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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
medium-paced
Overall I enjoyed this book. the scattered nature of the stories bothered me and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but I liked the variety of the stories. the authors tone was fun for me.
This book was very well written, but I just wasn't feeling it. She had an excellent perspective on life in Africa, but I just wasn't interested.
adventurous
slow-paced
Beryl's memoir of her life in Africa before the Second World War, both as a pilot and as a horsewoman, is a look into a place and time that no longer exist. We are with her in her childhood in the bush, living on a farm with her father and spending her days hunting and playing with her dog. It is a wild life, where danger genuinely lurks in the tall grass and where Beryl's own wild spirit is allowed to fly - in more ways than one.
What a unique life! I enjoyed the anecdotal stories and imagining living during this time of change, what guts Beryl had to have to do the things she did. Beryl is a thoughtful memoirist, if not sometimes blatantly revealing her own prejudices. The relationships between the colonizers and the colonized is a complex one here where there is, maybe, true care but also clearly a hierarchical understanding of status. I can appreciate the ways she broke barriers and found ways to pursue the things she loved. I will say, there is little here about personal relationships unless it is with a mentor or a childhood friend. It's not that kind of story. It is about animals and hunting, airplanes and the flying of them. The hunting parts were not my favorite but overall, I am once again grateful for Book Club that brought a new book into my hands. Three and a half stars.
What a unique life! I enjoyed the anecdotal stories and imagining living during this time of change, what guts Beryl had to have to do the things she did. Beryl is a thoughtful memoirist, if not sometimes blatantly revealing her own prejudices. The relationships between the colonizers and the colonized is a complex one here where there is, maybe, true care but also clearly a hierarchical understanding of status. I can appreciate the ways she broke barriers and found ways to pursue the things she loved. I will say, there is little here about personal relationships unless it is with a mentor or a childhood friend. It's not that kind of story. It is about animals and hunting, airplanes and the flying of them. The hunting parts were not my favorite but overall, I am once again grateful for Book Club that brought a new book into my hands. Three and a half stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I enjoyed Markham's writing immensely. It had an amazing lyrical quality that almost felt like she was telling her story aloud to an audience; she used language, imagery, and phrasing to great effect.
I liked the stories about Markam's childhood, her dog Buller, and riding horses (and flying planes) in the sweeping grandeur of a landscape as wild and big and empty as Africa.
However, there's something about the book that doesn't feel quite genuine. It is filled with good-natured friendship and bonhomie, but doesn't address any drama, or hard times, or ill feeling. Before reading the book, I heard a podcast about Markham's life that suggested that she went through a lot: parents' divorce when she was very young, jealousy of her father's new mistress, the death of her brother, several of her own romantic entanglements...
The book is full of adventures, and I enjoyed it immensely, but I felt like Markham created a "good parts version" of her own story and a slightly too-perfect heroine to go along with it.
I liked the stories about Markam's childhood, her dog Buller, and riding horses (and flying planes) in the sweeping grandeur of a landscape as wild and big and empty as Africa.
However, there's something about the book that doesn't feel quite genuine. It is filled with good-natured friendship and bonhomie, but doesn't address any drama, or hard times, or ill feeling. Before reading the book, I heard a podcast about Markham's life that suggested that she went through a lot: parents' divorce when she was very young, jealousy of her father's new mistress, the death of her brother, several of her own romantic entanglements...
The book is full of adventures, and I enjoyed it immensely, but I felt like Markham created a "good parts version" of her own story and a slightly too-perfect heroine to go along with it.
Lovely, lyrical prose about Africa and flying. Of course there are dated colonial ideas and interpretations, but the spirit and adventure are high. Beside, I have a soft spot for adventurous Beryls of the 1920 - 1930s.
