Circling the Sun (Review)
by Paula McClain
A superb read!
I don’t give a lot of five-star ratings, but the writing itself is enough to warrant 5 here. This is a story that does a fantastic job of transporting you to another place and time (what many of us want out of fiction, especially historical fiction).
McLain’s descriptions are vivid and emotional, yet she does not get carried away with prose as some writers tend to do. The pace was about right for chronicling a huge portion of Beryl Markham’s early life (Beryl certainly had an entire life before age 34!). McLain does a wonderful job with characterization of “real” people; interesting, round characters as flawed as you and I. If I had a quibble at all, it was toward the end. The book seemed to drag a bit in the last five or six chapters. But don’t let that stop you. A superb read! (less)