• West with the Night

  • By: Beryl Markham
  • Narrated by: Julie Harris
  • Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (2,324 ratings)

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West with the Night  By  cover art

West with the Night

By: Beryl Markham
Narrated by: Julie Harris
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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)

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What listeners say about West with the Night

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
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    1,478
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Performance
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Story
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  • 3 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The writing alone will make you cry

This is such a beautifully written memoir with a performance that rings true at every word. And the horse race? That 30 minutes is worth a whole credit alone. It's what the combination of good writing and good narration can be at its finest. Don't hesitate to get this one.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great use of language

Her words transported me to wherever she was with perfect clarity wanting for more when I was finished.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fascinating Tale of a Fascinating Woman

Much more than I expected. Beautifully written and more a story about growing up in Africa than merely about flying. I loved every word.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Perfectly narrated!

What a wonderfully written book by Beryl Markham! I highly recommend this reading by Julie Harris. I was absolutely absorbed flying over Africa, hunting on safari, riding Pegasus and more.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • kt
  • 03-31-22

Absolutely incredible!

I read this book many years ago in print form, and I’m so happy that I listened to it as an audiobook. The writing is exquisite, but my very favorite discovery was Julie Harris as a narrator! I have also listened to her reading Out of Africa and I’m looking forward to listening to other books that she narrates.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it!

I had never heard this story before. So inspirational. Fascinating character. She faced death many times. Loved her dog. The words were beautiful. A brilliant woman. The narrator was awesome. Perfect for the character. I highly recommend!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Amelia Earhart without the tragic end!

This is fine perhaps great writing. extraordinary, beautifully read. Ammazingly well written, verges on true poetry. Hemmingway has been quoted as saying "she has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer. I felt that I was simply a carpenter with words, picking up whatever was furnished on the job and nailing them together and sometimes making an okay pig pen. But [she] can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers ... it really is a bloody wonderful book." I have to agree with Mr. Hemmingway, this girl outshines most good writers. I saw one review that dissed the book, perhaps Motzart isn't up to that person's standards either...??? dunno!

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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One of my favorites......

Julie Harris did a fantastic performance of painting this story in words. Beryl did an amazing job of describing every detail so that listening to it was like watching a movie inside my head. An exceptional piece of literature.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

The Rich dessert of a wall lived life is ...

What a treat: content: inspiring, revelational (how many of us have been attacked more than once by wild lions and other wild beasts and live to tell so sympathetically what the beast was thinking), educational, riveting.
writing quality: the best. Cheers to both the author and (no doubt) the superior copy editors.
I've been reading so many badly written but nevertheless interesting books recently, this one stands out. This book changed my life, gave purpose to the idea of writing about a past one knows but which the audience will fail to have a basis for understanding.
All without coarse language and sex. These are unnecessary in a story as compelling as this. The author's understanding of the people and animals she writes about somehow transforms into a reader's blossoming understanding of the author and her wild adventures, one wilder than the next. Bravo!

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A Treasure

What did you love best about West with the Night?

I loved the writing. The story was interesting, but I found that I just enjoyed hearing the way to book was written. Descriptions of characters and action were just great.

What about Julie Harris’s performance did you like?

I could imagine that she really was the real person describing her experiences. I did hear the page turning. Surprising, but not really a big deal. One the best parts of listening to a book is that someone else is pronouncing the names that I might stumble over.

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