen. For six hours, we lived inside the perfect patriarchy."


The rest of the essays are astonishing in their breadth, tone, and length. She goes from wry commentary on human nature to clear-eyed takes on racism, war, and the stark differences and interesting similarities between her life in London and Scotland and that with her father's family in Sierra Leone. She's travelled widely and not just as a tourist. She often recalls childhood experiences. One short piece deftly encapsulates the experience of being scared by things that adults assume will be "fun" for kids. At a Disney on Ice performance at the age of six, she is snatched from her seat by a skater costumed as a character she loved, the gentle bear Baloo from The Jungle Book, and taken out on the ice. It reminded me of the scene with the scary Santa and elves from A Christmas Story.

"Baloo up close was not the Baloo of the Jungle Book film or even Baloo of the ice. This Baloo had a face made of plastic, and hard plastic paws. And his eyes were not soft, brown, bear eyes. Through the cut-out holes of the mask, I could see the small, blue eyes of a man. I cried out. I wriggled. And I fought. But Baloo was strong. Baloo held on tight. And then we were on the ice, speeding away from everything I knew. The audience clapped and cheered. 'Take me back,' I cried. And Baloo, my once beautiful Baloo, dug his fingers and thumbs hard into my body, leaned forward and hissed with hot breath into my hear: 'Shut up, you little shit!'"


One of my favorite pieces is about a veterinarian in Sierra Leone who is a friend of hers; the only pet vet in the country. It highlights the difference between how people in Sierra Leone treat animals and how we do in the UK and the US, and how white people sweep in and judge and want to "save the animals," but then disappear, having made little to no difference except for swelling their own sense of superiority and importance. This is similar to how white people handle human issues in other countries. Instead of taking the time to understand or value an unfamiliar culture, or to see how our own culture also has issues we should be addressing, we want to be "saviors" who have it all figured out.

Forna covers so much ground in this book that, it's hard to encapsulate it in a short review, but I enjoyed every piece, learned a lot about places and people I've never visited, and came away with a new perspective on several issues. Well worth a read. I will be reading some of her other work.

I am so glad that I request a copy of this! I have a few titles by Forna on my TBR list, but had never read her work and this was a great introduction. I want to read everything she has written.

Forna is a bit of a globe trotter but she never comes across as boastful of her travels, and years working in various countries. I've been resentful while reading narratives by others who haven't been so fortunate to strike a nice balance in this sense.

Sexism, racism, environmentalism are all topics that are broached, and their relatedness is especially made clear in the later half when discussing 'Bruno' and the Coyote. As someone who considers herself a feminist, I particularly appreciated how Forna seems to live the ideals of feminism (though she doesn't name it as such) in her every day life as well as in her career.

Though I'm told that this constitutes a book of essays, I would classify it more as a memoir, not linear by any means, but definitely autobiographical in nature. Forna's life, and the life of all her ancestors is fascinating and I would love to just read massive volumes of their stories if it were in Forna's descriptive but not too purple prose.

I suppose you could dip and and out of the volume and it may read more as essays, but I dare you t pick this up and not want to consume it in great big hunks like the lovely Victoria Sponge mentioned by the author early on.

A compilation of essays, most were previously published. Reflections from travel, which feel odd during the pandemic.

Non-fiction series of essays the author has written for various publications over the years, plus several new pieces, now consolidated into one place. The common theme is travel or migration, either by choice or necessity. Forna has been a world traveler from a young age. She has lived in a number of places around the globe, including Sierra Leone, Iran, Scotland, England, and the US. Her stories take the reader on a virtual trip to these locales, and others she has visited, portraying vignettes of her experiences in each location.

I have read three of Forna’s novels, and very much enjoy her expressive writing style, so I knew I was in for a treat. She switches seamlessly from serious subjects to humorous anecdotes. She conveys insightful comments about our society. There are a number of essays related to animals – dogs and chimpanzees in Sierra Leone, foxes in London, puffins in Scotland, deer and coyotes in the US. These essays encompass topics such as memories, movement, identity, race, gender, and voice. Highly recommended!