Out of Africa
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Book Overview
Karen Blixen's Out of Africa is the lyrical and luminous memoir of Kenya that launched a million tourist trails, beautifully repackaged as part of the Penguin Essentials range.
'I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills . . . Up in this high air you breathed easily . . . you woke up in the morning and thought: Here I am, where I ought to be.' From the moment Karen Blixen arrived in Kenya in 1914 to manage a coffee plantation, her heart belonged to Africa. Drawn to the intense colours and ravishing landscapes, Blixen spent her happiest years on the farm, and her experiences and friendships with the people around her are vividly recalled in these memoirs. Out of Africa is the story of a remarkable and unconventional woman, and of a way of life that has vanished for ever. 'With its lyrical and luminous picture of Kenya, it launched a million tourist trails' Guardian 'A compelling story of passion and a movingly poetic tribute to a lost land' The Times A work of sincere power ... a fine lyrical study of life in East Africa - Harold Nicolson, Daily Telegraph Karen Blixen was born in Rungsted, Denmark, in 1885. After studying art at Copenhagen, Paris and Rome, she married her cousin, Baron Bror Blixen-Finecke, in 1914. Together they managed a coffee plantation in Kenya until they divorced in 1925. She continued on the farm until a collapse in the coffee market forced her back to Rungsted in 1931. Although she had written occasional contributions to Danish periodicals since 1905 (under the nom de plume of Osceola), her real debut took place in 1934 with the publication of Seven Gothic Tales, written in English under the pen name, Isak Dinesen. Out of Africa (1937) is an autobiographical account of the years she spent in Kenya. All of her subsequent books were published in both English and Danish, including Winter's Tales (1942) and The Angelic Avengers (1936). Among her other collections of stories are Last Tales (1957), Anecdotes of Destiny (1958), Shadows on the Grass (1960) and posthumously Ehrengard (1963). In the 1950s she was mentioned several times as a candidate to receive the Noble Prize in Literature. Baroness Blixen died in Rungsted in 1962. In 1991 her house was opened as The Karen Blixen Museum.Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0241951437
ISBN13:9780241951439
Release Date:May 2011
Publisher:Penguin Group
Length:329 Pages
Weight:0.44 lbs.
Dimensions:0.7" x 4.4" x 7.1"
Customer Reviews
6 ratings
Out of Africa
Published by Alice from Wonderland , 3 years ago
This is a lovely book for those interested in the early part of the 20th century. It give a true voice to how native Africans lived and behaved and how the "white" view of life contrasted with theirs. There are also charming descriptions of the animals the author knew and lived with. Some of the descriptions of the land are pure poetry. Although a bit slow/pedantic for our world, it's a true account of an extraordinary woman. You may have seen the wonderful (romanticized) movie--the book will add to that experience. (I actually bought the book for the cover!)
luminous and magical as the African moon over her farm
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) has been elevated to star status by the feminists for her independent stance and courage, but don't read this book because of that. Don't look for the tragic story of her misguided marriage and the heartbreak and barrenness it brought her, or for descriptions of her love affair with adventurer Denys Finch-Hatton. None of that appears here. Instead, "Out of Africa" is a storytelling book woven in the imaginative Danish style. Dinesen's finely tuned sensitivity is revealed here, as well as her (again typically Danish) well-developed gift for friendship with many kinds of people. In her case this gift extends to African animals as well, like Lulu, the beautiful gazelle who graced her plantation for years. Her descriptions of the Kenya of her day are exquisitely written, factual and magical at the same time. Africa is the star of the book, not Dinesen herself, not the tribespeople or the colonials, not her struggles with raising coffee in land "a little too high", nor her political dealings with the government officials. Her writing evokes the Africa she knew well and loved deeply.
A beautifully written love affair of Africa
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
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.
Wonderful
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. The writing is beautiful and delicate and brilliant. One of the miracles of the book (and I hope I don't scare anyone off by saying this) is that there are many incidents where not a lot is happening, but the writing is so fantastic, it keeps you reading. (There is plenty of drama in the book, too.) And Karen Blixen/Isak Dinesen paints the characters wonderfully. As Truman Capote said of this book, "Every page trembles like a leaf in a storm." I lived in Kenya for a year when I was a boy, which increased my interest in the book. But even without that experience, I know I still would have loved it.
FORGET THE MOVIE
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Forget the movie and read the book instead. Isak Dinesen's love for Africa and her adopted homeland shines through every page as she helps us to vicariously experience like on a Kenyan farm. The book is loosely plotted and Dinesen is not shy about expressing her personal views, so expect some opinionated writing from this lady. She doesn't romanticize Africa, as many writers do. She tells it like it is, which is great, as far as I'm concerned. If you're looking for King Solomon's Mines, foget it, but if you have any interest in Africa, past or present, you're sure to like this book.
Wonderfull book that gives a picture of a strong woman
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
Karen Blixen (Isac Dinesen) is one of Denmarks best writers. Out of Africa is her main book that tells the story of her life in Africa. Read the book it is much more than the loveaffair with Dennys Finck-Hatton (Out of Africa with R. Redford and M. Streep)The book gives a wonderfull picture of Blixens relationship with the natives and have that ancient athmosphere that appears in all colonial litterature.Read the book it gives a picture of a vere strong woman who knew what she wanted but again and again had to compromise according to her life and the oppotunities it gave her. The book is one of my favourits because it has got everything. Love, death, hope, history, feminism, nature, africa.
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