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magsmcwelch's review
5.0
LOVE this book. Also unconvinced that I wasn't Beryl Markham in a previous life after reading.
judithdcollins's review
5.0
A special thank you to Random House/Ballantine Book and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Love, the cover!
CIRCLING THE SUN by talented Paula McClain returns after The Paris Wife, with another sensational contemporary historical fiction of love and exotic adventures of Kenya, bringing characters to life, while blending fact and fiction.
Delivering an engrossing voice to ’20s aviator, Beryl Markham, a daring, and extraordinary woman of this exciting era! As much as Beryl loved horses, airplanes and affairs---she also had a deep love and affection for the land of Kenya, prominent throughout the novel.
Set in the 1920’s in Kenya, a stunning story of the beautiful, impetuous, and non-conformist, Beryl Markham, a British-born Kenyan aviator (one of the first bush pilots), an adventurer, racehorse trainer and author. During the pioneer days of aviation, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west in 1936, and the author of the memoir West with the Night.
Born, into the Clutterbuck family in the village of Ashwell, in the county of Rutland, England, the daughter of Charles Baldwin, an accomplished horse trainer, and Clara Agnes, with an older brother Richard "Dickie".
When she was four years old, her father moved the family to Kenya, which was then colonial British East Africa. He purchased a farm in Njoro near the Great Rift Valley from, and worked for Hugh Cholmondeley. Although her mother disliked the isolation and promptly returned to England, Beryl stayed in Kenya with her father, where she spent an adventurous and rather wild childhood learning, playing, and hunting with the natives. On her family's farm, she developed a knowledge of and love for horses. As a young adult, she became the first licensed female horse trainer in Kenya.
Though marriages, tangled love affairs, complications, gossip, and scandal Markham continues to push boundaries. She befriended the Danish writer Karen Blixen during the years that Baroness Blixen was managing her family's coffee farm in the Ngong hills outside Nairobi. When Blixen's romantic connection with the hunter and pilot Denys Finch Hatton was winding down, Markham started her own affair with him.
I love strong women, with an eccentric flair; pushing boundaries—A trailblazer; complex, bold, rebellious and courageous heroine—with independence, passion, drive and turbulent love affairs! An engrossing story of an incredible woman who lived and triumphed over hardships and heart break, with gossip and scandal which surround her. Ultimately, a journey of self-discovery, a pioneer in primarily two male dominated fields.
McLain captivates you with a bold account and breathtaking views of Africa---bringing descriptive vivid settings and characters which jump off the page for a well-written and an absorbing read. (I adore books about books, and books about famous authors from former eras- fascinating and intriguing!)
Fans of the 1985 classic movie “Out of Africa” will enjoy the rivalry between Markham and author Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) over the affections of hunter Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford). If you have not read The Paris Wife, recommend, as well as CIRCLING THE SUN.
JDCMustReadBooks
CIRCLING THE SUN by talented Paula McClain returns after The Paris Wife, with another sensational contemporary historical fiction of love and exotic adventures of Kenya, bringing characters to life, while blending fact and fiction.
Delivering an engrossing voice to ’20s aviator, Beryl Markham, a daring, and extraordinary woman of this exciting era! As much as Beryl loved horses, airplanes and affairs---she also had a deep love and affection for the land of Kenya, prominent throughout the novel.
Set in the 1920’s in Kenya, a stunning story of the beautiful, impetuous, and non-conformist, Beryl Markham, a British-born Kenyan aviator (one of the first bush pilots), an adventurer, racehorse trainer and author. During the pioneer days of aviation, she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west in 1936, and the author of the memoir West with the Night.
Born, into the Clutterbuck family in the village of Ashwell, in the county of Rutland, England, the daughter of Charles Baldwin, an accomplished horse trainer, and Clara Agnes, with an older brother Richard "Dickie".
When she was four years old, her father moved the family to Kenya, which was then colonial British East Africa. He purchased a farm in Njoro near the Great Rift Valley from, and worked for Hugh Cholmondeley. Although her mother disliked the isolation and promptly returned to England, Beryl stayed in Kenya with her father, where she spent an adventurous and rather wild childhood learning, playing, and hunting with the natives. On her family's farm, she developed a knowledge of and love for horses. As a young adult, she became the first licensed female horse trainer in Kenya.
Though marriages, tangled love affairs, complications, gossip, and scandal Markham continues to push boundaries. She befriended the Danish writer Karen Blixen during the years that Baroness Blixen was managing her family's coffee farm in the Ngong hills outside Nairobi. When Blixen's romantic connection with the hunter and pilot Denys Finch Hatton was winding down, Markham started her own affair with him.
I love strong women, with an eccentric flair; pushing boundaries—A trailblazer; complex, bold, rebellious and courageous heroine—with independence, passion, drive and turbulent love affairs! An engrossing story of an incredible woman who lived and triumphed over hardships and heart break, with gossip and scandal which surround her. Ultimately, a journey of self-discovery, a pioneer in primarily two male dominated fields.
McLain captivates you with a bold account and breathtaking views of Africa---bringing descriptive vivid settings and characters which jump off the page for a well-written and an absorbing read. (I adore books about books, and books about famous authors from former eras- fascinating and intriguing!)
Fans of the 1985 classic movie “Out of Africa” will enjoy the rivalry between Markham and author Karen Blixen (Meryl Streep) over the affections of hunter Denys Finch Hatton (Robert Redford). If you have not read The Paris Wife, recommend, as well as CIRCLING THE SUN.
JDCMustReadBooks
jacki_f's review
4.0
I had never heard of Beryl Markham before picking up this book, but what a fascinating life that woman lived! Born in England but raised in Kenya by her father who was a horse trainer, Beryl rubbed shoulders with the Happy Valley set, was close friends with Karen Blixen (the author of Out of Africa), possibly had an affair with Queen Elizabeth's uncle and was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic from East to West. Add to this colourful life some truly intoxicating descriptions of Kenya and you have a "can't put down" book. I loved reading it and now I am dying to read more about that period in history and of course to re-watch Out of Africa (although Beryl does not figure in it).
This is an immensely readable book - we are swept along by Beryl's eventful life and if anything, the flaw is that so much happened to her that it might have been better to leave some for a sequel. The book only focuses on 11 years of her life. Her aviation career only takes shape very near the book's end and adds little to the story. Wikipedia also tells me some tantalising facts about her life which didn't make it into the book - for example several affairs, including one with Antoine de Saint Expury. Instead, Circling the Sun is centered on the great love of her life (and also of Karen Blixen's): Denys Hatton.
While Beryl is fascinating, I didn't always feel that I fully understood her and I couldn't quite decide if I liked her or not. Apparently Ernest Hemingway described her as "very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch", and there is enough suggestion in here about why he might have felt that way. She seemed to be someone who used and discarded the people around her and she didn't exhibit much loyalty to her friend Karen. Her relationship with the Duke of Gloucester is written in an ambiguous way, which I thought was a cop out of the part of the author - this isn't a biography, so make a decision about what you think happened!
This is an immensely readable book - we are swept along by Beryl's eventful life and if anything, the flaw is that so much happened to her that it might have been better to leave some for a sequel. The book only focuses on 11 years of her life. Her aviation career only takes shape very near the book's end and adds little to the story. Wikipedia also tells me some tantalising facts about her life which didn't make it into the book - for example several affairs, including one with Antoine de Saint Expury. Instead, Circling the Sun is centered on the great love of her life (and also of Karen Blixen's): Denys Hatton.
While Beryl is fascinating, I didn't always feel that I fully understood her and I couldn't quite decide if I liked her or not. Apparently Ernest Hemingway described her as "very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch", and there is enough suggestion in here about why he might have felt that way. She seemed to be someone who used and discarded the people around her and she didn't exhibit much loyalty to her friend Karen. Her relationship with the Duke of Gloucester is written in an ambiguous way, which I thought was a cop out of the part of the author - this isn't a biography, so make a decision about what you think happened!
ilovestory's review
4.0
I loved learning about Beryl Markham, an extraordinary woman whose story made me see the beauty of Africa I'd never understood before. She was unorthodox, daring, tough, smart and incredibly interesting. I'm now reading her memoir and loving that as well.
barbaraskalberg's review
3.0
3.5
I enjoyed this fictionalized account of a real woman who grew up in colonial Kenya in the 1920's much more than The Paris Wife. Beryl Markham is a little bit of a hero to me now.
I enjoyed this fictionalized account of a real woman who grew up in colonial Kenya in the 1920's much more than The Paris Wife. Beryl Markham is a little bit of a hero to me now.
calhounk15's review against another edition
3.0
This book took me a lot longer to finish than expected. I think you need to be in a historical fiction mood for this book.