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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
A lush, languid, deep, and beautiful memoir of Africa. It’s a short book - you could easily read through it on a lazy afternoon and be forever enriched.
While much of the writing on the book reminds you of the fresh, crisp air of her farm in the Ngong hills, it's hard not to feel pulled down by the ugly sentiments expressed throughout that routinely compare Africans (the "natives") to wild and domesticated animals. Blixen's book is so firmly grounded in the racialism of the colonial state that parts of the book are extremely hard to get through. Yet at its core, one can still sense her wonder and amusement with (much of) her situation, despite the ultimate failure of her plans.
Out of Africa is intensely descriptive in painting the places, people and events of Blixen’s coffee plantation. One could understand if readers abandon the book half way through on the realisation that apart from detailed recounts of day to day happenings, absolutely nothing happens in this book. This is precisely why the book appeals to me, you spend the entire book wondering what the hell was actually going on in her life and why it is that she purposefully brushes over the true and tender experiences by focusing on the mundane.
Blixen’s writings mention in passing a husband and subsequent divorce, but a true recount is never imparted. The intense relationship and cohabitation with Denys also begs many questions about their intimacy as friends. I am yet to see the film, but it would appear that the film takes the creative license to speculate on these matters of personal drama. The colonial mindset prevalent in the attitudes and tones of Blixen, while backwards by todays moral standings, is a fascinating insight into the European experience of colonial Africa.
It is a dense book to get through, but well work the effort.
Blixen’s writings mention in passing a husband and subsequent divorce, but a true recount is never imparted. The intense relationship and cohabitation with Denys also begs many questions about their intimacy as friends. I am yet to see the film, but it would appear that the film takes the creative license to speculate on these matters of personal drama. The colonial mindset prevalent in the attitudes and tones of Blixen, while backwards by todays moral standings, is a fascinating insight into the European experience of colonial Africa.
It is a dense book to get through, but well work the effort.
Beautifully written and insightful. Karen Blixen's humanity, intelligence and artistry for storytelling shines through in this gem. Highly recommended.
There’s a part of me that wants to pretend to have gotten what many find so great about “Out of Africa”. Let me give that part its say.
Karen Blixen, whose real name is oh-so-much better than her pseudonym of Isak Dinesen, shares her love of Africa via beautifully succinct, unembellished sentences that capture the heartache one feels when parting from a loved one or, in this case, a loved place.
And now some words from the rest of me.
I don't get what's supposed to be so great about this. What am I missing?
1. I love Africa. It’s appealing in an array of ways – if none so much as, being the “forgotten” continent, it draws far fewer tourists than the others. Save, I suppose, Antarctica.
2. I’ve always liked the “City boy/girl dropped into the wilderness” type stories.
3. I'm fond of a good love story (“good” = nothing by Nicholas Sparks, just to be clear)
4. I haven’t seen the film version of “Out of Africa” so I was coming to the book fresh.
Alas, still no good. My overwhelming response to “Out of Africa” is “Lack of Interest”. It just didn’t capture me. Karen Blixen spins a nice sentence, but they weave like clouds in the sky that I stare up into while slowly drifting off …
Oh! Where was I?
Yes, there are some bits here that upset me. Like those parts about trophy hunting or Blixen’s seeming indifference to the natives (also, on a governmental scale, the fact that the poor natives had no right to buy property despite being THE NATIVES) but I understand – this was written in a different time. In any case, nothing Blixen writes here could be mistaken for [b:Mein Kampf|54270|Mein Kampf|Adolf Hitler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1395618385s/54270.jpg|2049624].
Nor could it be mistaken for Karl Ove Knausgård’s [b:My Struggle|39323821|My Struggle (#1, #2, #3)|Karl Ove Knausgård|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1522663788s/39323821.jpg|60940266], with its entrancing language that draws you in. Blixen’s is more like a personal diary that a Danish woman keeps while in Africa. She's just writing at a time when traveling was expensive and not quite as common, especially in Africa.
Reading this reminded me of another, much better, Danish product – the film “After the Wedding” starring Mads Mikkelsen and directed by Susanne Bier. That story also concerns a Dane who leaves their home country for the “uncivilized” world, but the issues addressed within are much deeper than anything you’ll find in “Out of Africa”.
Or at least, that’s my takeaway.
Karen Blixen, whose real name is oh-so-much better than her pseudonym of Isak Dinesen, shares her love of Africa via beautifully succinct, unembellished sentences that capture the heartache one feels when parting from a loved one or, in this case, a loved place.
And now some words from the rest of me.
I don't get what's supposed to be so great about this. What am I missing?
1. I love Africa. It’s appealing in an array of ways – if none so much as, being the “forgotten” continent, it draws far fewer tourists than the others. Save, I suppose, Antarctica.
2. I’ve always liked the “City boy/girl dropped into the wilderness” type stories.
3. I'm fond of a good love story (“good” = nothing by Nicholas Sparks, just to be clear)
4. I haven’t seen the film version of “Out of Africa” so I was coming to the book fresh.
Alas, still no good. My overwhelming response to “Out of Africa” is “Lack of Interest”. It just didn’t capture me. Karen Blixen spins a nice sentence, but they weave like clouds in the sky that I stare up into while slowly drifting off …
Oh! Where was I?
Yes, there are some bits here that upset me. Like those parts about trophy hunting or Blixen’s seeming indifference to the natives (also, on a governmental scale, the fact that the poor natives had no right to buy property despite being THE NATIVES) but I understand – this was written in a different time. In any case, nothing Blixen writes here could be mistaken for [b:Mein Kampf|54270|Mein Kampf|Adolf Hitler|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1395618385s/54270.jpg|2049624].
Nor could it be mistaken for Karl Ove Knausgård’s [b:My Struggle|39323821|My Struggle (#1, #2, #3)|Karl Ove Knausgård|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1522663788s/39323821.jpg|60940266], with its entrancing language that draws you in. Blixen’s is more like a personal diary that a Danish woman keeps while in Africa. She's just writing at a time when traveling was expensive and not quite as common, especially in Africa.
Reading this reminded me of another, much better, Danish product – the film “After the Wedding” starring Mads Mikkelsen and directed by Susanne Bier. That story also concerns a Dane who leaves their home country for the “uncivilized” world, but the issues addressed within are much deeper than anything you’ll find in “Out of Africa”.
Or at least, that’s my takeaway.
A book similar to a grand and vast painting that illuminated the beauty of the world around but takes time and effort to truly appreciate each tiny detail. The book was beautifully written, and described Colonial Kenya in a way that made it really come to life, but for me it was also a slow read. As each chapter came to the end, I put the book down in favor of the distraction of the moment, not to return until I sought it out. Overall, I’m glad I’ve read it but don’t think I’ll be revisiting it anytime soon.
I had high hopes for this book but was sadly disappointed. Unfortunately, it was just boring. I was ready to be swept away by descriptions of beautiful Africa. The writing was descriptive, but I just wasn’t interested. This is a non-fiction read that was trying to be a story but it just did not work for me.
2/5
2/5
This is one of those classics I've always wanted to read. I was really pleased. It was an interesting book.
The only reason this doesn't have a 1 star is that I liked the deer story, and that was in the first 50 pages, the rest was just a waste of time and vomit of words.
This book has to be put into its historical context, but once it is, it is highly enjoyable. I was delighted to find out that instead of describing her love affairs (as in the film adaptation), Karen Blixen describes her life as the early 20th-century businesswoman that she was. The unique story of a unique woman.