Out of Africa by Isak Dinesen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a memoir of Dinesen's time living on her coffee farm in Kenya between 1914 and 1931. It struck me as being a very outward-focused memoir as it is much more about the people and events around her than it is about her inner life. I enjoyed the book very much. The writing was lyrical, but not over the top.
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a memoir of Dinesen's time living on her coffee farm in Kenya between 1914 and 1931. It struck me as being a very outward-focused memoir as it is much more about the people and events around her than it is about her inner life. I enjoyed the book very much. The writing was lyrical, but not over the top.
“Between the river in the mellow English landscape and the African mountain ridge, ran the path of this life. ... The bowstring was released on the bridge at Eton, the arrow described its orbit, and hit the obelisk in the Ngong Hills.”
I loved meeting all the different people on the farm. These character sketches, which were integrated into the stories, were thoughtfully drawn and the landscape was brought to life beautifully. I also appreciated the many philosophical observations.
“Perhaps he knew, as I did not, that the Earth was made round so that we would not see too far down the road.”
This book is on my Classics Club list and I am counting it as a "Nonfiction Classic" for the Back to the Classics Challenge.
I had heard of the book and the movie, but now I want to read the book.
ReplyDelete