West with the Night

Rating:
Summary: A must read!
Review: Lyrical prose and the story of an amazing woman. I would recommend that anyone who loves beautiful writing and an adventurous story buy this book, read it, and keep it on your shelves to re-read. It will make you want to fly, to travel, and to do the impossible.

Rating:
Summary: it was bad
Review: the book was bad because it was very hard to understand what her thoughts were and what was actually going on in the book

Rating:
Summary: The Divided Heart
Review: No less a writer than Ernest Hemingway said about West with the Night, "As it is she has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer. I felt that I was simply a carpenter with words, picking up whatever was furnished on the job and nailing them together and sometimes making an okay pigpen. But she can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers." Coming from an author who was renowned for his ego and lack of respect for other writers, this is high praise indeed, and West with the Night deserves it.

The story opens with the author being called in the middle of the night to deliver a tank of oxygen to a dying man. The reason she has been called is because her business is flying a small bi-plane through the wilds of Africa on delivery errands such as these. The flight and subsequent visit with the dying man and his doctor are used to introduce us to Africa - the rich black nights, the stories of her native peoples, the harsh reminder with the appearance of a jackal that "...in Africa there is never any waste."

In this first section we also begin to know and wonder about the author, a native of Britain who was transplanted to African soil at the age of 2 and raised by her father on his farm at Njoro. There her primary playmates were the children of the Nandi Murani tribe and her principle schoolroom the African landscape itself. As Markham puts it, "Africa was the breath and life of my childhood. It is still the host of all my darkest fears, the cradle of mysteries always intriguing, but never wholly solved. It is the remembrance of sunlight and green hills, cool water and the yellow warmth of bright mornings. It is as ruthless as any sea, more uncompromising than its own deserts. It is without temperance in its harshness or in its favors. It yields nothing, offering much to men of all races."

It is Markham's misfortune, but also her gift, that she could never be fully assimilated by the native people and the landscape. Her father insisted on sending her to school, relatives and friends did their best to expose her to European culture, and in the end Africa itself conspired to force her out of the fold and into the larger world. The end result is a woman who walks a fine and complex line within herself between two radically different perceptions of the world.

Although Markham's story is remarkable based on facts alone - taking us from her childhood haunts to her historic flight across the Atlantic Ocean - it is the elegance and depth of the writing that sets this book apart. When she talks about the horses she and her father bred and raised, for example, it's as if she is stepping into the animals' skins. When she discusses her hunt for a fellow pilot, lost in the bush, it is with total absorption in the moment. This is the kind of book that can make you forget you are reading a book, drawing you into the subtleties of life as Markham knew it - engaging all the senses and ultimately your heart as well.

Rating:
Summary: West With the Night
Review: Being born in South Africa, this book really "sang" to me. Having just re-read it, I realized how lyrically Beryl wrote and her detailing and the telling of it is magnificent. She makes you feel as though you are there, in her skin. My emotions ran away with me as I read and at parts found myself in tears. Anyone who has not been to Africa should read this book as it will transport you to that wonderful land. Beryl gives you a sense of time and place and what she went through growing up in Africa.

Rating:
Summary: You won't want to let it go
Review: I read this book 2 or 3 times before I could put it away.
Markham's writing is just BEAUTIFUL and her stories are
captivating. An unusual woman.

May be the BEST written book I have ever read. There are some sentences in her book that hold you still.

Rating:
Summary: Wow! Skip this review and read Markham instead!
Review: West With the Night is on my list of pretty much perfect books. Markham's command of language is fantastic. Her stories are simultaneously beautiful evocations of people and place and terrific adventure stories. I can't write like Markham does, so don't read more of my gushing - just read West With the Night!

Rating:
Summary: A Gift
Review: This book was given to me as a gift when I was in college, and I in return have given it many, many times, mostly to young women, as a wonderful example of a strong, adventurous woman whose imperfections made her even more appealing. Her story is amazing but told in a simple and elegant voice that makes her both accessible and heroic.

Rating:
Summary: A Terrific Memoir
Review: Beryl Markham is both a compelling subject and a talented writer, a rare combination in the world of the celebrity memoir. If she is remembered at all these days, it is as a footnote in the history of aviation (the first woman to fly across the Atlantic East to West... hence the title). However, it is her childhood and young adult life in Africa that really is the heart of this story. Beryl writes eloquently of her life on that great continent and it is some of the most vivid expressions of a life lived that I can recall. Marvelous. This book is a must-have for anyone who enjoys stories of adventure and life lessons learned.

Rating:
Summary: Inspiring, Amazing
Review: Beautifully written. Her amazing story is told in a way that makes you feel like you're sitting around over after dinner drinks, except with lions, elephants and aviation.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book -- One of my all-time favorites
Review: This book is beautiful and captivating from beginning to end. I read it several years ago after hearing a review on NPR, and it still sticks with me as one of the finest things I've ever read. Lyrical and lovely. Definitely read this book!