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hopecaldwell's review
3.0
Fictional story of the real Beryl Markham, a woman who accomplished amazing things professionally but never seemed to manage relationships. The depiction of colonial Kenya is interesting and mirrors the storyline and some characters from Out of Africa.
littletaiko's review
3.0
How is that I've never heard of Beryl Markham before now? It seems that from an aviation perspective she should be as commonly known as Amelia Earhart. A fictionalized account of her life, the author does a nice job of showing us what life in Kenya was like in the early 1900's. However, I would have preferred less focus on the love story part of the book and more about the horse training and her later years as a pilot.
mawalker1962's review against another edition
5.0
I've been thinking about this book ever since I finished it two days ago. I knew about Beryl Markham as the first woman to cross the Atlantic easy to west--none years after Lindbergh did it in the other direction. Amazing enough, but reading this beautifully researched fictional account of her life gave me some sense of the woman she must have been--of her longing for autonomy and how difficult to achieve female autonomy must have been in her time and place. It's a rare book that has me thinking about it days after I turn the last page.
bethtmorris's review
3.0
3.5. Loved the spirit of this book. Didn't think the writing was that strong.
ja3m3's review
3.0
This is a hard book to review because I have read Beryl Markham's memoir [b:West with the Night|1624|West with the Night|Beryl Markham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1368204688l/1624._SY75_.jpg|192528] and I absolutely loved it. I enjoyed this book for what it is - a fictional account of Markham's personal and sexual life, but she was so much more than her love affairs. Read [b:West with the Night|1624|West with the Night|Beryl Markham|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1368204688l/1624._SY75_.jpg|192528] to get an essence of who she really was and loved - Kenya.
caseysilk's review
4.0
If they had half stars I would be giving this a four and a half! Paula McLain wrote the wonderful Mrs. Hemingway about Hadley, Hemingway's first wife and she doesn't disappoint in her fictionalized account of Beryl Markham. Markham was a Brit raised in Kenya and was a pioneer in so many ways including being the first woman to fly across the Atlantic from west to east. She was also a racehorse trainer, author and bush pilot. Beryl also had her share of husbands and lovers alike. McLain does an amazing job bringing Beryl to life and hopefully will lead you to also read Beryl Markham's autobiography West With The Night.
kiwialexa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Death, Colonisation, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Abortion, Gaslighting, Animal death, and Pregnancy
margaretmechinus's review
5.0
So good. So good. I had read Beryls own book about her life, West of the Night, and was already intrigued about the main character in this novel. It is filled with other real and fascinating characters, like Karen Blixon who wrote Out of Africa. I don't know how much was true and how much was fiction, but it was wonderfully written. Compelling story.
lurdesabruscato's review
5.0
The author of The Paris Wife takes on another amazing woman from history, Beryl Markham, and creates a sweeping fictionalized memoir in Circling the Sun. Her richly detailed 1920s Africa is both beautifully romanticized (safaris, untouched savannas, a land with boundless potential) and painfully realistic (witness the rippling effects of colonialism). Beryl, a talented horse trainer and record-setting aviator, is a complex mixture of free spirit, vulnerable ingénue and undaunted pioneer.
knynas1's review
4.0
This book had vivid imagery of Kenya as well as England. It was a great storyline and Beryl was an amazing woman. I wish more if the book had gone into her flying days as well.