WEST WITH THE NIGHT

In a memoir almost lyrical in quality, Beryl Markham shares the story of her remarkable life. Raised in the early twentieth century on her father’s farm in British East Africa, Markham became a racehorse trainer and accomplished aviator. Markham’s rich and poetic passages are deftly caressed by narrator Anna Fields. Her phrasing and pacing make the most of writing that is at times as complex as it is inspired. Especially notable are Fields’s portrayal of Africans‚ her wistful humor, and her reverence for nature. Native words and names are gracefully intertwined in the narrative. Fields does justice to this rich memoir, praised by Ernest Hemingway as “bloody wonderful.” N.M.C. © AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 05]