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machster9's review against another edition
3.0
Another Stegner book that was well written with interacting characters and relationships, but the man sure know how to drag out a story.
dar10's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
sl0w_reader's review against another edition
5.0
This book, about a family driven relentlessly by the father's Quixotic ambition like nomads around the Western US, deserves a much better review - and there are many excellent reviews here, so I won't attempt another. Just to say: it's brilliantly written, it's epic in scale and page-count, the four main characters in the Mason family are distinctive and complex, and the plot races along at points while at other points Stegner slows down for some philosophical reflection. If found it tugged on a variety of emotions, from sadness to anger to anxiety. Another great Stegner novel.
andreagraves5's review against another edition
2.0
There are some really cool characters in this, but I'm having a hard time holding on to this story when it's
so doomsdale, and finding out that it continues to stay that way, not to mention it's a LONG book. It's one
of those books I wish there was more editing done and cut down. It just keeps dragging on and on.... I've
read 1/3 of this book, which I think congratulations should be in order for that. There is a ::slim:: chance
I may come back and dig in and try to finish it, but the bottom line is this: I'm not being entertained by this
book. At. All. If that's not happening, what's the point?
so doomsdale, and finding out that it continues to stay that way, not to mention it's a LONG book. It's one
of those books I wish there was more editing done and cut down. It just keeps dragging on and on.... I've
read 1/3 of this book, which I think congratulations should be in order for that. There is a ::slim:: chance
I may come back and dig in and try to finish it, but the bottom line is this: I'm not being entertained by this
book. At. All. If that's not happening, what's the point?
arielamandah's review against another edition
5.0
I don't even hardly know what to say about this book - it's wonderful. This is my second book by Stegner. The first was Angle of Repose several years ago now (what can I say? I like the big ones!). I liked Angle tremendously, but Big Rock Candy Mountain is so, so much better. From the earliest pages, it's clear you're in the hands of a masterful writer. Stegner's characters are so distinct and so engaging. He writes with empathy, but also such realism and wisdom. The world is hard. There are different strata of people. Humans are complex. Love is impractical and can make us woefully unhappy. Purists will disagree, but there's something almost Steinbeckian about Stegner in the way that he captures a time, and a place, and a people. Here we have a particular portrait of a very normal, very common class of people trying to make life work across the West in the best ways they can.
Isn't it funny how it's hardest to be articulate about the books you most deeply enjoy and appreciate? There's so much to say here about the titular theme, the way that family is crafted and created, about how the deepest joys and bonds in our lives let us down the most, and about the value of persistence and resistance, and grace, and wherewithal... Gah. I'm just going to stop reviewing and recommend that you seek it out and read it. But if you DO read it, let me know. I want to talk more about Elsa and Bruce - characters who I suspect will remain dear to me for a long, long time.
Isn't it funny how it's hardest to be articulate about the books you most deeply enjoy and appreciate? There's so much to say here about the titular theme, the way that family is crafted and created, about how the deepest joys and bonds in our lives let us down the most, and about the value of persistence and resistance, and grace, and wherewithal... Gah. I'm just going to stop reviewing and recommend that you seek it out and read it. But if you DO read it, let me know. I want to talk more about Elsa and Bruce - characters who I suspect will remain dear to me for a long, long time.
expatally's review against another edition
5.0
An adventure, love story, crime novel, western, and about ones a dreams who were too big for his life. If you've never read Stegner, start here-you'll be addicted.
jdintr's review against another edition
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.