annebennett1957's review against another edition
5.0
Paula McLain can write! She effortlessly weaves together a story about historical characters and makes you feel like you are reading a true account right down to every word and motivation. I am now rather obsessed with Beryl Markham, with Karen Blixen, with Denys Finch-Hatton, and with Kenya in the 1910s and 1920s. I just picked up Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen (Blixen's pseudonym) and Beryl Markhams' autobiography, West with the Night, which starts with a tremendous first line: "How is it to make order out of memory?"
lianamathias's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely rereading Out of Africa now. Interesting take on Markham’s life, not sure how much is fiction.
kricketa's review against another edition
5.0
I love Paula McLain's writing and I loved learning about Beryl Markham. I've ordered her autobiography and I'm excited to learn more.
inlibraryitrust's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
dlberglund's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting historical fiction about an amazing trailblazer. I'm always a little skeptical of this kind of book, where someone presumes to write a fictionalized account of someone's real life, someone who is no longer around to set the record straight or comment on the grand assumptions the author must make in order to create this book. I don't know how historically accurate this is, but in most places, this story swept me along with it. I could feel the markers along the way: races with results marked in record books, notices in the newspaper, but I believed in most of this Beryl's choices. A few sections seemed a bit of a stretch to me, but no one will know how close to the truth the author landed.
I liked this well enough to immediately put a hole on Beryl's actual memoir, which I have never read, and am hoping to watch Out of Africa soon just for fun.
I liked this well enough to immediately put a hole on Beryl's actual memoir, which I have never read, and am hoping to watch Out of Africa soon just for fun.
findyourgoldenhour's review against another edition
2.0
Ugh. I wouldn't have finished this if it wasn't for a book club! Normally I love historical fiction. And I understand that it is unfair to read about real-life characters and their actions through the lens of 21st century moralities and judgements. But it was really hard to read about these white colonizers in Kenya with almost no mention of the native people. Seriously almost none. She has one childhood friend who was barely used as a backdrop to a minor plot point, but that's it. In all of Beryl Markham's life living in Kenya, that was the extent to her interaction with the native people? Or even the extent to which they crossed her mind between parties and horse races?
I don't know if this is an accurate picture or if the blame lies with the author, but Beryl Markham comes off as a narcissistic, selfish flake who jumps from relationship to relationship with no thought to whom she might be hurting. The beginning of the book shows her as a tomboy who is abandoned by her mother and forced to learn to be tough in this British colony; by the end she is sleeping with her dear friend's lover and ends up abandoning her own child. I always have a hard time liking a book if I don't like any of the characters, and Beryl Markham was deeply unlikable here.
The author clearly wanted to paint a nostalgic picture of white colonists in Kenya, and it just felt gross to me. The final kicker? Aside from the very beginning and very end, there's NOTHING about her aviation career, the very thing that made her famous! Why else write this book?!
I don't know if this is an accurate picture or if the blame lies with the author, but Beryl Markham comes off as a narcissistic, selfish flake who jumps from relationship to relationship with no thought to whom she might be hurting. The beginning of the book shows her as a tomboy who is abandoned by her mother and forced to learn to be tough in this British colony; by the end she is sleeping with her dear friend's lover and ends up abandoning her own child. I always have a hard time liking a book if I don't like any of the characters, and Beryl Markham was deeply unlikable here.
The author clearly wanted to paint a nostalgic picture of white colonists in Kenya, and it just felt gross to me. The final kicker? Aside from the very beginning and very end, there's NOTHING about her aviation career, the very thing that made her famous! Why else write this book?!
theycallmegoose's review against another edition
5.0
This book was real, and filled with humanity... flaws and all. It made you want to travel, and go on safaris. It made me want to learn about every character more in depth. So much so, that I bought Beryl's autobiography, which so beautifully written, and I have this book to thank for the discovery of Beryl, and the adventurous spirit that sprouts from reading, Circling The Sun.
ginabelle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
I’m having complicated feelings about this book. From the beginning, I thought it was a book about Beryl learning to fly a plane, so it was surprising she doesn’t even see one until 90% into the book, so I was book boozled there. Also, it’s really fascinating that Beryl was a real person but for all the author’s talk of how inspiring she was/is, the comparison of the book’s eponymous “sun” is a man. And Beryl is continually defined by her relationships to other men. Also, for a 2023 reader, I don’t think the damaging nuances of colonialism and racism especially, but also classism, sexism, etc were explored enough and with enough care.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion and Death
heatherbermingham's review against another edition
4.0
Circling the Sun by Paula McLain has been on my to-read pile for a while. I didn't know much about Beryl Markham, the subject of this historical fiction book, other than that she was a female pilot who broke some kind of record but that was enough for me to be intrigued. (I've always loved Amelia Earhart so I'm partial to anyone in that realm.) The book starts with a really wonderful description of the take-off and beginning of her record-breaking flight and then flashes back and details her childhood in Kenya and her many adventures and romances. I really enjoyed this overall, but I was disappointed that it pretty much stops when she starts flying. On one hand, I get it because her life up until that point was super interesting and complicated, but on the other hand, I kind of wanted to read more about her flying. So this was one of those weird instances where the book was very good but also not quite what I wanted it to be. The notes at the end mentioned Markham's autobiography which I'm adding to my to-read list (and eyeing it for "A Book Mentioned in Another Book") and putting Circling the Sun down for "A Book About an Interesting Woman." #popsugarchallenge
cher_n_books's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars - Meh. Just ok.
Too much about tepid romances, champagne and horses. Not enough about anything else.
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Favorite Quote: I've sometimes thought that being loved a little less than others can actually make a person, rather than ruin them.
First Sentence: The Vega Gull is peacock blue with silver wings, more splendid than any bird I’ve known, and somehow mine to fly.
Too much about tepid romances, champagne and horses. Not enough about anything else.
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Favorite Quote: I've sometimes thought that being loved a little less than others can actually make a person, rather than ruin them.
First Sentence: The Vega Gull is peacock blue with silver wings, more splendid than any bird I’ve known, and somehow mine to fly.