‘Out of Africa’ by Karen Blixen

My Review (3 stars out of 5)

This is Karen Blixen’s account of her time in Africa from 1914 up until 1931 when she left to return to Denmark. Arriving in Kenya to run a coffee farm, she describes her love for the land and the people, her affection for the landscape and animals, and great love for the adventurer Denys Finch-Hatton. At least, that’s what I expected…

Like many readers, I thought this book would bear at least some resemblance to the film version with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford. Unfortunately, while Karen Blixen’s descriptions of the landscape and the native tribes she came into contact with on a daily basis are, at times, fascinating, the complete lack of anything about Karen Blixen herself, is hugely disappointing. She barely mentions her background, or her husband, and all references to Denys Finch-Hatton are done in such a way as to give the impression they were merely passing acquaintances. On the other hand, if you enjoy tedious reminisces about the qualities of grass, this will no doubt delight you.

I freely admit that I skimmed over some of the more sluggish passages in the hope that something vaguely interesting would happen, but alas, it was not to be. Parts of the book are well written, but the pace of Blixen’s writing is at best irritatingly slow-moving. Events such as the shooting incident did interest me, but because she goes on and on and on about it, the whole thing became as tiresome as the rest of the book.

Don’t bother reading this – watch the movie instead.

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