Paula McLain's writing is always so lyrical and beautiful. She captures the beauty and danger of early 20th century Kenya so incredibly well. Following the life of Beryl Markham, the first woman horse trainer in Africa, this is a slow burn read that inches its way into your soul.

Beryl is a sympathetic character, despite her flaws. In fact, that's one of the things I liked about this novel so much. All of the characters are unapologetically imperfect. There were things that I definitely did not like about Beryl as a person, but I was still very interested in her journey and invested in her accomplishments.

The story celebrates Beryl's successes as well as wanders through her struggles and failures in her bid for independence, something quite difficult for a woman in her day and age. The narrative is very atmospheric throughout with a methodical inclusion of conflict every few chapters, keeping things interesting from start to finish.

Circling the Sun generated a strong interest in me to know more about this period of time and specific group of individuals. I plan to follow this read up with Beryl's autobiography as well as Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa in the future.