Scan barcode
helena_chris's review against another edition
Hard dnf, far too many sexual themes.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, and Pedophilia
misha_ali's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
2.5
This book was far longer than it needed to be. At times, the story is engaging, but the amount of times we are introduced to a character and then zoom out to learn all about their family, life, childhood, family, children, career, etc. and then return to the main narrative again tested my patience.
This is the story of a female pilot, her twin brother, and a modern actress famous for her role in a children's show and then a romantasy franchise. I do think the connection between the two primary characters (Hadley in the present day and Marion in the past) is tenuous at best and just barely comes together at the end. The characters are, however, interesting and complex, but they are listless and rather aimless, which makes me less engaged in following what they do. I don't think this book quite accomplished being engaging all the way through because of this, but there are certainly parts of the story that are deeply interesting and will hook you in, but also parts where an interesting fact comes to light and we switch to a different character's point of view instead. This gets frustrating.
The last 10 percent of this book I honestly was completely uninterested. Marion has worn out her welcome for me as a character given how she treats everyone in her life and the actual final journey is not interesting enough to keep me reading about the details but I persisted for the sake of completing the book.
TL;DR: Should have been shorter and the characters could have been more engaging, which would have made the whole thing more enjoyable.
This is the story of a female pilot, her twin brother, and a modern actress famous for her role in a children's show and then a romantasy franchise. I do think the connection between the two primary characters (Hadley in the present day and Marion in the past) is tenuous at best and just barely comes together at the end. The characters are, however, interesting and complex, but they are listless and rather aimless, which makes me less engaged in following what they do. I don't think this book quite accomplished being engaging all the way through because of this, but there are certainly parts of the story that are deeply interesting and will hook you in, but also parts where an interesting fact comes to light and we switch to a different character's point of view instead. This gets frustrating.
The last 10 percent of this book I honestly was completely uninterested. Marion has worn out her welcome for me as a character given how she treats everyone in her life and the actual final journey is not interesting enough to keep me reading about the details but I persisted for the sake of completing the book.
TL;DR: Should have been shorter and the characters could have been more engaging, which would have made the whole thing more enjoyable.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
hypocretin's review against another edition
4.0
This is such an annoying book to review. There was so much here that spoke to me, that inspired and touched and stayed with me. So much beautiful writing, such grounded and well-realized characters. This is annoying because those parts exclusively belong to the Marian storyline.
I found everything in Hadley’s section of the book so flat and uninspired it honestly surprises me that it came from the same author. I understand what Shipstead was going for in terms of themes and broader ideas—which I broadly appreciate and agree with—but it was just so lacking in the texture and nuance that characterized the Graves thread I felt like none of those ideas really landed.
Her chapters felt, at best, like a waste of time. I’m stubbornly committed to not skipping around in books or speeding up the performance, so I listened to all her chapters and I just truly wish I hadn’t. There were a couple of moments where events in the Graves thread were foreshadowed or revealed through Hadley’s perspective of events, and some of those times—including the revelation that Marian did survive her last flight !!!—actively made my experience of the narrative worse. It made Marian’s survival about fulfilling Hadley’s personal arc. It made it feel cheap and unearned and I was instantly prepared to just hate the whole ending.
Now, luckily, I do not hate the ending, because Marian Graves (Martin Wallace!! ) does earn that ending. There were some extraordinarily beautiful ideas and phrasings in those last chapters, but also in all of her sections.
The writing alone in Marian’s thread is just dead gorgeous. It’s lyrical and lingering, very light with its touch on detail, and yet so incredibly grounded in a sense of reality? There’s nothing dreamlike or fanciful about any of it despite how soulful and expressive it is. It reminded me a lot of my experience of reading Demon Copperhead, although with a much different inner voice than the one guiding the story here.
But also, just thematically with its stories and characters. These sections have so much compassion and thoughtful exploration in them. It is an incredibly honest and tender depiction of grooming and abuse . It never shies from the complexity of things, the imperfectness of the honest story where we want clear answers and clean emotions. I love it. It means the world to me.
So, how then to rate the book as a whole? I think probably the 5-star scale isn’t always the best way to measure art, but in the spirit of the sport I’m giving it a 4, because I think the good outweighs the bad. I still really loved this book, and if they ever release a hardcover edition that is only Marian’s thread I will be the first in line to buy it.
“If it had been her, she would have done what he said he would do: walked in the winter night far away from camp and lain in the snow, under the stars and the aurora. Or maybe not—it is not lost on her she had twice failed to choose death. She’d written in her logbook that her life was her one possession. She had kept it; she had wanted it.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
catriona176's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Rape
_thislineismine's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: War
teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition
I found it slow and didn't feel engaged with the story or characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, and Child abuse
lisettemarie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, War, Alcoholism, Incest, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Sexual content
bethancopeland's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Rape, Mental illness, and Alcoholism
chaptersofchase's review against another edition
medium-paced
- 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
The Great Circle
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.
_
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebookend.diner/
Follow me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/thebookenddiner
Follow me on StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/thebookenddiner
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.
_
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebookend.diner/
Follow me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/thebookenddiner
Follow me on StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/profile/thebookenddiner
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Alcohol, and Rape
allthechaptersandverses's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death of parent, Incest, and Sexual content