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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Want to read for a third time when I am ten years older
A beautiful account of two couples who share an extraordinary friendship that spans decades. A quiet suspense is carried throughout the novel and I found many passages inspiring. It was a wonderful companion the last couple of weeks and I will seek out other works by this author who unfortunately has passed away.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A warm and candid look at friendship between two couples.
Interesting. I read it because it was recommended to me. Overall, I liked it however I kept thinking it was going to take a different direction which it never did. It felt unrealistic and I struggled with that aspect. I really liked Larry and Sally. Sid and Charity were too much and I found them unrealistic. I would have had to not be friends with Charity. She was infuriating!
I have to be honest I had not heard of Wallace Stegner before starting to scan great book lists, and his name came up time and again. Now I found out why. This is a gorgeously quiet story of friendship and following passions while facing life's challenges. I'm smitten and charmed. It was refreshing to read about how families 70 years ago entertained and lived simply. No action packed suspense, just complex relationships and deep thoughts and poetry.
This book came to me highly recommended and I can understand why. It is beautifully written and I enjoyed every minute of my trip to Wisconsin and Vermont, from the thirties to the seventies. In many ways it is a timeless story, or perhaps Stegner was before his time. Larry tells the story of his and his wife's friendship with Sid and Charity from when they met during the Depression, working in the English Department at a university in Wisconsin. It's about complex relationships, the things that tie us to others, loyalty, ambition and love. It is a clever book, I didn't always get the references, but there were many times when I marvelled at the insight and brilliance.
Couldn't stand Charity, didn't like Sid much either. The end just confirmed what an awful, awful person she was. Lots of references to incidences or places that weren't ever explained. One chapter where the author dispensed entirely with normal punctuation and used dashes instead of quotation marks. I don't get why people love this book.
I first read this 20 years ago after an enthusiastic recommendation from a friend, and I gave it 3 stars. It didn't really speak to me. Nothing much happens, so I was a bit bored at times, and I found the characters too flawed to be likeable.
On this second reading, I still could not warm to any of the characters, possibly because the only voice we get throughout is Larry's. Saintly Sally truly got on my nerves; Sid was too weak to be true (the tea!); Charity was a controlling monster (never mind refusing to let her husband attend her deathbed after 50 years of marriage!). All the talk about how grateful they were all the time and their utter self-obsession with their perfect houses and perfect families and perfect friendship wore very thin. The anti-Semitism grated, too.
So why am I giving this 4 stars on a second reading?
This book is beautifully written. Stegner writes marvellous prose. This time around, I was better able to appreciate the beauty of the language and even the languid pace of the book intrigued me, rather than bored me. I read it very slowly and savoured the language, which I rarely do. And because it took two weeks to read 345 pages (!), I felt like I had been on this long lifetime journey with the characters. Yes, they are all flawed, but who is not? Yes, they have stupid arguments and make strange decisions, but who doesn't? This is an exquisite rendition of a lifelong friendship between two couples. It doesn't pretend to be anything else, and that is what makes it special.
On this second reading, I still could not warm to any of the characters, possibly because the only voice we get throughout is Larry's. Saintly Sally truly got on my nerves; Sid was too weak to be true (the tea!); Charity was a controlling monster (never mind refusing to let her husband attend her deathbed after 50 years of marriage!). All the talk about how grateful they were all the time and their utter self-obsession with their perfect houses and perfect families and perfect friendship wore very thin. The anti-Semitism grated, too.
So why am I giving this 4 stars on a second reading?
This book is beautifully written. Stegner writes marvellous prose. This time around, I was better able to appreciate the beauty of the language and even the languid pace of the book intrigued me, rather than bored me. I read it very slowly and savoured the language, which I rarely do. And because it took two weeks to read 345 pages (!), I felt like I had been on this long lifetime journey with the characters. Yes, they are all flawed, but who is not? Yes, they have stupid arguments and make strange decisions, but who doesn't? This is an exquisite rendition of a lifelong friendship between two couples. It doesn't pretend to be anything else, and that is what makes it special.
Here's another book I approached with no preparation. My friend recommended it, so I picked it up and read it.
Crossing to Safety is one of those books that you continue thinking about long after you read the last page. The four main characters are well-drawn, and you have probably met them. Stegner's strength here is in revealing his characters and then just letting them interact with each other. The reader watches as they continue in their trajectories, just like real people. The surprises and bumps in the road mostly take the form of outside forces, while the characters themselves are remarkably consistent.
The characters were interesting, but I can't say I really liked any of them.
This is what I find the most interesting about Crossing to Safety. I kept expecting somebody to have a crisis or epiphanic moment which would lead to change. Instead, the four people in the book are more like real people. That is, they get older and cleverer, they adapt a bit. They get knocked down and get up again. They do their best, for the most part. But they remain essentially the same, for good or ill.
Reading this book felt like a challenge to consider where my flaws might lead years hence if I refuse to acknowledge and correct them.
I can see why my friend liked this book. The prose is engaging and the pace is good. The characters are interesting. And, as I said, it does make you reflect on your own life. The reason for only four stars is because I always hope that a book will break my heart by telling me the truth. Crossing to Safety did tell me the truth, but not deeply enough to break my heart.
Crossing to Safety is one of those books that you continue thinking about long after you read the last page. The four main characters are well-drawn, and you have probably met them. Stegner's strength here is in revealing his characters and then just letting them interact with each other. The reader watches as they continue in their trajectories, just like real people. The surprises and bumps in the road mostly take the form of outside forces, while the characters themselves are remarkably consistent.
The characters were interesting, but I can't say I really liked any of them.
This is what I find the most interesting about Crossing to Safety. I kept expecting somebody to have a crisis or epiphanic moment which would lead to change. Instead, the four people in the book are more like real people. That is, they get older and cleverer, they adapt a bit. They get knocked down and get up again. They do their best, for the most part. But they remain essentially the same, for good or ill.
Reading this book felt like a challenge to consider where my flaws might lead years hence if I refuse to acknowledge and correct them.
I can see why my friend liked this book. The prose is engaging and the pace is good. The characters are interesting. And, as I said, it does make you reflect on your own life. The reason for only four stars is because I always hope that a book will break my heart by telling me the truth. Crossing to Safety did tell me the truth, but not deeply enough to break my heart.