A review by h2o5o5
Too Close to the Sun: The Audacious Life and Times of Denys Finch Hatton by Sara Wheeler

3.0

Mixed bag. The author's big challenge is that there is very little historical record on Denys Finch Hatton, making it difficult to write a compelling biography. What succeeds well are the descriptions and background information on England and British East Africa / Kenya during Denys's time. Understandably not quite as successful are the descriptions of Denys himself. The writing is also occasionally disjointed. Particularly some of the footnotes, the author's own experiences, do not seem relevant to the story: while it is, perhaps, interesting that she "went off the map" in Antarctica, would argue that it does not fit the narrative - even when describing the contemporary aerial maps of Kenya with their uncharted territories. The abrupt ending, although probably intended to mirror the abrupt end of Denys's life, was a bit jarring. All told, it is an interesting read about both the time and the man - but there are also better versions of both.