I'm shocked I'm about to write this, but I actually liked this book a bit better than Paula McClain's fictionalized account of Beryl in Circling the Sun (you can read that review here). I should add, however, that these two books are extremely different. I would hesitate to call West with the Night an autobiography. It is definitely a memoir and Beryl's life comes in flashes of feeling more than cold recitation of facts. I'm immensely impressed with her ability to weave a tale and create suspense, especially considering I'm more than casually familiar with her life story (even more so because she was an amateur writer).
Perhaps reading Circling the Sun allowed me to enjoy this book more than I otherwise would, but Beryl's storytelling ability made me feel like I understood her better after reading almost 300 pages of her memories than reading almost 400 pages of a fictionalized account from her perspective.
Perhaps the most telling parts of Beryl's book are not what she includes, but what she leaves out. The experiences she relates are singularly her own - details of her own achievements and lessons learned. There is no mention of her three husbands, of her child, or the struggles with money which took up a large portion of the other book. Here, Beryl is in full command of herself and her life - and in this way, we get a very honest picture of how she sees herself and perhaps of the person she really is.
In the final chapter, Beryl says, "You can live a lifetime and, at the end of it, know more about other people than you know about yourself." I find it extremely remarkable that Beryl wrote this book in 1942 when she was still young and had 40+ more years ahead of her. Because honestly, West with the Night provides such a complete picture of Beryl, without the aid of many concrete facts that make up her official biography. And for that, this book was a rare treasure. I completely agree with Hemingway that this is a "bloody wonderful book."
4.5/5 Stars.
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