Circling the Sun by Paula McLainMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
Terrible, terrible, terrible. Picked this one up for work purposes and hate-read every single word.
It's obvious the author is passionate about this character, but she doesn't do Beryl or the book any justice at all. She has milestones to reach, and they're plonked into the book sometimes with no significance before or after the incident.
McLain specifically chose to focus on the doomed love triangle that Beryl was caught up in, when, in fact, the more fascinating aspects of her were her determination to become a horse-trainer and later an aviator. Denys, the cause of the triangle, introduced her to flying. Yet, that part is skimmed over and the flight lessons are barely touched on.
The fact that this book is poorly written is evident from the prologue itself. The prologue is about Beryl's record-breaking solo Atlantic flight. The epilogue is about the same as well. But what is the entire book about? Horse-racing and bad relationships. The flying, which is what she's best known for, is mentioned in passing only at the end of the book. That aspect is barely fleshed out.
Also, I didn't like that the author elects to write that Beryl 'had been told' that the engines will hold. 'Had been told'? Seriously? We must assume that Beryl just got into a plane and flew it with no knowledge whatsoever of how the machine worked?
Perhaps Beryl alluded to that fact in her own book West in the Night, but it prickled when I read it, because it just made her a passive character.
And that pretty much was the refrain of the book as well. Beryl was passive for the major decisions in her life - being handed select choices and always selecting poorly.
She's not completely passive though, there are moments when she takes control of things, but she ends up being persecuted every time. This seems apt, given the era, and the era's view on women's behaviour and abilities. But the book doesn't allow you to feel enraged at people's betrayal of Beryl, it just makes you angry that she didn't have more sense.
The author said that she wanted to discover what made Beryl the independent woman she is known as, but it feels like part way through the book she abandons this quest. While young Beryl is hunting with the Kipsigis and aiming to be a warrior, teenaged and adult Beryl is just woeful over her lot in her life. There seems to have been a misreading of the character here by the author, because the arc doesn't flow well enough in the book to make sense.
The author also elects to focus only on Beryl and those of the colonial British society in Kenya. She doesn't delve into the backdrop or the effect the colonials have on the local residents. Beryl may have lived in a bubble, but that does not necessitate that the book must as well. Not including any commentary on the state of living in Kenya in the '20s detracts from the authentic feel of the book.
I read a proof copy, so I won't delve deep into the errors, but the book was rife with 'telling' not 'showing'. We never felt the power of the horses; we were just told it.
There were also way too many characters. A host of people play a significant part in a person's life despite not being in it for very long, but that does not lend itself well to a story. Beryl's mother shows up for one chapter. Her sponsor Frank and his bohemian buddies turn up in a couple. One person, Tom, who taught her how to fly, is barely mentioned, while her first husband, Jock, is never fleshed out - he's a plot line left hanging. The author had no concept of stream-lining the story.
This book could and should have been a look into Beryl's pioneering efforts and should have made us all want to become either horse-trainers or aviators, but no, the author delves into the juicy gossip instead, attempting to make a flawed character a paragon of virtue instead.
Had the author accepted Beryl's flaws and just run with it, we would have had a more exciting book. No one is past regret, but one can still own their mistakes.
The lack of focus detracted from the book. I would never have picked up a book like this, and only read the full thing because I had to. It is disappointing to come across such a unique character and then spend 400 pages reading about her bad relationships. What a wasted opportunity.
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