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rainynook's review
5.0
I had just read a trifecta of : "Out of Africa", "West With the Night" & "Circling the Sun" & wanted to know a bit more about Ms. Dinesen. Such a complex & ineffable woman. If nothing else, her sheer stamina to keep on writing & living in the face of all of her health woes is nothing short of heroic. But she is so much more than that. The book gives a great depth & breadth of information about Isak Dinesen & her family & colleagues, but surprisingly, leaves you feeling that you will never know the full story of her life. I enjoyed the last 75% of the book, more than the first 25% (which is about her early life in Denmark); the parts of the book in Africa & after Africa were the most interesting to me.
maryehavens's review against another edition
5.0
This book. Wow. I'm only halfway done and feel I need to capture some thoughts.
I read Out of Africa although I don't remember much except feeling frustrated. Now I know why!! It wasn't a memoir, it wasn't a novel, it was a hodgepodge and it confused me.
I put Isak Dinesen on my list because it won the National Book Award (and I went through a phase of putting all NBAs on my list). When I got it from Interlibrary Loan, I was looking at a 450 pager with small print. "This can't be good", I thought.
I was so wrong. It's fascinating. You hate her, you love her, you laugh and sympathize with Karen/Tanne/Isak/Osceola or whatever she wants to call herself that day.
Clearly Thurman was obsessed with her in the best way possible. This book is amazing! It's so well-researched and, at 445 pages (save the very detailed bibliography), it's not an easy lifter. But the pace is quick and the details don't bog you down. The literary criticism was the only thing that was slow.
I don't think I've ever read a biography or autobiography that so clearly dissected a person and then presented that dissection in a readable format. Well done, Judith Thurman!!
I read Out of Africa although I don't remember much except feeling frustrated. Now I know why!! It wasn't a memoir, it wasn't a novel, it was a hodgepodge and it confused me.
I put Isak Dinesen on my list because it won the National Book Award (and I went through a phase of putting all NBAs on my list). When I got it from Interlibrary Loan, I was looking at a 450 pager with small print. "This can't be good", I thought.
I was so wrong. It's fascinating. You hate her, you love her, you laugh and sympathize with Karen/Tanne/Isak/Osceola or whatever she wants to call herself that day.
Clearly Thurman was obsessed with her in the best way possible. This book is amazing! It's so well-researched and, at 445 pages (save the very detailed bibliography), it's not an easy lifter. But the pace is quick and the details don't bog you down. The literary criticism was the only thing that was slow.
I don't think I've ever read a biography or autobiography that so clearly dissected a person and then presented that dissection in a readable format. Well done, Judith Thurman!!
readerann's review
3.0
Winner of the National Book Award in 1983. Not an easy read, but worth it if you like in-depth, literary biography, and you're very curious about Isak Dinesen. I didn't get a feel for who she really was from reading Out of Africa, and I wanted to know more. My sense is that she was a fascinating woman, if not necessarily likeable. I do want to read some more of her writings (mostly short stories), which are discussed at length in this book.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review
4.0
When I was lucky enough to travel to Denmark, was I excited by all history? By the beautiful castles? By the wonderful food? No. I was over the moon because I could go to Isak Dinesen's (Karen Blixen's) house. While there, I broke one of my cardinal rules, don't buy a book aboard that you can get at home, unless it is used. I brought this biography there, among a couple other books.
Thurman does a very good job of portraying, not only Blixen but her family and friends as well. In particular, when Thurman is describing Blixen's time in Africa, there is a sense of peace to the prose, a sense of another world, and we see Africa, not in the same way as in Out of Africa, but in a way that allows us to get closer to Blixen. I enjoyed Thurman's description of how Europeans viewed Kenya at the time, "In Karen Blixen's day the coast [of Kenya:] was considered unlivable by Europeans -or those who had never spent a summer in New York City".
When dealing Blixen's marriage and love affair, Thurman achieves a balance that is not seen in the movie Out of Africa, and the figures of Bror Blixen as well as Denys are far more interesting in real life than in the movie. Take for instance Thurman's comment on Bror's opinion of Blixen's relationship with Denys " . . . if anything, he was proud that his wife's lover was of such high caliber". Thurman also does not whitewash Blixen and shows all aspects of her character.
Thurman includes many interesting family stories, the most interesting one being the debate between Blixen and her father over women's secret power. Blixen apparently define such secret power "as that nerve it takes to sit on a powder keg and threaten to ignite it, while all the time you know that it is empty".
In short, this is a good, entertaining biography,
Thurman does a very good job of portraying, not only Blixen but her family and friends as well. In particular, when Thurman is describing Blixen's time in Africa, there is a sense of peace to the prose, a sense of another world, and we see Africa, not in the same way as in Out of Africa, but in a way that allows us to get closer to Blixen. I enjoyed Thurman's description of how Europeans viewed Kenya at the time, "In Karen Blixen's day the coast [of Kenya:] was considered unlivable by Europeans -or those who had never spent a summer in New York City".
When dealing Blixen's marriage and love affair, Thurman achieves a balance that is not seen in the movie Out of Africa, and the figures of Bror Blixen as well as Denys are far more interesting in real life than in the movie. Take for instance Thurman's comment on Bror's opinion of Blixen's relationship with Denys " . . . if anything, he was proud that his wife's lover was of such high caliber". Thurman also does not whitewash Blixen and shows all aspects of her character.
Thurman includes many interesting family stories, the most interesting one being the debate between Blixen and her father over women's secret power. Blixen apparently define such secret power "as that nerve it takes to sit on a powder keg and threaten to ignite it, while all the time you know that it is empty".
In short, this is a good, entertaining biography,
michaelstearns's review against another edition
4.0
I love Out of Africa (though I can't abide the movie), and have different feelings about her short stories. But as a reader, i think I prefer her life itself. There is more drama and heartbreak here than anything she later got on paper. Grim and magnificent.
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