Happy Thursday, ladies! I’m doing something a little different today and talking about a book – one that’s not even style or beauty related! I think reading is so important, but I know it can be super challenging for some people. Actually, since college I’ve struggled to read for fun. I guess school really killed it in me. But in high school I was reading something like 40 books a year, which is insane. Anyway, I thought sharing a book review on the blog would be a good way to motivate me to read and, hopefully, motivate some of you!

I want to keep these reviews ultra short. I’d rather you read the books than the reviews, you know? But basically, I’ll share what it’s about, a few of my favorite parts, and some ideas about if this book is right for you. I’m not quite sure what I’ll do if I don’t like a book since I want to share these every month. I’m hoping to get ahead of the books so maybe I can just pretend the bad ones never happened, we’ll see! I’d love to get your input and ideas, and especially if you like this idea?

So let’s get on to this book! Truth be told, I actually have a few chapters left, but I already know I love it. If the ending of A Farewell to Arms didn’t kill the book for me, no ending can.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT.

West with the Night is a semi-autobiographic memoir written by Beryl Markham. I say semi because the introduction by Sara Wheeler expresses doubt about the accuracy of some parts and Markham herself said that it was not an autobiography in the definitive sense. However, given Markham’s stature as one of the most popular aviatrix’s at the time and the first pilot (not just female pilot) to fly solo from England to America, I don’t doubt things were exaggerated, however it doesn’t seem like an outright lie.

Instead, it’s a selective, reminiscent reflection of some of the move memorable and moving moments in Markham’s life. It starts at the end, where Beryl is a young woman living in East Africa in 1935, talking about her love of flight. The novel then moves into her childhood until she experiences aviation for the first time, and then learns to fly.

FAVORITE BITS.

The banter between Markham and a fellow pilot about why they fly when it is so damn difficult sometimes is really enjoyable. And quite accurate even still today. [Page 35]

In one part, an employee(?) of her father tells Markham the story of when she was attacked by a lion. He had a bad feeling and followed her and got there just in time to witness and call for help. Then he had to tell her father that she had been “moderately eaten by the large lion.”  Italics my own, because what? I laughed out loud when I read that. [Page 65]

Markham named her first horse Pegasus and called him the horse with wings. I thought that was really interesting and somewhat foreshadowing her connection to aviation. [Page 128]

IS IT FOR YOU?