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Summary: Kenya is painted in its beauty and invaluable otherness.
Review: Francesca shares the awesome beauty of Kenya in a way that the reader can smell,feel and taste. Her description of the gulf between cultures of Africa and the West is the essence of the book. Oh, this is a land and a people that won't let itself be swallowed by western culture. We will in fact be deeply affected by this land and these people. I would love to see Marciano's documentaries.
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Summary: a lush, sensitive narrative... poetic and promising
Review: This novel combined rich, tantalizing language with a sensitive, aware perspective. Esme, a woman struggling to understand her own nature and the world around her, captures the reader's admiration and attention. The author critiques without ever being preachy, skillfully testing the boundries of a society we've never known and yet mirrors our own lives. Perfect.
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Summary: Wild
Review: For starters, this book is written just like a screenplay. Marciano's writing is good, but she could do without the profanity. The book is mainly about how people try to find fulfillment in life through relationships with the opposite sex, they go from person to person using them up like old shoes. I wasn't satisfied with the ending, it seemed like a vicious cycle. Rules of the Wild really showed you how people could have every material possession and still have nothing.
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Summary: Remarkable!
Review: For those of you who have loved someone completely at the wrong time in life. This is a story of a passionate love.
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Summary: A fast-paced romance through the wilds of scenic Africa
Review: This book flows with a fluidity and intelligence not found in most works with romance as a center theme. Marciano combines the complexities of male/female relationships with the lushness of the African wilds, producing a rich tale of life among the subdued colors of the African landscape. Powerful, erotic, and compelling, Marciano draws you into the world of confused romance, instinctual lust, betrayal, and unrequited love for a insightful look at life in which the "rules" change as frequently as the seasons. A great overall read.
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Summary: Thought provoking and stimulating
Review: I found Francesca's book well-written and captivating. I believe that she has a gift for story-telling. I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: Inspiring and beautiful
Review: Beautifully written. I haven't read a book I enjoyed more in a long time. Yes, Esme (and most of the female expatriates )was dependent on a man for her happiness but she strikes a cord with the struggle most young women have in regard to finding meaning in their lives outside of a mate. It may not be admirable but it is true in many cases and I felt hopeful for her at the end. Her view of Africa seemed realistic and extremely sad, a tragedy what Africa is becoming. I couldn't help but compare the Africans plight to that of Native Americans who were unable to assimilate into the new society. Her descriptions were excellent, I could physcially feel the weight of the endless sky above her. I couldn't stop reading this book but at the same time I didn't want to finish it.
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Summary: Highly sensitive achievement for a young author.
Review: Few people are able to express experiences and observations with clarity, power, and conviction at any age, let alone at twenty-something. This first time novelist has managed to extract lessons from her experiences and convey messages that will resonate with intelligent, sensitive people of any age anywhere in the world. Warmest congratulations to Francesca Marciano on having succeeded so well at such a difficult task.
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Summary: Fluid prose, vivid characters, spectacular imagery ...
Review: Esme meets Africa for the first time largely by fluke. She finds much to love and hate, but in time, her lover settles under her skin.
In this crisp, fluid novel, Marciano brings us into the lives and hearts of the contemporary white community in Kenya. She offers an accurate, if cynical, lens into its comforts, conflicts and uneasy contact with the larger community.
Through her deft use of metaphor and down-to-earth dialogue, Marciano evokes a rare intimacy with her superficial, self-absorbed but earnestly-portrayed characters. She also uses vivid imagery in describing the landscape of Kenya and strong specificity in her setting - from Yaya shopping center to the midnight BA flight and Omo detergent - and comes across as one who really knows Esme's Kenya.
Rating: 
Summary: Rules of the Wild
Review: Boring. Reminded me of the Bonfire of the Vanities only set in Africa. And it only seemed like Africa from a concocted movie set. The characters were soap-operatic. Esme, the main character had all the other characters telling her how deep she is and yet her actions throughout the book are sophmoric. The idea of juxtapositioning the raw nature of Africa against the violence of the humanity that actually occupies Africa as home is what drew me to the book. But not enough description of the beauty as well as not enough explanation/focus of the political events. Only the drivel of drinking, drugging, sex, and unreal dialogue of the white privileged class.
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