Book Review – What Kind Of Girl? by Caroline Kautsire

First published, 2020

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What Kind Of Girl? follows the life story of the author from her childhood in Malawi to her journey as a young woman to America. As a tomboy in South Eastern Africa, with cultural influences ranging from her mother’s kitchen to an affluent girls’ school to attitude-packed American TV, Ms Kautsire seems to have always had faith in herself and her abilities and, at this time of such uncertainty in the world, I really enjoyed reading about her.

This is the second time I’ve read an autobiography of somebody at the start of her career. Although two points make a line, not a pattern, I’ve got to say, I really like this approach. It seems like a very constructive use of time for a young performer, to get the first part of the autobiography written before they hit the big-time, when everything from childhood will be that much further away, and they, presumably, won’t have the sort of time to write the book that they would have had earlier in their careers.

Ms Kautsire writes with intelligence and empathy and it’s pretty clear that she knows she had a fairly blessed upbringing, with a supportive family and household staff, but I loved hearing about her drive to succeed. Because although it feels like destiny, there will be work and struggle, and Ms Kautsire seems to relish the prospect of it all.

It’s been a delight to get to know her.

https://amzn.to/3IloHlv