OUT OF AFRICA By Karen Blixen
The outstanding quality of this book (Putnam, its. 6d.) is charm : its delight- ful jacket, in green tapestry, of African beasts and birds, clothes a body of careful pleasant writing, abounding in the mot piste, and a soul of sympathy, insight, and unusual sensibility. Baroness Blixen felt to the natives, flowers and animals of Central Africa as " if someone with an ear for music had heard music for the first time when he was already grown up " ; and to her the natives are the most fascinating part of a fascinating country. She describes the scenery of her coffee-farm near the Ngong Hills of
Kenya with loving care; recounts the anecdotes and personalities of her African world, both white and brown, with a most delicate vitality ; her stories of Kamante, her houseboy, of Lulu, her gazelle, of her English and Danish friends, and Somali women and Masai warriors, have an irresistible humour and understanding. If she is sentimental, she can easily be forgiven for her quite unusual powers of appreciating native character.
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