Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)'Cafe d'Afrique' attracted pleasing reviews after its launch in 2009.
"Perth based author Tineke Van der Eecken was born in Belgium, where she studied Criminology. During the 1990s she lived and worked in Zambia where, in addition to working for various government and non-government organizations, she helped run a restaurant offering authentic Zambian cuisine, music and dance. Van der Eecken writes with generosity, frankness and insight; consequently her own character and the others she depicts, such as the wonderful culinary genius Mrs Banda, are revealed in all their flawed beauty against a shifting backdrop of social, political and cultural perceptions and realities. Part-memoir, part-travelogue, part-coming-of-age story, Cafe d'Afrique is a book about making friends, not just with people but with a country."
William Yeoman for The West Australian
"Cafe d'Afrique by Tineke Van der Eecken is a traditional bildungsroman; a structural and stylistic choice that represents both a strength and a weakness. We get to know the author so well we become engrossed in the minutiae of her life, but such a detailed approach definitely risks becoming monotonous. There is no other voice, no outside perspective into her world. While this book may have a tendency to 'tell' rather than 'show', what it does tell is a fascinating story of one woman's sojourn in Africa, and her foray into small business. One of its pleasures is the way it seems to reveal more about the author than she may have intended -- in fact, this is probably one of the best things about it. The way you end up liking Tineke, sympathising with her, and really wishing her -- and her future ventures -- well.
I found myself wanting to know so much more than appears on these pages: more about her mother and, indeed, the rest of her family; more about relationships with men, and friends. What is doing now, and what has been the effect of reflecting on her time in Africa and who she was then? How does she feel about what she didd and who she was? (I'd also love to know how she's found Australia so far, indigenous platitudes aside.)
The attempt to maintain an objective voice, as thought the truth is inevitably told through the marshalling of chronological facts, detracts from the passion and possible insight at the heart of this story. It's about the trials and tribulations Tineke undergoes as she sets up a unique 'cultural restaurant' where locals and tourists alike can sample authentic Zambian cuisine, music and dance -- while still working at her official job. I found myself longing for more interiority. Then again, this book doesn't claim to be a comprehensive autobiography, more a slice of life -- or perhaps I should say a slice out of a life.
While other readers may side with me in wanting more psychological revelations or philosophical reflections, they would be out of character for this author/narrator, which is as good an example as any, of the kind of unconscious disclosure this book seems to offer about Tineke's true character. But, after all, it doesn't claim to be about Tineke, but about Africa (as seen through the story of Cafe d'Afrique). And as such it is an absolute education. It's an honest, informative account of both a particular country and the more general experience of living overseas. The heat and the smells of the continent seem almost to rise from the pages. It is, in the end, perhaps recognised as a mud map; a rough sketch drawn by one traveller for another, an outline of the terrain by someone sho has been there for someone who may go."
Rose Michael for Indigo 5, Journal of West Australian Writing
"Tineke Van der Eecken is a lively writer willing to share her lost idealism, longing, frustrations and achievements, balancing the benefits of her education with what she hopes to share with and learn from Africa. It tastes delicious, spiced with a spread of condiments served on a thousand edible green leaves, that take you to the heart of the expatriate encounter with the Other. Reading this work gives you a window into a world shuttered away. There are people like us, only different, and Tineke helps us get to know our common humanity while sharing her own. A book you will enjoy reading, remembering and sharing."
Adrian Glamorgan, freelance journalist
"One can't help but connect with the author as she shares her experience of living in Africa. The beauty about this book is that as you are led through her time in Africa, you are not left feeling as though Tineke was a mere observer to all that was happening around her, instead she became part of what was and is.
Not a single story, but a well balanced book about the beauties of Africa, its challenges and the different possibilities that still present themselves even today.
A black wall came at me...The bike moved towards the frozen truck in the middle of the road. I heard it crash. This is it, I thought. I am next." At this point in the book for me, Tineke had become part of Africa - she had given until it hurt. I could relate even more, and any doubts about her sincerity, love and compassion for Africa were wiped away. I now hoped for a happy ending."
George Mutale, Atihow
"In Cafe d'Afrique, young, naive and somewhat idealistic Tineke, living in Zambia, is creating opportunities to give more exposure to African culture. It proves to be a hard ride. She comes across swindlers, gets cheated, has to cope with corruption and tackle bureaucracy. A dream threatens to become a nightmare. At the end Cafe d'Afrique has to close its doors but Tineke has grown into a mature, grown up young woman. "The fruit bearing tree I had nurtured was not the Café, it had always and only ever been myself". A very honest book explaining why people fall in love with Africa against all odds."
Guy Poppe, journalist and Africa-analyst
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