NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR, BOOKPAGE, AND SHELF AWARENESS • “Paula McLain is considered the new star of historical fiction, and for good reason. Fans of The Paris Wife will be captivated by Circling the Sun, which . . . is both beautifully written and utterly engrossing.”—Ann Patchett, Country LivingThis powerful novel transports readers to the … Country Living
This powerful novel transports readers to the breathtaking world of Out of Africa—1920s Kenya—and reveals the extraordinary adventures of Beryl Markham, a woman before her time. Brought to Kenya from England by pioneering parents dreaming of a new life on an African farm, Beryl is raised unconventionally, developing a fierce will and a love of all things wild. But after everything she knows and trusts dissolves, headstrong young Beryl is flung into a string of disastrous relationships, then becomes caught up in a passionate love triangle with the irresistible safari hunter Denys Finch Hatton and the writer Baroness Karen Blixen. Brave and audacious and contradictory, Beryl will risk everything to have Denys’s love, but it’s ultimately her own heart she must conquer to embrace her true calling and her destiny: to fly.
Praise for Circling the Sun
“In McLain’s confident hands, Beryl Markham crackles to life, and we readers truly understand what made a woman so far ahead of her time believe she had the power to soar.”—Jodi Picoult, author of Leaving Time
“Enchanting . . . a worthy heir to [Isak] Dinesen . . . Like Africa as it’s so gorgeously depicted here, this novel will never let you go.”—The Boston Globe
“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)
“Circling the Sun soars.”—Newsday
“Captivating . . . [an] irresistible novel.”—The Seattle Times
“Like its high-flying subject, Circling the Sun is audacious and glamorous and hard not to be drawn in by. Beryl Markham may have married more than once, but she was nobody’s wife.”—Entertainment Weekly
“[An] eloquent evocation of Beryl’s daring life.”—O: The Oprah Magazine
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I love Africa and stories about living there. This book was another adventure like the movie “Out of Africa.”
One of the best books I have read. Felt like being right there in Africa
This was our book clubs book for the month. I’m glad I read it because I would not have picked it on my own. I finished it but it was difficult. In my opinion it was boring. It was a story about an actual person that I didn’t like. There were too many characters and sadly most of them were shallow and narcoleptic.
What touched me was how Beryl Marham was raised almost as an animal that surrounded her in Africa, and how that manifested later. I would love to have met her– fearless, unencumbered by rules and society moires, giving herself to her desires and emotions. Not wanting to spoil the book, I can say her desires lead her onto treacherous ground. Of course she has many chances at happiness, but in the end, she is true only to herself. I really enjoyed this book, and it is not the standard fair. I actually love the fact that Paula McLain does not stick to the character arc that makes a story stale. She is true to the way life is– making it a gutsier, unpredictable read. If you would like to experience Africa, the way it was– this is a satisfying read.
Fantastic. Along the lines of Out of Africa.
I have become a solid fan of Paula McClain, and this novel added another level of admiration for her talent. I could not stop reading once I started this story.
Loved it. So unique.
I liked this book. There was romance and a woman at the center of this novel. An interesting setting, too.
I loved this book. My husband and I enjoyed it as an audiobook while traveling, and it kept us riveted. What an amazing recount of Beryl Markham’s remarkable life. I recommend it as a companion book to “Out of Africa”.
This book was amazing! While a novel. It read like a biography because Beryl was an actual person. It’s written at a similar time as Out of Africa when Kenya was being developed by Europeans. But besides the fascinating look at African life in the 1930’s, it tells the story of a brave, extremely individualistic woman who beats all odds to live a remarkable life. She respected the native Africans more than the social mores of the time. A must read book!
Epic story of a strong woman.
With nearly 4,000 reviews of which over 80% rate the book a 4 or 5 star read, I don’t need to add much.
Long a fan of Out of Africa and the Karen Blixen saga, this fictionalized addition about the real Beryl Markham adds much to the histories of these adventurous women and the travails they faced while making their unique mark in male dominated pursuits at a time when it was near unthinkable.
Someday, I’ll write a blog about how the theme song from Out of Africa saved my life, or at least pulled me back from the dark abyss.
Meanwhile, I rate this book at an absolute 4.5 stars.
I’ve just added Beryl Markham’s memoir “West with the Night,” which served as inspiration for Paula McLain’s novel, to my very long reading list.
I hope you enjoy this adventure as much as I did.
Brings Beryl Markham to life so vividly. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so much that I sought out another of Paula McClain’s books, The First Wife, about Ernest Hemingway’s first marriage, which I equally enjoyed.
Such an interesting story told in such a wond Raul. Read this book.
One of my favorite books. I didn’t want it to end.
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Have read The Paris Wife and enjoyed this book. Relatable characters and interesting.
Book club enjoyed.
A thought provoking book with extremely interesting characters
Wonderful history of a true female trail blazer in Africa when apartheid and gender bias/discrimination were the status quo. Well written.