Why did I love this book?
I completely lost myself in Paul McLain’s prose and storytelling, along with her character of Beryl Markham. In the novel, Beryl wants to be a horse trainer. She does in fact become one, which made her the very first female horse trainer, and I love that she’s portrayed as an intrepid, resilient, entrepreneurial female who tackles a man’s world and transforms her life and legacy through ambition and sheer will. One of my favorite quotes from the book illustrates this so well: “We’re all of us afraid of many things, but if you make yourself smaller or let your fear confine you, then you really aren’t your own person at all—are you? The real question is whether or not you will risk what it takes to be happy.”
5 authors picked Circling the Sun as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
The New York Times bestseller
As a young girl, Beryl Markham was brought to Kenya from Britain by parents dreaming of a new life. For her mother, the dream quickly turned sour, and she returned home; Beryl was brought up by her father, who switched between indulgence and heavy-handed authority, allowing her first to run wild on their farm, then incarcerating her in the classroom. The scourge of governesses and serial absconder from boarding school, by the age of sixteen Beryl had been catapulted into a disastrous marriage - but it was in facing up to this reality that she…