West with the Night

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book of a life in Eastern Africa
Review: Whoever wrote it, "West With the Night" is a lyrically beautiful story of an amazing life: Beryl Markham arrived in Africa in 1905 at the age of three, she spent her childhood on her father's farm, learning all about African people and wildlife; she became a horse-trainer (racing was surprisingly popular in colonial Kenya); she was the first woman in Africa to have a pilot's license, working as a freelance pilot in Kenya; she was the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic East-to-West (hence the book's title). This book is an interesting and very readable documentation of Kenya in the era of Isak Dinesen, Bror Blixen, Denys Finch Hatton, et al (all of whom she knew). Hemingway praised this book lavishly, saying:

"Did you read Beryl Markham's book, "West with the Night"? I knew her fairly well in Africa and never would have suspected that she could and would put pen to paper except to write in her flyer's log book. As it is, she has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer. .... But this girl who is, to my knowledge, very unpleasant,... can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers. The only parts of it that I know about personally, on account of having been there at the time and heard the other people's stories, are absolutely true. So, you have to take as truth the early stuff about when she was a child which is absolutely superb. She omits some very fantastic stuff which I know about which would destroy much of the character of the heroine; but what is that anyhow in writing?"

As Hemingway may have suspected, Markham may not be the real author, and "West With the Night" does leave out major portions of her life; it would be a good idea to read it along with the biography of her life, "Straight On Till Morning: The Biography of Beryl Markham" by Mary Lovell (Lovell also wrote "A Rage to Live: A Biography of Richard and Isabel Burton").

Rating:
Summary: A remarkable book
Review: This is an unmissable read. The writing is exquisite and the story riviting. What makes it even more interesting is the fact that she didn't write it. If you read her biography there is compelling proof that it was in fact her third husband that ghost wrote the book. It is also interesting that in the story she leaves out small details like the existance of three husbands and her renowned promisquity. Still the book introduced me to a remarkable woman and has since prompted me to read lots more about her and the other colonists who lived in Kenya at that time - a facinating period and a truly facinating woman.

Rating:
Summary: passion shines through
Review: This exceptionally beautiful book is the memoir of renowned Kenyan aviatrix Beryl Markham. It has engendered much controversy over whether Markham herself wrote the book. It now appears to be pretty reliably proven that her third husband, the writer Raoul Schumacher, was the author. However, the story is still that of Beryl Markham and it is the extraordinary story of a remarkable woman.

In the first half of the book she tells about her experiences growing up on a farm in Njaro, Kenya. From the adventures of her dog Buller, who fought boars and leopards, to her own experiences hunting with Nandi tribesmen, on to encounters with mad horses & not quite domesticated lions, this section is the equal of, if not superior to, Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa. (In fact, in it's elegiac evocation of a way of life disappearing before the author's eyes, it reminded me of nothing so much as the wonderful How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn.)

Then there's a brief interlude while she trains race horses after her father's farm fails & he leaves the country. Here she relates the thrilling tale of a race between a horse, Wild Child, with bad legs and another horse that she had trained, Wrack, but that was taken away from her because of her lack of experience. The description of the race is as good as anything I've ever read.

Finally, Tom Black teaches her to fly & she befriends men like Bror Blixen & Dennis Finch-Hatton (Dinesen's husband and her lover respectively). The deft & understated comedic touch that is displayed throughout the book is evident in this passage about a Kenyan landing strip:

A high wire fence surrounds the aerodrome-a wire fence and then a deep ditch. Where is there another aerodrome fenced against wild animals? Zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, eland--at night they lurk about the tall barrier staring with curious wild eyes into that flat field, feeling cheated.

They are well out of it, for themselves and for me. It would be a hard fate to go down in the memory of one's friends as having been tripped up by a wandering zebra. 'Tried to take off and hit a zebra!' It lacks even the dignity of crashing into an anthill

After several years scouting for elephants by air & flying medical supplies around, she heads to England and a friend stakes her in a 1936 effort to be the first pilot to fly solo from England to New York non-stop. Though she crash landed in Nova Scotia & couldn't make it to New York, she was still the first person to make the solo flight from England to North America non-stop.

Each of the three sections is united by one unique thread, Markham's love : of Africa; horses; & flying. Her passion shines through regardless of who the actual author may have been.

GRADE: A+

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as I thought.
Review: Although I have to admit, the descriptions of her whereabouts were awfully good, most of the book lead to be tedious. The cast of characters were quite hard to keep straight,which caused it to be a bit confusing. Where did the story line go? In the beginning of the book, it began with aviation, and all of a sudden, ended up talking about zebras and warthogs??? I have to admit once again that the descriptions were marvalous, but I'd like the book to be a lot more organized and easier to keep up with.

Rating:
Summary: Not as exciting as it may seem!
Review: I expected West With the Night to be exciting and an incredible trip into Africa, but unfortunately, I found it to be extremely boring! Markham put no emotion into the book. You never get to know any of the characters even Markham herself, in fact keeping track of the characters was a bit confusing. They came and went and they were dull and colorless. Sometimes her descrpitions just didn't seem to work, she rants on and on about a topic until it becomes down right boring! I do not recommend spending any time with this book! It is anything but an exciting journey!

Rating:
Summary: Beats Hemingway Hands Down
Review: I wasn't reading about Beryl Markham when I first learned of West With the Night. I was reading about Hemingway, a writer who is much better known and more admired than Markham, but to my way of thinking, with little reason. Apparently, Hemingway so admired this book that he was moved to the point of shame to know that he too was called a writer.

Stunningly evocative of life in East Africa in the early part of the 20th Century, West With the Night carries the reader directly into Markham's life. If there was a person lucky enough to have truly lived more than Markham lived, we might in fact have to turn to Hemingway to find him. Having broken all stereotypes before they were known as stereotypes, Markham did 80 years ago what few women today would even imagine. Raised by her widower father, Markham was the only white child within 200 miles in any direction. Under the tutelage of native hunters, she learned to face down lions and elephants, and went on to become a professional horse trainer. But flying was her true calling. Learning the geography of the cockpit from no less an instructor than Tom Black, one of England's best-known bush pilots and an aviator who is still revered, Markham soon became the only woman pilot in East Africa, delivering everything from the mundane (gin for the white hunters) to the life-saving (tanks of oxygen for malaria victims).

Throughout the book, we are treated to some of the most vivid descriptions of an Africa that is long gone. Curiously missing, however, is any sense of her love interests as she grew and matured. We come close when we learn of her affection for Tom Black, but the affection feels brotherly in nature. And, then again, when she partakes of a transcontinental adventure with the dashing Baron von Blixen---one of the legendary characters of colonial Africa--we're never certain if passion played a part. Perhaps the absence of a love interest is a reflection of the more genteel times in which the book was written, or perhaps her true love was Africa and the sense of being truly alive that such a place seems to have imparted to every day of Beryl Markham's life.

But in fact, Markham is still alive--in a way. You cannot help but sense her presence after the first chapter. West With the Night is that good.

Rating:
Summary: Moving, brilliant
Review: Since the day I finished this book I have searched in vain for something to read that came even close to matching its incredible beauty. This book is a gem -- moving, spiritual, thought provoking. It encompasses a spirit, an era, a place in language that rivals some of the greatest literary works of our time. Markam's prose is poetry, music. And her words manage to bypass the sentimentality that has plagued many a book about africa. What a shame we have only this one book by this wonderful, adventurous and eloquent woman.

Rating:
Summary: A beautiful book...
Review: I was talking about Africa one day, and one of my younger friends who had just completed college, recommended this book. I looked for the book because my friend is not given to reading, and the fact that she was impressed told me it might be an interesting book. I liked the book so much, I bought a "talking" version for my older aunt who has lost much of her vision and cannot read. She loved the book too. From this sample of three women, I can tell you this book will appeal to all ages.

Beryl Markham neglects many aspects of her colorful life, the story briefly covers her child hood in Africa and then mostly focuses on her wonderful flight, actually harder than Lindbergh's flight since she flew East to West, Europe to North America, against the jet stream. The description of the flight is thrilling up til the last when she crash lands--in North America.

If you want to know more about Beryl and her escapades, read "Out of Isak Dinesen, Karn Blixon's Untold Story" by Linda Donelson. Beryl knew Blixon (17 years her senior, and a mentor at some points) and Denis Finch Hatton. Also, the wonderful BBC film "Heat of the Sun" contains a character played by Susannah Harker (an avatrix) loosely based on Beryl Markham.

Rating:
Summary: Stunning !
Review: There is controversy about who actually wrote this incredible book. Rumor has it that her third husband wrote this delightful autobiography. However, if the reader delves into Markham's short stories, her captivating prose holds up. And she wasn't anywhere near the third husband for those stories. I believe she wrote her works, and they are among the most enjoyable reads I have ever known.

Rating:
Summary: The Wonders of the African Frontier
Review: Historic, personal, and romantic tales of a female pioneer in aviation fill the pages of West with the Night. It is beautifully written, poetry put into chapters to tell of the adventures of the developing African frontier. The book follows the life of the Beryl Markham, the author, giving the reader a view into the lives of her native friends, the small social world of the British settlers, and a young girl growing up as the result of the integrating cultures. She is, herself, both fresh and new, one of the first to develop a mindset of blended customs. Besides observing the profits of the British cultural invasion of East Africa, the reader is, all the while, taken on a non-stop ride of African adventures. Like a child, pulling anxiously at your hand, sprinting onward toward further exploration, Markham speeds us through dangers ranging from leopards to the risks of early flight in an unmapped land. It is a mind-boggling world of naturally flowing chaos, deep thought, admiral respect, and truly amazing people, entirly unimaginable to the modern American. Markham has seen it like no one before her and few after, and when she puts it to paper, the reader can see directly into her heart. A must read.