Out of Africa (Modern Library) by Isak Dinesen Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Out of Africa (Modern Library)
Book Review: Kenyan Honeymoon
Summary: 3 Stars
I found this book to be overrated, although it provides an insight into the lives of the native Kenyans, i disliked the 'preaching' side of the book.Book Review: Superb reading
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my favourite novels (although technically it is actually not a novel but a memoir, i.e. an idealized account based on a more or less true story). I am biased, having spent time in Kenya, but even so it must carry universal appeal for all. It is in essence a bittersweet love story, a search for the most meaningful life. But also remember that this is a far cry from the reality of 'Baroness' Blixen's life in Africa - the truth is much less romantic. None the less, it is a pity that Karen Blixen never received the Noble Prize for her work, even though Mr. Hemingway thought she should have - in place of himself!Book Review: I don't give five stars very often - a classic!
Summary: 5 Stars
Oh, my! I got this recorded book out of the library as what seemed to be the best out of a dubious selection of mostly insignificant books. Expecting only a reasonable distraction from my commute from a book I figured I'd never get around to reading, I was instead confronted with one of the best books I've ever encountered.As others have said, this is a love story, not between two people but between Blixen and Africa. She was entranced with everything about the country--the air, the countryside, the natives--and it shows in every word. Not that this is some sort of breathless, overwritten memoir. Blixen instead adopts a very matter-of-fact tone, which only adds to its strength. When she describes something extraordinary, it doesn't sound overwritten but instead very real. Though she is struck by the natives, she is plain about their eccentricities as well as the European eccentricities that they show up.
She described in detail many of the people she encountered, both Europeans and natives, and one feels that one knows them and mourns when some of them die. Beautifully written with a fascinating subject, it is a book that I will have to read in text form, and soon.
I should add that the reader of the recorded book, Wanda McCaddon, provides just the right tone for it with her careful, straightforward, but never bland, enunciation.
Book Review: Out of the common places
Summary: 5 Stars
Never wrote a woman a better book in my opinion, where epic, liric and ethic intermingle into the most beautiful prose ever written, only a spark away from poetry self. And not only art and beauty are comprised within the landscapes, characters and adventures, but also the hints of profound respect, gratitude and understanding of life and fellow partisans.Book Review: A beautifully written love affair of Africa
Summary: 5 Stars
Isak Dinesen, nee Karen Blixen, lived in East Africa for almost twenty years making a living as the proprietor of a coffee plantation. Out of Africa is a memoir of her experiences there. But the book is so much more. The stories are interesting to be sure. They relate to the plantation or the people and events that one way or another impacted her life there. But it is Blixen's writing that I found so sublime. I have never read anything like it. The way Blixen turns a phrase is both lyrical and enchanting all at once - you become literally swept up in the words and imagery. It is obvilious that Blixen loved Africa - something about the continent got under her skin. In a similar fashion her words have gotten under mine. I have read Out of Africa several times; each time I marvel at the beautiful language she uses. Read this book and I am sure you will feel the same way.