Out of AfricaOut of Africa
Score Classic
What it's about
Karen Blixen, writing as Isak Dinesen, ran a coffee farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills in Kenya from 1914 to 1931. She remembers the land, the animals, the Kikuyu and Somali people who worked for her and the Maasai nearby, her friendship with the pilot Denys Finch Hatton, and the slow failure of the farm that forced her to leave.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Modern Library list of the best nonfiction and is a classic of memoir. Its prose is luminous and its love for the landscape is unforgettable.
You'll love it if you liked
The Snow Leopard
Born Free
Memoirs of HadrianGood to know
Her portraits of Africans reflect colonial attitudes of her time, which many readers now find uncomfortable. The 1985 film with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford tells more of the love story than the book does.
By the numbers
- Readers78 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics83 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller11 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #52 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #82 of the 762 classics we rank
- #263 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story, Adventurous
If you like this, read next
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
Notes of a Native Son
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt
The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill
Black Boy: A Record of Youth and Childhood
DispatchesExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is Out of Africa worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Modern Library list of the best nonfiction and is a classic of memoir. It ranks #263 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 82.3 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Out of Africa about?
Karen Blixen, writing as Isak Dinesen, ran a coffee farm at the foot of the Ngong Hills in Kenya from 1914 to 1931. She remembers the land, the animals, the Kikuyu and Somali people who worked for her and the Maasai nearby, her friendship with the pilot Denys Finch Hatton, and the slow failure of the farm that forced her to leave.
How long does it take to read Out of Africa?
About 10 hours (401 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Out of Africa?
If you liked it, try The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen, Born Free by Joy Adamson or Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar.