Paula McLain is best known for her popular historical fiction novel, The Paris Wife. In Circling the Sun she tackles another woman from history. Beryl Markham was a woman who lived in the early 1920's in an English colony in Kenya. She is perhaps known most for being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west, and yet the book focuses primarily on her childhood and up to her mid-20's and barely mentions her historic flight. Instead the author details her adventurous life growing up, her involvement in horse training, and her love life. Beryl was involved in a social circle in the English colonies that involved lots of parties and lots of love affairs and spouse swapping. I had trouble remembering who everyone was married to and who they were sleeping with - because it usually wasn't the same person. Plus everyone had a nickname. Beryl herself was in a love triangle with Karen Blixen (the woman who was in Out of Africa) and Denys Finch Hatton, and much of the book was about her relationship with the two of them.
I know I'm repeating myself when I say that I struggle with historical fiction. I can't read it without constantly asking myself "Is this what really happened?" and "Did she really feel this way?" or is it just the way the author wanted things to happen to make the story better. I'm sure the author did a lot of research but it's impossible to get into the character's head. Although I continued to ask these question, I did enjoy reading this book. I enjoyed reading about this time and place which isn't described in many other books. And now I should probably read West With the Night, Beryl Markham's memoir (and a book that BT recommended to me years ago but I never read!) and then read Out of Africa (although I read that Beryl isn't even mentioned). - Recommended if you like historical fiction. -June
