Circling the Sun - Paula McLain

Ballantine Books, July 2015.

Five Stars

Paula McLain is a master at writing portraits of strong, independent women living outside of society’s norms. I loved reading about Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley, in McLain’s novel The Paris Wife, and in her author’s note she writes that Beryl Markham could have been a Hemingway character – if he wrote about women. McLain has done it for him, and this novel about the record-setting female aviator and her tangled love life does not disappoint.

Beryl Markham lived in Kenya in the 1920s. At first I felt like I couldn’t get a foothold in the story because I knew nothing about Beryl and her various accomplishments. However, McLain writes so vividly that I could picture it all clearly. I was inspired to research more about Beryl, which I think is the ideal result for a historical novel.

The novel is framed nicely with a prologue and epilogue that both deal with Beryl’s transatlantic flight from London to North America – she was the first woman to fly non-stop over the Atlantic and the first person to do it in that direction. Even with all of her accomplishments, Beryl is a little known historical figure, and she lived out her old age in poverty until her biography ___ was rediscovered. Although she was close to author Karen Blixen (Isak Dinesen), Beryl’s own writing about life in Africa did not take off in the same way, probably because there were some doubts about its authorship.

Beryl was raised by her father in Kenya, after her mother and brother returned to England and essentially cut off communication. The abandonment by her mother affected all of Beryl’s future relationships: she did not trust women, and her few relationships with them tended to be maternal in nature. She preferred the company of men, all of whom she compares in some way to her father. Her friendships with men caused many scandals and rumours, some of which were true. McLain manages to put a positive spin on Beryl’s various indiscretions, while other sources I have read are much more critical. For her time, Beryl was an incredibly modern woman, creating an independent life for herself in early twentieth century Africa.

Before she received her pilot’s licence, Beryl was the first woman to qualify as a horse trainer in Kenya or anywhere else. Although she had many successes training horses to race for their wealthy owners, her refusal to compromise her ideals led to a tarnished reputation. Beryl was willing to do anything to do what she loved, and to be with the one she loved. Her risks often paid off, while at other times she suffered because of the men she chose. Any accomplishment she made was called into question because she was a woman, and much of it was based on jealousy and rumours.

Beryl Markham was certainly a woman who did not fit society’s standards. Forgoing marriage and motherhood, Beryl’s career choices allowed for huge advancements not only for women but also for the pursuit of knowledge and pushing the boundaries for human capabilities. In McLain’s hands, Beryl is a sympathetic character and a joy to read about.

I received this book for free through Ballantine Books and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.