West with the Night

Ernest Hemingway is on record praising the writing quality of Beryl Markham's book. It is easy to see why. Her writing style is spare, to the point, without gush, brooding or emotional baggage. She makes you feel you're there with her--whether hunting wild animals, watching a championship horse race or flying in search of a downed pilot, and her descriptions and comments are clever, original and memorable. "I managed to overcome my education" is one that comes to mind. "Wishful thinking often smothers reason" is another. Hers is an adventurous and unusual story: growing up as a small child on an African farm in the 1920's, making her living in the 1930's training race horses in Kenya and then flying planes for safari hunters, followed by her "West with the Night" story when she made the first solo trans-Atlantic flight from England to North America in 1936. One interesting side note: her stories tell us much more about Bror Blixen, the husband of Karen Blixen, than did "Out of Africa."

I note from other reviews there is some question whether this book was ghost-written by her husband who was a Hollywood screenwriter. Given her life devoted to hunting, horse training and flying, it does seem remarkable that she could then write a book of such high quality. We don't have to worry about this question, however. The stories are clearly based on her life and experience, which are extremely interesting. Regardless of who actually authored the text, the writing is top quality and well worth the read.

I loved this book! I bought it on a whim and am so very glad I did. The stories she tells range from touching to exciting. She paints a beautiful picture of a time and place that has now vanished. And the narration is exquisite. I had to stop at one point to see if it was narrated by the author, the voice was so authentic. Definitely one of my top five audio books ever!

A remarkable story rich in characterization and place and read with mesmerizing enchantment by Julie Harris. I have listened to this over and over, and it still holds me in its thrall.

When I first started listening to this book I thought to myself "Could this book REALLY be such an outstanding piece of literature, or does the narrator, Julie Harris, just make it seem that way?"
I had known about Beryl Markham since right about the time of her death in 1986, and she is one of the people who most influenced my life.

But it was not until, while researching correlations and contrasts with Amelia Earhart (another big influence), that I came across an obscure quote by Ernest Hemmingway in which he stated "Did you read Beryl Markham's book, West With The Night? ...She has written so well, and marvellously 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 this girl, who is to my knowledge very unpleasant and we might even say a high-grade bitch, can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves as writers ... it really is a bloody wonderful book." * Imagine THAT!
I totally agree that it is a marvelous read!
* Beryl Markham-Wikipedia

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!

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

I have really enjoyed listening to Ms. Markham's style of writing and Julie Harris does a fantastic job with accents and helps build the excitement of the book. It is a wonderful story of Africa and introduces you to many aspects you wouldn't have known.

Beryl can be a bit long-winded at times (its like listening patiently to a senior tell an intrigiung tale) and the narrator occasionally has a faint but audible nasal whistle, but other than those two minor things, I loved this story. Excellent writing, excellent narration. Highly recommended.

An amazing life told with great flair and read beautifully. I'm so glad this was introduced by my book club.

Such a beautifully written book! I would have loved to know Beryl Markham. Although I have no doubt that she was a unique and extremely intelligent individual, I think the biggest reason she was so successful at so many things is because no one told her she couldn't or shouldn't be. She was an animal lover, humanitarian, horse trainer, and pilot in the wilds of Africa. Her prose is insightful, clever, thoughtful and beautiful! As memoirs go, this is one of the best.

The narration of Julie Harris is absolutely top notch.