Review: "Circling the Sun" by Paula McLain

This is Paula McLain’s fictional biography of Beryl Markham, the first licensed woman horse trainer in Africa and the first woman to fly across the Atlantic from London to North America. Beryl is a beautiful woman who lives her life on her own terms in a very unconventional style. At the tender age of four, she moves to Kenya from England with her parents and brother. Her mother hates Kenya and abandons Beryl and her father when she takes the brother and moves back to England. Beryl grows up wild and free on her father’s horse ranch. She learns to hunt with the natives and her love of horses is nurtured and deepened by her close relationship with her father. When she is sixteen, her father’s horse farm goes bankrupt and must be sold. She marries a neighbor who owns a nearby farm. With no knowledge of what a good marriage or wife is, her marriage flounders. She then sets out on her unusual quest to become the first woman horse trainer. Along the way, there are indiscretions and heartache that shape the rest of her life.

As in “The Paris Wife”, Ms. McLain paints the characters with a fine brush. The story is told in Beryl’s voice so you are given a first-hand look at what may have made her tick and make the decisions that she did. The author brings to light the fascinating life that Beryl lead and also gives insight as to what may have made her behave the way she did. Her character is softened into a likeable person, although a lot of her life decisions were questionable.

This is a wonderful novel. It did what a great novel should do, I was compelled to look deeper into Beryl Markham’s life. She was truly a pioneer and a role model in a lot of the aspects of her life. If you liked “The Paris Wife”, you will love “Circling the Sun”.