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jdintr's review
4.0
This is an epic look into the American mindset, and Bo Mason is one of the great characters in American letters--one a par with such flawed obsessives like Captain Ahab and the speaker in "The Raven."
Big Rock Candy Mountain follows Mason, his bride Elsa, and their two suns on a restless odyssey through the West. Ever in search of the next Big Thing, Mason misses out on the Yukon Gold Rush, tries his hand at homesteading and property speculation, and eventually "makes it" running alcohol during prohibition and running a casino in Reno, Nevada. Even this success is transitory.
At the center of the book, however, is an American family. It is in Bo Mason's complicated, abusive parenting skills that we see the true fruits of his schemes; it is in his relationship with Elsa that we find his few redeeming qualities and the seeds of his tragic end.
This book really gets moving once Bo's whiskey-running scheme is in place, and I felt that it dragged on at the end with Elsa's drawn-out death and Bruce's attempts to put his parents' experiences into a healthy context. Still, this is a great book, and I highly recommend it.
Big Rock Candy Mountain follows Mason, his bride Elsa, and their two suns on a restless odyssey through the West. Ever in search of the next Big Thing, Mason misses out on the Yukon Gold Rush, tries his hand at homesteading and property speculation, and eventually "makes it" running alcohol during prohibition and running a casino in Reno, Nevada. Even this success is transitory.
At the center of the book, however, is an American family. It is in Bo Mason's complicated, abusive parenting skills that we see the true fruits of his schemes; it is in his relationship with Elsa that we find his few redeeming qualities and the seeds of his tragic end.
This book really gets moving once Bo's whiskey-running scheme is in place, and I felt that it dragged on at the end with Elsa's drawn-out death and Bruce's attempts to put his parents' experiences into a healthy context. Still, this is a great book, and I highly recommend it.
nlbullock1's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars - Amazingly written book that inspires and also breaks your heart.
hgarf13's review
3.0
3.5/5: Didn't love it, didn't hate it. It was pretty long for my liking and moved fairly slow.
karajrapp's review
4.0
Haunting, depressing, moving - Stegner continues to impress me with his characters and narratives.
bookish_clf's review
4.0
Great book! A bit hard to get into for the first 100 pages or so, but after that - smooth sailing! He is now one of my favorite American authors.
jisimpson's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
fourstringspark's review
4.0
This early work by Stegner foreshadows his later classic, “Angle of Repose,” in its focus on a rootless man driven to seek destiny and profit in the people and places of the West. This time, the main character is an abusive, alcoholic ne’er-do-well. “The Big Rock Candy Mountain” is a grim family saga. It’s rougher than “Angle of Repose,” and probably a bit too long. But it still really shines in places. The section in which young Bruce Mason anticipates a visit to town for Fourth of July festivities is one of the most powerful pieces of writing I’ve read in a while.
simplymary's review
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.75
Angle of Repose is more masterful, but in this book, Stegner creates stunning emotional tension as he recounts his father's mercurial character. Loved the bits about SLC in past years.
megea's review
3.0
The three Wallace Stegner novels that I've read all share a similar theme: They follow an unsuccessful man and trace his unhappy marriage. Although not filled with flashy plot devices, they are gorgeously written. The beauty of Stegner's prose keeps you hooked. I had a harder time getting through Big Rock Candy Mountain, however, in part because the central character, Bo, could just be so unpleasant. Although his ambitions were portrayed in tragic and sympathetic terms, he's not a character you can like and you ache too much for his suffering wife and sons.