I would survive them the way I had long ago, when my mother boarded a train and became smoke. The tribe had found me then, and given me my true name, but Lakwet was only a name after all. I had forged her myself, out of brokenness, learning to love wildness instead of fearing it. I thrive on the exhilaration of the hunt, charging headlong into the world even—or especially—when it hurt to do it. In 1904, a three year-old named Beryl moves from England to Kenya (before it was "Kenya") with her mother, father and brother. Two years later, her mother and older brother return to England (for reasons I am reluctant to reveal - no spoilers!), leaving Beryl in Kenya to be raised by her father, who trains horses and runs a farm. Growing up adjacent to and immersed in several families from the Kipsigis tribe, Beryl becomes an aspiring young warrior (having never absorbed Western expectations of girlhood), passionate racehorse trainer, and adventurer. We first meet her, in a flash-forward prologue, while she's performing her ultimate occupation: pilot. First it was her father who taught her everything she would ever need about horse training. She would become the youngest licensed horse trainer, and first women in the world, at the age of eighteen. But Markham only grows more annoying and selfish with age. She refuses to stop riding when she becomes pregnant, and this is held up as an example of an uncompromising lifestyle. She falls in love with a man after he throws some Whitman quotes her way, then hops into bed with another she doesn't care much about before he flees the country to escape scandal. She keeps talking about being financially independent, but keeps using men for money. Ahead of her time? Not when it comes to birth control.

Circling the Sun by Paula McLain: 9780345534200

Knowing how the novel romanticized a painful chapter in Kenyan history made this an uncomfortable read that felt about as real as a Harlequin novel. The first part of the book offered a heartwarming tale of an innocent childhood spent in the wilderness; of an unruly British girl, or tomboy, playing with a boy from a nearby tribe before social conventions force them apart. The flowy writing and atmospheric setting reminded me of coming-of-age stories set in the wild, in the tradition of The Jungle Book or Anna of Green Gables. Amelia Earhart gets all the airtime, but this pilot had the juicier past. . .. McLain crafts a story readers won’t soon forget.” — Good Housekeeping Circling The Sun brought this unconventional woman's story alive in the most beautiful contemporary prose. The author borrowed characters from Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen, Karen Blixen, to populate Beryl's story and establish the connection between Karin Blixen and Beryl: Denys Finch Hatton, Lord Delamere, Berkeley Cole, Karin Blixen and her husband baron van Blixen, and a few more. No, I don't think he was a good parent. He was so busy training horses and trying to make a living that it seems he almost forgot about her. Lady Delamere did remind him that Beryl was a girl and she was running wild. Then her father tried to "tame"... - annar Famed aviator Beryl Markham is a novelist’s dream. . . . [A] wonderful portrait of a complex woman who lived—defiantly—on her own terms.” — People (Book of the Week)

Book Summary

I don't mind reading about narcissists, cheaters or idiots and their ridiculous life choices. They're types that are central in many of my favorite novels. But what's infuriating is when a selfish fool is held up as a role model for women, and when a tedious account of her affairs and intrigues is called a story that "transports you" to Kenya. It was a very progressive thought for her day, and a symptom of her fierce independence. I have seen this attitude played out by many women who came of age in the 60's and 70's, as they fought through social barriers and professional barricades. I is... - barb23703 While a leopard moth that had got caught in the curtains stopped struggling for a moment, and realized it was free."

Circling Sun | Soundway Records Spirits | The Circling Sun | Soundway Records

Denys Finch Hatton and Berkely Cole inspired her to read, and become the Schezerehade of her own life story. The Hook - I liked the writing in McLain’s Paris Wife but not the subject. After discussing it with my book group and meeting the author, I liked it better, but still the subject, anything to do with Hemmingway, was not for me. Circling the Sun sounded much more intriguing and I knew it was a better fit.Before Kenya was Kenya, Green Hills was alive and my father loved me. I could jump as high as Kibii and walk through the forest without making a sound. I could bring a warthog out of its hole by crinkling paper. I could be eaten by a lion and live. I could do anything, for I was in heaven still. Brought to Kenya from England as a child and then abandoned by her mother, Beryl is raised by both her father and the native Kipsigis tribe who share his estate. Her unconventional upbringing transforms Beryl into a bold young woman with a fierce love of all things wild and an inherent understanding of nature's delicate balance. But even the wild child must grow up, and when everything Beryl knows and trusts dissolves, she is catapulted into a string of disastrous relationships. I have had my eye on this book for years – ever since I read The Paris Wife. Finally, I selected it for one of my book clubs as it seemed the perfect time to get to it!

Circling the Sun - Kindle edition by McLain, Paula Circling the Sun - Kindle edition by McLain, Paula

Lauren Sanchez is producing with Imperative Entertainment partners Dan Friedkin and Bradley Thomas. Tim Kring is executive producing and vpcontent Jillian Apfelbaumoverseeing for the company. Until I was about to read "Circling the Sun", all I knew about Beryl Markham was of her record breaking voyage across the Atlantic, in 1936, ....Her extraordinary accomplishment. Oh the chain of events. Or sometimes also called fate or destiny, right? I first read about Beryl Markham in Almost Famous Women: Stories by Megan Mayhew Bergman.If you loved Out of Africa, the book and/ or the movie, you will be enthralled . You'll see the same beautiful and wild Kenya and meet again with Karen Blixen and Denys Finch Hattan. I wish I could do justice to the wonderful story telling and writing by Paula McLain. The author notes that Markham wrote a memoir called West With the Night and I look forward to reading it . And yet. And yet. As Janis Joplin famously sang, “Freedom’s just another word for nothing left to lose.” At one pivotal soiree, one of the characters says, “It’s all just a little empty…I don’t understand that kind of sport.” Liberated from conventions and propriety, Beryl is untamable and often unlikable. The one constant is her self-absorption (e.g., her friendship with Karen Blixen and her betrayal of that friendship to pursue an affair with Fitch Haddon. Or her several marriages of convenience while loving the unattainable Denys.) Self-absorbed people can often be fun to be around…until they aren’t anymore. The result is an album on which the sonic palette is awash with lush orchestrations, at times offering an aural experience of expansive depth. Numerous instruments there may be, but each one is given space to breathe, with not a hint of conflict or confusion as vintage synth sounds blend with shimmering harp notes and vibraphone whilst at the same time accommodating horn riffage, undulating flute patterns and esoteric keyboards, all underscored by a solid-sounding upright bass and retro jazz drum kit. Formed over two decades ago, The Circling Sun certainly cannot be accused of rushing to unleash musical product on the public, as Spirits, set for release on May 19th on the famous Soundway imprint, will be their debut album. In playing such a long game, the inevitable question will be, was it worth the wait? To these ears, the response is an unreserved yes, together with a strong impression that the album will garner positive plaudits from an array of differing sources. After meeting Karen Blixen, aka Isak Dinesen (author of Out of Africa,) Markham starts comparing herself to Blixen and theorizing about which woman can snag the rustic, Whitman-quoting adventurer who's now her "soulmate." Years later, when the two say goodbye, Markham has her Field of Dreams moment and reflects on the novel that Blixen would soon write about her years in Africa: