Lake Neuron

On the last day of our stay in Kenya this year, while killing time, we stopped by the Karen Blixen Museum outside Nairobi. The trip had actually been inspired by a comment I made, which was ironic because I’d never actually read Out Of Africa or any of her other works. We had to rush through the museum a little bit, but I still enjoyed seeing it, and I purchased a copy of Out Of Africa as well as a picture book about the museum.

I read about half of Out Of Africa on the various flights and layovers on our way home. I read a little more in the days after the trip. But then, for some reason, I was distracted and set the book aside.

In the past week or two, as I’ve been trying to straighten up the apartment a bit, I came across the book and realized I’d never finished it. I finally did so this morning. It’s a wonderful piece of writing, crisp and evocative (as if anyone needed me to say that). I guess I need to see the Meryl Streep / Robert Redford movie version now, although I can’t see how it could compare to the book, and Denys Finch-Hatton is such a thoroughly British character in the book that Redford’s portrayal (which I understand to be straightforwardly American) will surely sound a sour note.