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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
J'ai été séduite par les descriptions de Karen Blixen. Elles sont si réelles qu'on s'y croirait.
Ma note finale pour ce livre serait plutôt 4.5 que 5, et cela parce que je n'ai pas compris l'insert de la partie 4 dans le roman, qui est une série d'images ou souvenirs de Blixen et non pas une continuation de l'histoire.
Cette édition comporte aussi une petite notice biographique intéressante.
Ma note finale pour ce livre serait plutôt 4.5 que 5, et cela parce que je n'ai pas compris l'insert de la partie 4 dans le roman, qui est une série d'images ou souvenirs de Blixen et non pas une continuation de l'histoire.
Cette édition comporte aussi une petite notice biographique intéressante.
"Min Afrikanske Farm" fungerer som fortælling ikke rigtig for mig. Bogen er fortalt i temaer, hvilket betyder at historien springer og ikke hænger så godt sammen. Altså den kronologiske historie.
Specielt fjerde afsnit "Af en emmigrants dagbog" fungerer slet ikke for mig, da den består af mange brudstykker. Faktisk er den et koncentrat af selve bogens svaghed: Den fremstår som en mundtlig beretning, hvor der ikke er redigeret for at få historien til at hænge sammen. Det er enkelte historier, der fortælles af Karen Blixen, uden hensyntagen til det samlede billede.
Sidste afsnit er til gengæld rigtig godt. Her kommer man lidt ind i fortællingen, da Karen Blixen fortæller om afslutningen på tiden i Afrika. Det er meget tydeligt, at hun er dygtig til at skrive.
Karen Blixen, får jeg indtryk af, var spirituel og så sjæl i ting; både levende og døde. Hendes syn på afrikanere og dyr bærer præg af tiden bogen er fra, men jeg får fornemmelsen at hun trods alt i begge henseender var ret fremsynet.
Specielt fjerde afsnit "Af en emmigrants dagbog" fungerer slet ikke for mig, da den består af mange brudstykker. Faktisk er den et koncentrat af selve bogens svaghed: Den fremstår som en mundtlig beretning, hvor der ikke er redigeret for at få historien til at hænge sammen. Det er enkelte historier, der fortælles af Karen Blixen, uden hensyntagen til det samlede billede.
Sidste afsnit er til gengæld rigtig godt. Her kommer man lidt ind i fortællingen, da Karen Blixen fortæller om afslutningen på tiden i Afrika. Det er meget tydeligt, at hun er dygtig til at skrive.
Karen Blixen, får jeg indtryk af, var spirituel og så sjæl i ting; både levende og døde. Hendes syn på afrikanere og dyr bærer præg af tiden bogen er fra, men jeg får fornemmelsen at hun trods alt i begge henseender var ret fremsynet.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
I liked this memoir. It is a bit disjointed. More of a collection of stories than anything. But I did find it interesting. Blixen's writing was very good considering she was translating it.
This took me a while to get into, it's been sitting on my shelf for a couple of years. Karen Blixen, a Danish writer spent time living on the African continent keeping a coffee farm. The book is a tale of her adventures, difficulties and relationships. Seeing as the book was published in 1937 the language and depiction of some of the coloured people are less than flattering, but her descriptions of the land and culture are beautiful. Sometimes I lacked some soul, othertimes it was fantastic.
"I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills... It was Africa distilled up through six thousand feet, like the strong and refined essence of a continent... In the highlands you woke up in the morning and thought: Here I am, where I ought to be."
- from Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa
Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa was not exactly what I expected. I went into reading it thinking that it was a traditional memoir, but it is actually a series of lyrical vignettes describing the life of Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen in Africa. Written sometime after she left Africa, the stories contained in Out of Africa reflect the distance Dinesen was able to put between herself and much of the hardship she suffered as a first-time coffee farmer in Kenya.
Among my favorite of her stories were the accounts of "Kamanate and Lulu." In the four stories included in this first part of Out of Africa, Dinesen describes her efforts to cure a young native boy who has a debilitating illness, and to adopt an orphaned bushbuck fawn, probably destined for someone's dinner table.
From the beginning, it is clear that Dinesen has a sense of humility where the native Africans were concerned, that is practically unheard of in other white colonists of her time. Her strong feelings for the native people and the harsh beauty of the land surrounding her farm is obvious to the reader. As she struggles to better understand the Kikuyu, Masai and Somali people, she comes to the realization that despite being dependent on them, she will never truly "know" them. This notwithstanding, she never stops admiring them, and learns a great deal from them in her time.
Isak Dinesen wrote beautifully of her love for Africa and it's people. Her stories are delicate and enthralling, and sweep you up in the words and imagery they contain. The language she uses is luminous, and her descriptions of the people and animals of East Africa are simply magical. Out of Africa is exquisitely written and will keep you turning pages late into the night.
Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa was not exactly what I expected. I went into reading it thinking that it was a traditional memoir, but it is actually a series of lyrical vignettes describing the life of Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen in Africa. Written sometime after she left Africa, the stories contained in Out of Africa reflect the distance Dinesen was able to put between herself and much of the hardship she suffered as a first-time coffee farmer in Kenya.
Among my favorite of her stories were the accounts of "Kamanate and Lulu." In the four stories included in this first part of Out of Africa, Dinesen describes her efforts to cure a young native boy who has a debilitating illness, and to adopt an orphaned bushbuck fawn, probably destined for someone's dinner table.
From the beginning, it is clear that Dinesen has a sense of humility where the native Africans were concerned, that is practically unheard of in other white colonists of her time. Her strong feelings for the native people and the harsh beauty of the land surrounding her farm is obvious to the reader. As she struggles to better understand the Kikuyu, Masai and Somali people, she comes to the realization that despite being dependent on them, she will never truly "know" them. This notwithstanding, she never stops admiring them, and learns a great deal from them in her time.
Isak Dinesen wrote beautifully of her love for Africa and it's people. Her stories are delicate and enthralling, and sweep you up in the words and imagery they contain. The language she uses is luminous, and her descriptions of the people and animals of East Africa are simply magical. Out of Africa is exquisitely written and will keep you turning pages late into the night.
Karen Blixen (pen name Isak Dinesen) thought she was doing Europe a gigantic favor by writing this book. It basically reads as follows:
Oh, life is challenging to teach The Natives how to love Jesus and use a fork and understand how books work. Good thing I have always aspired to be an author and can explain exactly the trials and tribulations on both sides; the veritable war it takes to culture these Savages. At times I miss being among real people, but I know I am doing Good Work making fun of children who don't understand cuckoo clocks and live in a different society than I grew up in.
I know, I know, Blixen was a victim of the time period in which she lived. Most people were pretty racist back then, so we really can't begrudge her her horribly uneducated and sweeping generalizations of African people, their customs, and their "shortcomings."
But just because she was a victim of her time, does not mean that I have to appreciate the over-privileged White Woman attempting to educate me about an entire continent, based solely on her very sheltered, very skewed, and very narrow experiences.
There are too many good books in this world to waste time on out-of-date and bigoted works. I got just shy of halfway through before I decided this. I hope I can do you a good service by warning you to not even pick it up (if you are a early twentieth century history buff who is very interested in reading about how one White Woman viewed Africa through her rose-tinted glasses, far be it for me to warn you off. But I'm pretty sure you are one of maybe twelve people who can appreciate this book without being offended).
I'll leave you with a quote, which I feel demonstrates quite well Blixen's attitude. This is in regard to one of her favorite "Native Boys," who had taken up the role of cook, and had mastered making European dishes quite quickly:
"Here even his intelligence sometimes failed him, and he came and offered me a Kikuyu delicacy, - a roasted sweet potato or a lump of sheep's fat, - as even a civilized dog, that has lived for a long time with people, will place a bone on the floor before you, as a present."
Oh, life is challenging to teach The Natives how to love Jesus and use a fork and understand how books work. Good thing I have always aspired to be an author and can explain exactly the trials and tribulations on both sides; the veritable war it takes to culture these Savages. At times I miss being among real people, but I know I am doing Good Work making fun of children who don't understand cuckoo clocks and live in a different society than I grew up in.
I know, I know, Blixen was a victim of the time period in which she lived. Most people were pretty racist back then, so we really can't begrudge her her horribly uneducated and sweeping generalizations of African people, their customs, and their "shortcomings."
But just because she was a victim of her time, does not mean that I have to appreciate the over-privileged White Woman attempting to educate me about an entire continent, based solely on her very sheltered, very skewed, and very narrow experiences.
There are too many good books in this world to waste time on out-of-date and bigoted works. I got just shy of halfway through before I decided this. I hope I can do you a good service by warning you to not even pick it up (if you are a early twentieth century history buff who is very interested in reading about how one White Woman viewed Africa through her rose-tinted glasses, far be it for me to warn you off. But I'm pretty sure you are one of maybe twelve people who can appreciate this book without being offended).
I'll leave you with a quote, which I feel demonstrates quite well Blixen's attitude. This is in regard to one of her favorite "Native Boys," who had taken up the role of cook, and had mastered making European dishes quite quickly:
"Here even his intelligence sometimes failed him, and he came and offered me a Kikuyu delicacy, - a roasted sweet potato or a lump of sheep's fat, - as even a civilized dog, that has lived for a long time with people, will place a bone on the floor before you, as a present."
*Thoughts in English below*
Dette var en af de vildeste læseoplevelser, jeg har haft. Karen skriver med en uforlignelig præcision, humor, varme og poesi om livet på kaffefarmen ved foden af Ngong Hills. Det er smukt, det er rørende og det er underholdende. Karaktererne står lyslevende - den stoiske Farah, den stille, aparte Kamante, de charmerende englændere, Berkeley Cole og Denys Finch-Hatton, som var født i det forkerte århundrede. Min veninde og jeg blev flere gange blæst bagover af Karens sprog og de observationer, hun gjorde sig. Og midt i livet på farmen i den storslåede afrikanske natur, fremstår Karen selv som en stærk, eftertænksom og handlekraftig kvinde. Hun var så sej, fuld af gå-på-mod, styrke, venlighed og empati. Hun vandrer omkring med romanfigurer, griner med sine hunde, flyver med Denys og behandler de indfødte på farmen. Hun havde et godt øje både for det spøjse, de skæve karakterer og for det storslåede, det poetiske og det livsomvæltende. Hun var en skarp observatør med en usædvanlig evne til at få begivenheder, tanker og personer til at stå endnu skarpere på papiret. Jeg var i Afrika med hende - jeg kunne se stjernehimlen, høre okserne, dufte kaffen og mærke natteduggen på græsplænen. Det var magisk og uforligneligt.
"Jeg tænkte: Ja, hendes liv har nok været af den slags, som man egentlig må opleve to gange, før man kan sige, at man har levet. Man kan tage en arietta, en lille melodi, da capo, men ikke et helt musikstykke, ikke nogen symfoni og heller ikke nogen tragedie i fem akter. Hvis de bliver gentaget, så er det fordi de ikke er gået, som de skulle."
Jeg håber og tror, at Karen følte, at hendes liv havde været en symfoni. "Den afrikanske farm" er i hvert fald en smuk og storslået symfoni.
Hun har sat barren meget højt for sine andre værker.
*ENGLISH*
It really is a shame it took me this long to open my first Blixen-book. I thought Karen Blixen would be a dry, old, boring woman, but she quite bowled me over. She is strong, compassionate, open-minded and big-hearted. She is brave and with a big thirst for life and all its wonders. I like her, I like her writing, and I will definitely seek out some of her other works.
I am reading this as part of a book club with a friend where we are focussing on works by Danish authors. I've read a lot of classics, Russian, English, French, but I don't think I've read any Danish classics since H.C. Andersen's fairy tales when I was little. I am making up for that now. I only wish I'd had this idea sooner, so I could have met Karen Blixen before now.
"Den Afrikanske Farm" (or "Out of Africa") had me from its very first sentence ( I once had a farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills ). Why did she have a farm? What did she do there? Why does she not have it anymore? From that beautiful opening sentence she goes on to describe the nature around her, and I am right there, in Africa, with Karen on her farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills. I laughed with her, I felt her joy and pain and frustration, I saw the beauty of the land and the people through her eyes. I marvelled at her courage, at her strength and her kindness. I wanted to travel back in time and place to be there on the farm with her, but this book is the next best thing. The place came alive for me.
Some of my favourite parts were Karen's anecdotes of the people on her farm, the conversations she had with them and their attitude to life. Like when Kamante (a young Kikuyu-boy whose bad leg Karen help treat) names the dishes he is taught to cook for her based on events that happened on the farm on the day he was taught the dish, so he would talk of "the great lightning strike's dough" or "the sauce of the grey horse that died". Or when Farah is upset at how "the Merchant of the Venice" ends and insists that Shylock should have taken the flesh. "He could have just taken the flesh a little bit at a time, so he would get exactly one pound. It is only fair." Or this absolute beauty of a conversation:
(Karen is writing on a novel)
KAMANTE: Msabu, do you think you can write a book?
KAREN: I hope so.
KAMANTE: (long pause). I don't think so.
KAREN: Why do you think that?
KAMANTE: (Places the Odyssey on the table before her.) See, msabu, this is a good book. It is in one piece. When you take it up by the spine and shake it it does not fall apart. The man who wrote this is clever. But what you are writing does not stick together. Some is here, some is there. When your people come in and don't close the door, it blows around, some falls on the floor and you get angry. It will not be a good book.
(Karen explains that people in Europe will gather the pages into one book)
KAMANTE: Will your book be as heavy as this?
KAREN: No, it will not be as heavy as that, but many books in the library are lighter than that.
KAMANTE: Will it be as hard?
(Karen says it might be, thought it will be expensive.)
Some days later, Karen heard Kamante tell other workers on the farm that the white people in Europe could make the book Karen was writing stick together, and that it could be as hard as the Odyssey. Though he would not bring himself to believe that her book could ever be blue.
Life on the farm sounds magical, like a fairytale of everyday life in a time and place that has gone and will never come back. She describes the great Ngomas that were held on the farm, the Native's mistrust of machinery, their fascination (and her own) with Pooran Singh's forge, and the hierarchy and relationships between the Kikyuys, Somalis and Masais.
It is clear that Karen has great love for them. She describes her first meeting with the Natives as love at first sight, as if entering a forest for the first time at the age of 20, or being a music lover who had grown up in a place without music and then suddenly discovered its existence. Like Columbus' discovery of America, Karen's meeting with the Natives broadened her horizon and entire world.
She respects their traditions and way of life, she sees and admires the strength in the Somali women and the mighty Masais. She learns Swahili, she is a doctor for the people on her farm every morning and she is a judge in their affairs when she is asked to judge. She knows that to a Kikuyu, the matter to be settled is not a case of guilt, but the number of animals to be paid. It doesn't matter that the death was accidental, the man is still dead. Now, how many cows should the dead man's family be paid in compensation?
Her farm was also a much-visited place for the Europeans in the colony, and especially Berkeley Cole and Denys Finch Hatten became close friends to her. Berkeley had his own farm near-by, but Denys, who was a safari-guide, didn't and he kept all his books and gramophones and other stuff at Karen's place. He visited as often as he could, her door was always open to him, and he would often take her flying, or they would go on safaris or walk up into the Ngong Hills. They discussed literature and poetry, music, Africa and, for him, the impossibility of returning to Europe. It is clear that they formed a very strong bond - so strong, in fact, that he was played by Robert Redford in the movie.
On a side-note, the Kikyuy boys call Karen "msabu", an Indian term of address for a white woman, the old Kikuyu women call her "Jerri" (" if a Kikuyu-girl is born much later than her siblings she is called Jerri"), and Somalian Farah call her "memsahib." I like how she kept these words original instead of translating them in her book.
On another side-note, I laughed aloud at the Swedish teacher who wouldn't teach Karen the Swahili word for "nine" and claimed it didn't exist because it sounded very much like a rude word in Swedish.
Some of my favourite quotes (in Danish, cause I read the Danish version) though there were a lot of highlighted sentences that could have made it onto the list:
About the Prince of Wales visiting:
"Alle indfødte har høje tanker om konger og vil gerne tale om dem. Et halvt år efter fik han (Kamante) lyst til at høre disse komplimenter gentaget, og spurgte mig pludselig, som en fransk læsebog: "Kunne sultanens søn lide grisens sauce? Spiste han den alt sammen ganske alene?" (45)
"Hvad modtagelighed for nye ideer, og bevægelighed i sjælen, angik, var den indfødte langt mere af en verdensmand end de indbyggere og missionærer, som var vokset op i en forstad eller en provinsby, i et lille stillestående samfund med fastslåede begreber om verden." (54)
Dette var en af de vildeste læseoplevelser, jeg har haft. Karen skriver med en uforlignelig præcision, humor, varme og poesi om livet på kaffefarmen ved foden af Ngong Hills. Det er smukt, det er rørende og det er underholdende. Karaktererne står lyslevende - den stoiske Farah, den stille, aparte Kamante, de charmerende englændere, Berkeley Cole og Denys Finch-Hatton, som var født i det forkerte århundrede. Min veninde og jeg blev flere gange blæst bagover af Karens sprog og de observationer, hun gjorde sig. Og midt i livet på farmen i den storslåede afrikanske natur, fremstår Karen selv som en stærk, eftertænksom og handlekraftig kvinde. Hun var så sej, fuld af gå-på-mod, styrke, venlighed og empati. Hun vandrer omkring med romanfigurer, griner med sine hunde, flyver med Denys og behandler de indfødte på farmen. Hun havde et godt øje både for det spøjse, de skæve karakterer og for det storslåede, det poetiske og det livsomvæltende. Hun var en skarp observatør med en usædvanlig evne til at få begivenheder, tanker og personer til at stå endnu skarpere på papiret. Jeg var i Afrika med hende - jeg kunne se stjernehimlen, høre okserne, dufte kaffen og mærke natteduggen på græsplænen. Det var magisk og uforligneligt.
"Jeg tænkte: Ja, hendes liv har nok været af den slags, som man egentlig må opleve to gange, før man kan sige, at man har levet. Man kan tage en arietta, en lille melodi, da capo, men ikke et helt musikstykke, ikke nogen symfoni og heller ikke nogen tragedie i fem akter. Hvis de bliver gentaget, så er det fordi de ikke er gået, som de skulle."
Jeg håber og tror, at Karen følte, at hendes liv havde været en symfoni. "Den afrikanske farm" er i hvert fald en smuk og storslået symfoni.
Hun har sat barren meget højt for sine andre værker.
*ENGLISH*
It really is a shame it took me this long to open my first Blixen-book. I thought Karen Blixen would be a dry, old, boring woman, but she quite bowled me over. She is strong, compassionate, open-minded and big-hearted. She is brave and with a big thirst for life and all its wonders. I like her, I like her writing, and I will definitely seek out some of her other works.
I am reading this as part of a book club with a friend where we are focussing on works by Danish authors. I've read a lot of classics, Russian, English, French, but I don't think I've read any Danish classics since H.C. Andersen's fairy tales when I was little. I am making up for that now. I only wish I'd had this idea sooner, so I could have met Karen Blixen before now.
"Den Afrikanske Farm" (or "Out of Africa") had me from its very first sentence ( I once had a farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills ). Why did she have a farm? What did she do there? Why does she not have it anymore? From that beautiful opening sentence she goes on to describe the nature around her, and I am right there, in Africa, with Karen on her farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills. I laughed with her, I felt her joy and pain and frustration, I saw the beauty of the land and the people through her eyes. I marvelled at her courage, at her strength and her kindness. I wanted to travel back in time and place to be there on the farm with her, but this book is the next best thing. The place came alive for me.
Some of my favourite parts were Karen's anecdotes of the people on her farm, the conversations she had with them and their attitude to life. Like when Kamante (a young Kikuyu-boy whose bad leg Karen help treat) names the dishes he is taught to cook for her based on events that happened on the farm on the day he was taught the dish, so he would talk of "the great lightning strike's dough" or "the sauce of the grey horse that died". Or when Farah is upset at how "the Merchant of the Venice" ends and insists that Shylock should have taken the flesh. "He could have just taken the flesh a little bit at a time, so he would get exactly one pound. It is only fair." Or this absolute beauty of a conversation:
(Karen is writing on a novel)
KAMANTE: Msabu, do you think you can write a book?
KAREN: I hope so.
KAMANTE: (long pause). I don't think so.
KAREN: Why do you think that?
KAMANTE: (Places the Odyssey on the table before her.) See, msabu, this is a good book. It is in one piece. When you take it up by the spine and shake it it does not fall apart. The man who wrote this is clever. But what you are writing does not stick together. Some is here, some is there. When your people come in and don't close the door, it blows around, some falls on the floor and you get angry. It will not be a good book.
(Karen explains that people in Europe will gather the pages into one book)
KAMANTE: Will your book be as heavy as this?
KAREN: No, it will not be as heavy as that, but many books in the library are lighter than that.
KAMANTE: Will it be as hard?
(Karen says it might be, thought it will be expensive.)
Some days later, Karen heard Kamante tell other workers on the farm that the white people in Europe could make the book Karen was writing stick together, and that it could be as hard as the Odyssey. Though he would not bring himself to believe that her book could ever be blue.
Life on the farm sounds magical, like a fairytale of everyday life in a time and place that has gone and will never come back. She describes the great Ngomas that were held on the farm, the Native's mistrust of machinery, their fascination (and her own) with Pooran Singh's forge, and the hierarchy and relationships between the Kikyuys, Somalis and Masais.
It is clear that Karen has great love for them. She describes her first meeting with the Natives as love at first sight, as if entering a forest for the first time at the age of 20, or being a music lover who had grown up in a place without music and then suddenly discovered its existence. Like Columbus' discovery of America, Karen's meeting with the Natives broadened her horizon and entire world.
She respects their traditions and way of life, she sees and admires the strength in the Somali women and the mighty Masais. She learns Swahili, she is a doctor for the people on her farm every morning and she is a judge in their affairs when she is asked to judge. She knows that to a Kikuyu, the matter to be settled is not a case of guilt, but the number of animals to be paid. It doesn't matter that the death was accidental, the man is still dead. Now, how many cows should the dead man's family be paid in compensation?
Her farm was also a much-visited place for the Europeans in the colony, and especially Berkeley Cole and Denys Finch Hatten became close friends to her. Berkeley had his own farm near-by, but Denys, who was a safari-guide, didn't and he kept all his books and gramophones and other stuff at Karen's place. He visited as often as he could, her door was always open to him, and he would often take her flying, or they would go on safaris or walk up into the Ngong Hills. They discussed literature and poetry, music, Africa and, for him, the impossibility of returning to Europe. It is clear that they formed a very strong bond - so strong, in fact, that he was played by Robert Redford in the movie.
On a side-note, the Kikyuy boys call Karen "msabu", an Indian term of address for a white woman, the old Kikuyu women call her "Jerri" (" if a Kikuyu-girl is born much later than her siblings she is called Jerri"), and Somalian Farah call her "memsahib." I like how she kept these words original instead of translating them in her book.
On another side-note, I laughed aloud at the Swedish teacher who wouldn't teach Karen the Swahili word for "nine" and claimed it didn't exist because it sounded very much like a rude word in Swedish.
Some of my favourite quotes (in Danish, cause I read the Danish version) though there were a lot of highlighted sentences that could have made it onto the list:
About the Prince of Wales visiting:
"Alle indfødte har høje tanker om konger og vil gerne tale om dem. Et halvt år efter fik han (Kamante) lyst til at høre disse komplimenter gentaget, og spurgte mig pludselig, som en fransk læsebog: "Kunne sultanens søn lide grisens sauce? Spiste han den alt sammen ganske alene?" (45)
"Hvad modtagelighed for nye ideer, og bevægelighed i sjælen, angik, var den indfødte langt mere af en verdensmand end de indbyggere og missionærer, som var vokset op i en forstad eller en provinsby, i et lille stillestående samfund med fastslåede begreber om verden." (54)
"If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me?”
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced