Out of Isak Dinesen in Africa: Karen Blixen's Untold Story [Hardcover]

Linda Donelson (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 096438938X | ISBN-13: 978-0964389380 | Publication Date: April 1, 1998

This new analysis of "Out of Africa" describes the young Baroness Blixen's struggles with a difficult marriage, a pioneer coffee farm, and a complicated love affair in Kenya. --This text refers to the paperback edition of this title

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Donelson's diligently researched and thoughtfully written account brings a complex personality to life." -- Kenya Rough Guide, Sixth Edition

"Donelson, a physician, concludes that the illness that crippled and ultimately killed her was not syphilis but arsenic poisoning..." -- Library Journal, March, 1995

"Out of Isak Dinesen" is an important new biography and the first to present Karen Blixen to a broad general audience...an impressive and intimate biography that has both broken new ground and corrected previous errors concerning the life and work of a major literary figure -- Midwest Book Review, August 1998

"well-researched...absorbing...a sympathetic yet candid portrait of Blixen and her complex relationships with her husband and lover..." -- Publishers Weekly, April 10, 1995

Donelson has committed herself to separating the facts of Blixen's life from her self-created myth. The result is a book that traces the transformation of an unassuming young grand dame of the veldt (Blixen went to Africa in 1914, when she was 28). In the course of her narrative, Donelson, an M.D., succeeds in debunking with alacrity and insight some of the commonly held assumptions about Blixen's medical history. She doubts, for example, that Blixen's later physical ailments were the result of syphilis (contracted from her husband during their first year of marriage). More likely, they were caused by the arsenic she took for years as a tonic. The discussions of Blixen's physical state and frequent bouts of depression are concrete and convincing....The biography brings to light a wealth of detail about her African experiences -- Kirkus, August 1998

Donelson has written a fascinating biography, a true picture of Karen Blixen, her lover, Denys Finch Hatton, and her husband, baron Bror Blixen -- John Coyne, RPCV Writers & Readers, November 1995

Donelson puts the romance in perspective and moreover offers a fresh appraisal of the author's literary output in the light of lifelong physical problems. This is an authoritative, yet warm and readable biography of a colorful literary figure -- Mary Ann Riley, Des Moines Register, July 2, 1995

Linda Donelson's intent in this engrossing retelling is to return the depth and color of reality to a rich and finally tragic story...imbued with a strong affinity for Africa and for her subject...she carefully documents a narrative that is eminently readable and empathetic, perhaps because of the power of her conviction that she is telling the true story of a flesh and blood woman with whom other flesh and blood women may identify... "Out of Isak Dinesen" is a meticulous account of the ups and downs of the marriage...The famous romance of Karen and Denys Finch-Hatton, the British aristocrat and sportsman, is here given substance missing in Isak Dinesen's own memoirs as well as in other biographies...Our understanding of one of the foremost writers of the century is immeasurably deepened. -- The Women's Review of Books, September, 1998

The character [Meryl] Streep portrayed wasn't a fictional someone. Rather, she was a living person who breathed adventure at a time when women most often didn't...Donelson's reportage of these events as well as her research are impeccable, as well as being interesting reading. "Out of Isak Dinesen" is one woman's story, but it is also a beautiful portrait of Africa at the beginning of this century and the political and environmental influences that affected it...Snapshots of Blixen's Africa are written with the same lyricism Donelson brings to breathing life into her portrayal of the woman herself...Donelson has done a remarkable job in bringing this portion of history back to life -- January Magazine online, March 1998

Two facts contribute to the spellbinding nature of this updated account of Dinesen's years in Africa. Attributing symptoms Dinesen suffered to arsenic poisoning, Donelson lends her medical expertise to reinterpretations of Dinesen's health problems. At the same time, Donelson's personal experience of life in Kenya--in the very same area where Dinesen herself lived--accounts for especially vivid depictions of the African landscape and of Dinesen's beloved home. Admirers of "Out of Africa" and "Seven Gothic Tales" should delight in Donelson's graceful, beguiling prose, revealing the every essence of Dinesen's stirring experience of African life and of her vital relationships with lovers and family -- ALA Booklist, April 1995 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

Linda Donelson's engrossing first work has received the Writer's Digest Grand Prize and the Paul Cowan Award for Nonfiction (Book of the Year by a Peace Corps Writer). It is a featured travel title of Book Passage, Corte Madera, California, Bookseller of the Year. It is the only Dinesen biography on the list of recommended reading of Abercrombie and Kent, the largest safari agency in North America. It has been the choice of numerous reading groups, including the American Association of University Women, Seattle. It was the bestselling title at the 1997 San Diego Writer's Conference. It is a required text in Isak Dinesen courses at the University of Washington, and at the University of Minnesota. It has been used in women's studies classes at Alma College, Michigan, in film classes at the University of Florida, and in creative writing courses at Antioch University, Los Angeles. It is a Librarian's Choice for the Dover, New Hampshire, public library and many other libraries. It is on sale at the Karen Blixen Museum, Nairobi, and is available in Denmark in English and Danish. It ranks consistently as the Number One Bestselling Scandinavian title at Amazon. Categories: World Literature, Scandinavian/Biography/ Women's Studies/ Travel/ African History, 440 pages, 12 photographs, 2 maps, 2 charts. AUTHOR COMMENTS: I was once just a reader looking for more information about Karen Blixen's marriage and her relationship with the English hunter, Denys Finch Hatton. I recognized that what had been written about Karen Blixen's syphilis was not correct. I finally decided to write this biography as a story for ordinary readers who want to learn about Karen Blixen's fascinating life. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 443 pages
• Publisher: Coulsong List (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096438938X
• ISBN-13: 978-0964389380
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,434,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good insights into life of a complex person, August 13, 2001

By 

Frances C. Morrier (North Oxford, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Out of Isak Dinesen in Africa: Karen Blixen's Untold Story (Paperback)

I bought this book in preparation for a trip to the Tanzania/Kenya area. I had read some of Dinesen's writings in the past and love the movie, Babette's Feast, based upon one of her short stories. Blixen was a complex person and I've always felt that I didn't get the 'whole picture' in the film 'Out of Africa'. I decided to read this rather than other writings by the author. I was not disappointed. It isn't a simple task to take such a complex personality and distill various facets into a cogent whole. Donelson does a good job at this, particularly giving some insights into the medical contradictions in her life. The one thing that I don't think works quite as well is Donelson's attempts to find the author's own personality/experience in various aspects of her writing. That seemed a bit of stretch at times. But, if you're looking for a good biographical read about a complex personality, and are interested in Eastern Africa during the 20's, you won't be disappointed.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For fans of Karen, August 26, 2000

By 

Sankhya (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Out of Isak Dinesen in Africa: Karen Blixen's Untold Story (Hardcover)

For anyone with an interest in the life of Dinesen (Karen Blixen), this is a good addition to the library--unless you have read all of Dinesen's letters and books, because this is, verily, a compilation of writings already published--albeit a good compilation. The excerpts from Dinesen's writing can be irksome, however, when the author supposes they are thinly-veiled accounts of her true life. Some of these suppositions require a real leap of faith--especially because, most times, the gender must be transposed for Donelson's theory to hold water.

I did not find that the medical notes were the focus of, or detracted from, the book as a whole.

I have to ask: why is this book so doggone expensive? It's good, but not worth $35.00, given the fact that nothing new is brought to light.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Donelson fills the biographic cracks of Blixen's narrative., June 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Out of Isak Dinesen in Africa: Karen Blixen's Untold Story (Hardcover)

There's a very fine line between autobiography, literary non-fiction and a historical novel. Karen Blixen's (Isak Dinesen's) _Out of Africa_ walks that line very carefully.

Linda Donelson's _Out of Isak Dinesen in Africa_ does a wonderful job retelling the Karen Blixen story that was obliterated when the middle-aged baroness began to transcribe and transform her Africa experiences. Using a voice similiar to Blixen's own sweeping narration, Donelson tells a story of the story behind the story. She often transcends direct quotation by providing a backdrop of letters and journals and memories that evoke what has always been left unsaid.

While a good biography, Donelson's short-coming is her literary interpretation, which sometimes becomes too concrete and narrowed. She seems to read the stories only for their insight on the author's life. While telling the story of the story, Donelson risks diminishing the mystical charm of the story and replacing it with only her own specific meaning.

But, Donelson, as a physician, is not writing a literary biography. Her tour de force is her reevaluation of Blixen's medical condition at the end of her life. The story teller ends her days by telling herself the story that has syphillis. Donelson exhumes the sad truth: that Blixen, and not her philandering husband, condemned herself to sphyllis-like symptoms late in life.

Donelson's book effectively recreates a life that gets blurred in her own autobiography, muted in other biographies and completely lost in film.