Out of Africa

by Isak Dinesen, Karen Blixen, Tania Blixen

Book Overview

Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books of all time

In this book, the author of Seven Gothic Tales gives a true account of her life on her plantation in Kenya. She tells with classic simplicity of the ways of the country and the natives: of the beauty of the Ngong Hills and coffee trees in blossom: of her guests, from the Prince of Wales to Knudsen, the old charcoal burner, who visited her: of primitive...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679600213
• ISBN13: 9780679600213
• Release Date: September 1992
• Publisher: Modern Library
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.0" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Out of Africa

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

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

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

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

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

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.