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catriona176's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: War
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape
thequeenofsheba3's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, War, Toxic relationship, Death, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Gun violence, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Murder
chaptersofchase's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Genre: Historical Fiction
Time: 1900 - 1950
Format: 🎧
Audiobook Narration: ☆☆☆☆
Pub Date: 5.4.2021
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆
"We are confined to the present, but this moment we're living now has, for all of history, been the future. And now, forever more, it will be past. Everything we do sets off unforeseeable, irreversible chain reactions."
Great Circle is a sweeping tale about one woman's quest to find her place in the world. There are themes of family, love, hardship, war, loss and determination. Like anyone's story, some profoundly unsettling parts left me heartbroken for Marian and her brother. But, what I loved the most was that although these terrible things had happened to her, she continued moving forward. Her tenacious spirit was unmatched, and I cheered her on from beginning to end.
Like many coming-of-age sagas, Great Circle has a lot that happens. There are 600 pages of some fascinating storylines and some less so. I didn't love Hadley's character - I believe she was meant to be the modern-day Marian, but she grated on my nerves and felt childish, and I never really felt like her character served a purpose throughout the story. I could've done without her storyline and the novel wouldn't have lost any significance.
🐌 Slow moving
📖 Coming of age
✌🏼 Dual narrative
✈️ Women in aviation
❌ rape, domestic abuse, sexual assault, alcoholism
I recommend reading Great Circle if you're looking for a sweeping coming-of-age story that rivals the story of Amelia Earhart.
_
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Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Rape
jodar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Scarcely an admirable character appears at all, except perhaps for secondary and tertiary characters. How to think of the MC, her twin brother and closest childhood-then-adult friend? Introverted, certainly, but none to me are attractive. All have their own obsessions (flying, art, wilderness) and seem to care only about their own selfish needs.
There’s sexual promiscuity by the main characters throughout, with barely any consideration for consequences to others. Steps to avoid pregnancy are detailed, but non-historical is the lack of any concern for venereal disease at a time of horrible and inadequate treatment. This ignorance doesn’t even make sense while the characters are young and isolated from society, as the prostitutes the MC befriends would surely be knowledgeable. It’s anachronistic behaviour till after the 1950s–1960s at least, when effective treatments became available and the ‘sexual revolution’ began to take off. The trope of non-heterosexual relationships as some sort of forbidden and secret enlightenment arises, of course; it’s seemingly unavoidable these days.
From time to time throughout the MC’s life and for sure at the end, the futility of existence and a resigned nihilism comes to the fore:
All the times she [the MC] has brushed against death, she’s never given much thought to what might come after. Now she considers it. She supposes there will be nothing. She supposes each of us destroys the world. We close our eyes and snuff out all that has existed, all that will ever be. (Final chapter, “The End”)
This is the malignancy that American individualism and its preoccupation with freedom looks like, I suppose, when it is untempered by a wider Christian concern towards others in society or a belief in the ultimate importance of our actions. I doubt this is what the author intends the reader to come away with, however.
Graphic: Suicide, Abandonment, Death, Suicidal thoughts, War, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Abortion, Murder, Grief, and Infidelity
chloehui106's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, War, and Pedophilia
baileylemoine's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and War
doilooklikeamolly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Sexual violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
There is some sex positive coming of age content, but also brief moments of non-consensual acts under the guise of marital duty.ms_gouldbourne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I did find it interesting to note that several reviewers gave up before the 20% mark, because the beginning was definitely the weakest part of the novel for me. I didn't particularly enjoy Shipstead's depiction of female sexuality, with multiple assaults and rapes happening within the first few chapters. However, I persisted, and ultimately I'm glad I did.
Great Circle tells the story from birth to death of female pilot Marian Graves, from her early disastrous marriage to gangster Barclay Mcqueen to her final flight attempting to circumnavigate the globe in the 1950s. This covers about 80% of the novel, but it's interspersed with chapters told from the modern-day perspective of troubled actress Hadley, who has been cast as Marian in a biopic about her life.
Like other reviewers, I didn't feel that Hadley's perspective added much to the novel, except for a few interesting juxtapositions between the truth of Marian's life and the warped way it had been interpreted for the modern-day film. I found Hadley's voice irritating for the most part! However, I have to admit that Marian wasn't much better. Although I absolutely loved the writing and the flow of the narrative, I found most of Shipstead's characters fairly annoying.
It may be that this style of novel just isn't for me; I don't tend to enjoy deeply tragic stories in which a group of tragic characters are depicted following tragic narratives and coming to tragic ends. It feels very literary and beautiful, but ultimately I prefer a happy ending. However, Maggie Shipstead is undoubtedly a wonderful writer, so I would read her again.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, War, Domestic abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Alcoholism and Abortion
janelleaimi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Suicide, Emotional abuse, Death, Abortion, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, War, and Rape
lols_cat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, War, and Rape
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Sexual violence