West with the Night

By: Beryl Markham

Narrated by: Julie Harris

Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

West with the Night is the story of a remarkable woman molded and shaped by many things: the African jungle, a certain dog, horses, airplanes, friendships with white men and black. There is no life, no story quite like it.

©1942, 1983 Beryl Markham. Recorded by arrangement with North Point Press, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC (P)2003 The Arthur and Luce Klein Audio Collection, The Yale Collection of Historical Sound Recordings, Yale University Music Library

Critic reviews

"Julie Harris' reading of aviatrix Beryl Markham's biography and celebration of Africa is an essential audiobook. Enjoy the magic of the spoken word and Harris' lovely performance." (AudioFile)

Extraordinary Storytelling from a Splendid Writer

I knew the name Beryl Markham and had some vague idea of her as a thirties’ socialite. But I didn’t realize that she was such an amazing person who had such a mesmerizing story to tell. And, she told it so beautifully. Her prose at times borders on poetry and her real-life tales are so carefully drawn that, even though they took place almost a century ago on the other side of the world, you are captured and held by the drama. This woman really lived, in every sense of the word. She was decades ahead of her time. Read this book. BTW— All aspects of the production, especially the reader, are first rate.

Wow!

Wow - what a story! Rather, what a great collection of stories about the author’s amazing experiences. Truly worth listening to.

Excellent

I found the book fabulous - it has a wonderful description of the culture of native peoples as well as of pure adventure.

Amazing!

I confess when I bought this book I had no idea it was a memoir. I only noticed half-way through that there was definitely no plot, just a series of incredible and beautifully written stories about one woman's marvelous life. A life so interesting, I might add that I began to question again whether this was memoir or fiction. Surely, I thought, no real person ever led a life this fascinating and lived to tell about it! Ms. Markham was a female Hemingway--in life and on the page! There is apparently some controversy as to whether she actually wrote the prose herself, but you shouldn't let that deter you from enjoying it. Whoever wrote this meant to move, uplift, and entertain the reader, and she (or he) succeeded in spades!

Plus, Julie Harris' narration is flawless!! I cannot vouch for the authenticity of her African pronunciations, but they certainly sounded believable, and her voices for other characters made me feel like I was watching an old movie, warm and genuine. Her particular accent and slightly masculine tone is ideally suited to for the first-person narration of Ms. Markham's truly extraordinary life.

I don't get disappointed in narrators very often..

What did you like best about West with the Night? What did you like least?

I read this book many years ago & it remains a favorite of mine. The writing is positively lyrical & Beryl Markham's life is so fascinating. She's also linked with so many legendary characters from her time period. However, Julie Harris tries to sabotage the reading at every page!!! Her voice is very pleasant & I know she's a fine actress, but it's almost as if she's reading another language that she doesn't understand!! She pauses where there are no commas, she breaks up sentences, she ruins the gorgeous, almost musically written lines. It's almost criminal! It's as if they handed her the book (after she climbed a long flight of stairs) & they took the first take of her reading it for the first time. I even heard a page turn a couple of times!!! This is not up to the high standard we're all accustomed to from Books on Tape or Recorded Books. & why an American to read a British African woman's story? If it weren't for the exquisite writing, I would have abandoned listening.

What other book might you compare West with the Night to and why?

It's unique. But, of course, Out of Africa is the obvious. However, Karen Blixen HATED Beryl Markham. They had too many lovers in common.

Would you be willing to try another one of Julie Harris’s performances?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!!!!!!!

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Of course. Terrible that it hasn't been done.

Any additional comments?

I would highly recommend you READ this book, before listening (by a better narrator) to it. You need to pause & savor the remarkable lines, insights & characters of this wonderful story.

I will READ this book instead

I was really looking forward to the book after reading Circling the Sun, but I couldn't make it through the first chapter. The reader spoke so quickly & didn't feel authentic.
In my opinion the person reading can make or break the story.
There was no feeing, no dialect, no pace.
I will read this book because I'm interested in this story.
If you have listen to Circling the Sun before this book, you will see what I mean.

Good story, well read.

Enjoyed the book. Thought there would be more points made about life in general, not just listening to a story being told. When markham does take time to reflect, she she makes great points.

I totally agree with Hemingway, that this is a gem of a book!

Circling the Sun , a current book about Beryl Markham, captivated me so much that I wanted to read this book as well, as it was written by Beryl Markham, herself. Hemingway evidently, loved this book, and I totally agree with him (ha ha). Naturally, there is overlap, but Julie Harris' reading makes it totally worthwhile !

Surprising.

The book is wonderful. An interesting perspective on colonial Africa. There are a lot of her life that is not mentioned. What she chooses to tell she does well.

A pioneer, an adventurer, a woman!

As my upcoming trip to Kenya looms, I have been searching for those people who lived and thrived in Kenya in the early part of the 20th century. There are many historical figures including that of Karen Blixen, Finch Hatton and Lord Delamere. As I started to read about the various individuals, a certain name caught my eye. She was a beautiful and tall woman who was an avid aviator and a different sort of adventurer. She ofcourse was Beryl Markham.

This is a fascinating book that she penned in the early 40s after her departure from Kenya with Bror Blixen, ex-husband of Karen Blixen. Note that in those early days of flying, aircraft were rather flimsy machines and had rudimentary instruments. Many had no radios. What is amazing is that she flew from Kenya to Europe and back numerous times and on occasion solo. Her life in these wild and charming days are beautifully laid out in these riveting chapters. I was awed by her recollection of the times and the words she chose to summarize them within the book.

Eventually she returned to Africa and died in the 1980s. Her fame however will live on and as a next step, I would love to read her autobiography, ‘Straight on till Morning’, by Mary S Lovell.