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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
This book took me forever to read but I’m glad I did. There were places where the writing was done really well. I have read a lot about the racism of the author and seen some people rate the book lower because of that. I did notice her racist perspective of the native Africans but I do believe a lot of that was the mindset of the day and even if it went further than that, it is her perspective and thoughts and worth reading as part of history. I’m not saying her perspective was right or trying to justify it In any way but I am also not going to give the book a lower rating because of it.
This version had both out of Africa and Shadows on the Grass. I should have just read the first half. The second portion while expanding on people and situations had too much repetition from the first book, and slowed the pace.
I had to war within myself, and my utter hatred of colonization, and racism, and continually remind myself what years this takes place. I was horrified and annoyed at many things she wrote here. While also in awe of her adventure like spirit. The writing was well done, you can tell these are not her first published books. She has both a lyrical and a fun way of describing her adventures.
Anyone who reads this should read King Leopold's Ghost - though set in the Congo it gives the story of the horrors that the African people faced at the hands of Northern Europeans, and it is something I thought about a lot as Dinesen (nee Karen Blixen) talked about playing doctor to her "squatters" on her land.
I had to war within myself, and my utter hatred of colonization, and racism, and continually remind myself what years this takes place. I was horrified and annoyed at many things she wrote here. While also in awe of her adventure like spirit. The writing was well done, you can tell these are not her first published books. She has both a lyrical and a fun way of describing her adventures.
Anyone who reads this should read King Leopold's Ghost - though set in the Congo it gives the story of the horrors that the African people faced at the hands of Northern Europeans, and it is something I thought about a lot as Dinesen (nee Karen Blixen) talked about playing doctor to her "squatters" on her land.
It's a fascinating look into another place and another time. You got the sense that the author was an amazing person! The book just really makes me wish I could have met her.
I fell in love with the completely different social and cultural conventions of the varying people that Blixen came into contact with while in Nairobi. The book explores the natives of Kenya and Europeans reacting to each others' cultures. There were touching, melancholy, and eye-opening moments. Each person I met in the book was so vivid, and I was hardly bored through my entire listen.
Quick notes: 1. this is more a discussion about the book rather than a review, and 2. because Isak Dinesen is a pseudonym, I will use "Blixen" to refer to the author.
Racism, colonialism and white supremacy
I read some reviews on audible that inform about the history of European colonisation in Kenya and how Europeans repressed the native people’s culture, and therefore gave the book the label of ignorant colonialist racism, but Blixen actually discussed some of the harsh laws Europeans made, saying that she believed certain restrictions on the native people were unreasonable. So although the history is true, the laws do not reflect ALL european views, especially the author's.
Some reviews also said how Blixen seemed to take on the tone of owning and caring for the native people as a superior white person, which she did briefly, but it was so jarring because for the rest of the book she wrote about the natives very respectfully. I don’t think this book is racist, although it is in rather dangerous territory, with Blixen being the provider for African workers soon after colonisation. Blixen depicted them as being dependent on her to live (wages, medicine etc.), but clearly showed these native people as being independent, so I found it hard to believe they would ever fully conform to their employer like a slave – there are even multiple anecdotes where certain natives disobeyed their European employer. Blixen did seem to have a high view of herself, though I only despised her for it in one passage when she made her workers carry bath water for her while they were on a long journey. It may also seem that she perceived the native people as being primitive and childlike (and therefore lesser), but she only explicitly stated it once, though it may seem implied for the rest of the book because the natives spoke in limited English and were inexperienced and uninterested in most modern technology. But she described them similarly to the way she described non-African people she met, with the exception that the African people tended to be more unaware of the European social conventions, so I don't think she was intentionally alienating the natives. But I still strongly disagree with the book on its ideas of white supremacy, though I just want to say that this outdated view of supremacism, when put in context of culture and time, couldn’t be helped – society is always changing, and sometimes it leads to biased thoughts, but because it’s human (and as long as it’s not hurtful), I find it fascinating and justified. I don’t want to get into an all-out talk about racism, though, but if there’s some more historical information on Blixen, Kenya’s colonisation or other race stuff in general, it’d be nice to know.
Audiobook stuff
Audiobooks made reading effortless, but concentration difficult, so I only had the chance to listen at very specific times, which is why it took me so long. Susan Lyons did an amazing job – I usually can’t stand female narrators but the deep, smooth timbre and regal tone of her voice engulfed me and flew me to the high altitude of Blixen's coffee farm. I’m almost 100% sure that if I read this on paper I would’ve been bored to death, considering the first paragraphs I read of the physical book did exactly that, though I can’t really assume because I continued with only audio. Although I found Blixen’s voice soothing, I saw some reviews that complained about the high-and-mighty tone of her voice. For me, it enhanced the book, but I can see how it can come off as detached, considering the dangerous waters of European colonialism it is floating on.
Movie Adaptation confusion
I found it very amusing, how people read Out of Africa expecting a plotline or a version of the movie adaptation. I in fact read this book because I have the movie adaptation, but I was still pleasantly surprised at the wonderful recounting – but this might be because I never had the time to crack the DVD case open and actually watch the movie. This book very definitely belongs to non-fiction, but I think there is still confusion due to the book sometimes being in the fiction section for some reason.
tldr:
Definitely go for this book if you want to experience heartwarming and intriguing slices of life from a Danish woman's adventures and relationships centred around her memories from Nairobi, and try the audiobook narrated by Susan Lyons if possible. Otherwise I can definitely see how this could be a bore if memoirs and culture aren't interesting to the reader. To conclude, this is a new favourite, and I’m looking forward to re-listening to this in the future when I have the time! :)
Quick notes: 1. this is more a discussion about the book rather than a review, and 2. because Isak Dinesen is a pseudonym, I will use "Blixen" to refer to the author.
Racism, colonialism and white supremacy
I read some reviews on audible that inform about the history of European colonisation in Kenya and how Europeans repressed the native people’s culture, and therefore gave the book the label of ignorant colonialist racism, but Blixen actually discussed some of the harsh laws Europeans made, saying that she believed certain restrictions on the native people were unreasonable. So although the history is true, the laws do not reflect ALL european views, especially the author's.
Some reviews also said how Blixen seemed to take on the tone of owning and caring for the native people as a superior white person, which she did briefly, but it was so jarring because for the rest of the book she wrote about the natives very respectfully. I don’t think this book is racist, although it is in rather dangerous territory, with Blixen being the provider for African workers soon after colonisation. Blixen depicted them as being dependent on her to live (wages, medicine etc.), but clearly showed these native people as being independent, so I found it hard to believe they would ever fully conform to their employer like a slave – there are even multiple anecdotes where certain natives disobeyed their European employer. Blixen did seem to have a high view of herself, though I only despised her for it in one passage when she made her workers carry bath water for her while they were on a long journey. It may also seem that she perceived the native people as being primitive and childlike (and therefore lesser), but she only explicitly stated it once, though it may seem implied for the rest of the book because the natives spoke in limited English and were inexperienced and uninterested in most modern technology. But she described them similarly to the way she described non-African people she met, with the exception that the African people tended to be more unaware of the European social conventions, so I don't think she was intentionally alienating the natives. But I still strongly disagree with the book on its ideas of white supremacy, though I just want to say that this outdated view of supremacism, when put in context of culture and time, couldn’t be helped – society is always changing, and sometimes it leads to biased thoughts, but because it’s human (and as long as it’s not hurtful), I find it fascinating and justified. I don’t want to get into an all-out talk about racism, though, but if there’s some more historical information on Blixen, Kenya’s colonisation or other race stuff in general, it’d be nice to know.
Audiobook stuff
Audiobooks made reading effortless, but concentration difficult, so I only had the chance to listen at very specific times, which is why it took me so long. Susan Lyons did an amazing job – I usually can’t stand female narrators but the deep, smooth timbre and regal tone of her voice engulfed me and flew me to the high altitude of Blixen's coffee farm. I’m almost 100% sure that if I read this on paper I would’ve been bored to death, considering the first paragraphs I read of the physical book did exactly that, though I can’t really assume because I continued with only audio. Although I found Blixen’s voice soothing, I saw some reviews that complained about the high-and-mighty tone of her voice. For me, it enhanced the book, but I can see how it can come off as detached, considering the dangerous waters of European colonialism it is floating on.
Movie Adaptation confusion
I found it very amusing, how people read Out of Africa expecting a plotline or a version of the movie adaptation. I in fact read this book because I have the movie adaptation, but I was still pleasantly surprised at the wonderful recounting – but this might be because I never had the time to crack the DVD case open and actually watch the movie. This book very definitely belongs to non-fiction, but I think there is still confusion due to the book sometimes being in the fiction section for some reason.
tldr:
Definitely go for this book if you want to experience heartwarming and intriguing slices of life from a Danish woman's adventures and relationships centred around her memories from Nairobi, and try the audiobook narrated by Susan Lyons if possible. Otherwise I can definitely see how this could be a bore if memoirs and culture aren't interesting to the reader. To conclude, this is a new favourite, and I’m looking forward to re-listening to this in the future when I have the time! :)
It's not a bad book, but I don't know that I was particularly in a mood for something so meandering.
Best part was the mention of the manatee, the one animal not shot in this book. An introduction as to why Karen went to Africa and stayed would have been nice. The book seemed to start in the middle without a good introduction, which made caring about the stories hard