Circling the Sun: A Novel Hardcover – Deckle Edge, July 28, 2015

After the success of her novel, The Paris Wife, Paula McLain brings us another fictional autobiography of a complicated, strong woman. I don’t know how Paula picks the women she depicts but she does a great job in selecting three-dimensional, complicated, intriguing characters.Beryl is raised in colonial Kenya, born to an English famous horse trainer, she explores the landscapes of Kenya with her friends, growing free and falling in love with nature and horses. When her mother leaves back to England, she is left with her father who doesn’t quite know what to do with her. He tries to put her in school and make a lady out of her, but instead, once the family farm, Green Hills, falls to trouble, she ends up marrying at the age of sixteen.Feeling suffucated in her marriage and having a few affairs with other men in the colony, Beryl struggles for her freedom, the freedom she enjoyed as a child.THe beauty of this book comes from its characters. Even though the reader would not agree with every decision Beryl makes, one understands it and her struggle. Throguhout the book, the reader is rooting for her and her happiness and comes to the realization that Beryl is a free spirit that cannot be fenced or domesticated. She becomes the first woman trainer in Africa and also the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. Her adventurous spirit resonates through every single page of the book and, in fact, she cannot be confined to those pages.In addition to Beryl, the secondary characters in this book, also molded after their real-life figures, are absolutely wonderful. McLain takes her time developing each and every one of the characters. Even minor ones who seem to have no effect on Beryl become central forces. It is expected, as the colony has a feeling of being infinite but also so small that there are no secrets. Everyone seems to be in love with someone other than the people they should.There are times in the book were the reader feels hopeless for Beryl, nothing seems to be going right. But by the end of the book the reader is left satisfied, if maybe a little frustrated that they hadn’t heard of Beryl before. Beryl was way ahead of her times and although she definitely makes choices that are questionable, one can admire her strong will and her full life.Like The Paris Wife, Paula McLain takes a female character out of history that seems to have been forgotten. She explores not only the events that shaped their lives but their deep desires and fears as well. Circling the Sun is a fantastic novel. Paula McLain’s writing is absolutely beautiful and poetic. The lyricism and beautiful flow of everything carries the reader from one page or the other. Even in the subject does not intrigue you, her writing will capture you and not let you go until you reach the last page.

I finished McLain’s Circling the Sun just his morning. I enjoyed it more than The Paris Wife, but maybe my preference is related to an interest the time period and specific characters, not to mention the engaging setting description and imagery in Circling the Sun. I had loved reading Beryl Markham’s West with the Night and Dinesen’s (Karen von Blixen’s) Out of Africa over 25 years ago, so revisiting the characters and Africa of the time period was a treat. Be SURE you read the prologue and the epilogue as they frame the story. The author’s note is worth reading, so don’t skip it when you finish the book. If you have an interest in Markham and the time period, in addition to reading her and Dinesen’s books, I also highly recommend Markham’s biography by Mary S. Lovell Straight on Til Morning. (BTW, Lovell’s Amelia Earhart biography is excellent too.) McLain writes the story as a first person memoir, and this works very well to get the reader inside Beryl’s head as a young, wild, undisciplined English girl raised by her father on a farm in Africa in a place and time in which society limited women’s roles, even in this remote locale. McLain’s descriptive imagery seemed a little overdone in passages, but it did allow the reader to see Africa and people the way Beryl might have, and I found the poetic quality of it pleasurable. Also, I could hear the time period, the author’s own Whitmanesque love of nature (like the poem Denys Finch Hatten reads in the book), not to mention echoes of Beryl Markham and Karen von Blixen’s (Isak Dinesen) books in McLain’s novel. As a more literary reader, I appreciated this. Still, whether one is a literary reader or not, Circling the Sun is enjoyable reading for contemporary readers and introduces these larger-than-life people to a new generation. Some readers have complained that Beryl Markham was not a very likable character; to that I say, Beryl Markham was a highly flawed person which makes for an INTERESTING character. Larger-than-life people typically have major personal flaws, but their lives are often intriguing. Think of every hard-boiled detective, every Shakespearean character, every drama or tragedy – they feature flawed people. In McLain’s book, we learn how Markham’s childhood created the foundation for the fascinating, but emotionally broken woman she would become. And, let’s face it – people are still intolerant of women who live their lives, particularly their love lives, like men do. McLain opened the main story in Part One (her three parts would align beautifully with a great screenplay for a mini-series which I hope someone produces) with the line “Before Kenya was Kenya, when it was millions of years old and yet still somehow new, . . . “ she creates the same reflective tone from the first sentence just as Dinesen/vonBlixen did Out of Africa, “I once had a farm in Africa . . .” Markham’s book West with the Night begins “How is it possible to bring order our of memory? I should like to begin at the beginning, patiently, like a weaver at his loom. I should like to say, ‘this is the place to start; there can be no other.’ But there are a hundred places to start . . .” Also, I mention this first line of McLain’s book because later in the novel, Denys invites Beryl to Karen von Blixen’s place, but tells her she must bring a story. All the stories have to begin: “Before Kenya was Kenya, when it was millions of years old and yet still somehow new . . .” McLain’s novel Circling the Sun tells a new version of an old story in a way that will engage, educate, and interest historical fiction and contemporary readers. West with the Night Straight on Till Morning: The Life of Beryl Markham Out of Africa: and Shadows on the Grass

I read Out of Africa a very long time ago and lived it. Paula McLain's novel is closer to the real life story of Beryl. She writes so beautifully; every word is like poetry. It is the story of a modern woman living in a world where men still controlled our fate.Berly strove to be her own person and break out of the bindings of that era. She endured through it all with a purpose to be who she always was - a free spirit. This is a story that deserves to live on in the hearts of women who strive to be as free as she was.

Enjoyed the book- interesting information about early life of Europeans in Africa- through the life of an extraordinary woman.Good

I loved this book. Through its pages, I became Beryl’s friend, and learned about this unique woman ahead of her time. I also saw the colors of her beloved Africa and its power on people

Incredible story, incredible author and writing style.A swirl of detail that captures you in the moment making you feel like you're living the main character's life standing just next to her.THANK YOU PAULA MCLAIN for making me love reading.Finished it in under a week despite my busy schedule <3

I expected a biography, but received a fantastic novel. Such a well-written, graphic, emotionally stirring book that kept me grasped in its process of an amazing life. This lady lived dangerously, filled with a drive to achieve and prove that she had value. Cannot recommend this read more highly.

I could not put the book down,so interesting and easy to read. I feel enriched by getting to know these interesting non conventional characters. What a strong women with integrity. A model for women who believe they are not necessarily born to have children. Loved the free spirit and the discourses amongst the main characters, as well as the mixed in poetry.