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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
relaxing
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:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Pregnancy
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Grief
Minor: War
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
This finishes my Wallace Stegner trifecta...the first two were Angle of Repose and All the Little Live Things. A good order to read them in - especially ATLLT before Crossing to Safety. The books are kind of recasts of the same characters...two straight couples and the ways in which their lives intersect and affect each others over a lifetime (CTS) or over a summer (ATLLT).
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Yes
This is a book about friendship --couples who became friends who became family, who lived life together through good times and hard times, through adventures and tragedies and plot twists. It's a quiet, pensive, reflective book --so not for anyone who needs a propulsive plot, and it's a beautiful book, for those who like the look at the back of a friendship and see how it was put together and how it works.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A bit of a disappointment in the end to be honest. It started really strong and the descriptions of Wisconsin are really beautiful but by the end it just had completely fizzled out for me. I don’t think it was helped that also by the end, I really didn’t like the narration. I thought both Larry and Charity became extremely unlikeable, with Larry being really pretentious and self-indulgent, and Charity just being a bit manipulative. I appreciate the complexity of all the characters but by the end I just couldn’t root for them. Also Sally, who undoubtedly had the potential to be the most interesting and sympathetic character, just didn’t feel properly written, reduced to just a husk whose only characteristic is that she’s disabled. Sid was the best and most interesting character, but I just didn’t think the conclusion of the story did him justice at all. Disappointing how a book solely about love and friendship ends leaving a bit of a sour taste.
I will recommend this book to anyone who speaks to me ever. It is beautiful and the characters are real and kind. It is a nice read, but emotionally difficult. A lot of people say nothing happens in this book, but it is still interesting. That is because the beauty of a good friendship that endures is what this book is about, and they do have grand adventures in the book. The main focus is always their friendship and the way that they simply enjoy one another's company. Lovely
[b:Crossing to Safety|9820|Crossing to Safety|Wallace Stegner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436043179l/9820._SY75_.jpg|1488871] is an emotionally exhausting but rewarding testament of marriage, friendship, and reminiscence.
This novel would be most appreciated by folks that have gone through a lot of life experiences. It is an episodic story of a guy named Larry looking back on his life during the mid 20th century, mostly in relation to his marriage to Sally and their longtime friendship with another couple, Sid and Charity Lang.
Beautiful, moving passages and nuggets throughout - too many to quote here, but as I was reading in my Nook I was highlighting quite often.
The time setting of The Great Depression and then WWII was a good back drop rounded out the solidification of the time period very effectively.
With this being [a:Wallace Stegner|157779|Wallace Stegner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1252177524p2/157779.jpg]’s final novel, I could feel his inner confidence and a firm sense of place and sense of urgency in every line he wrote. It reminded me a lot of reading The Winter of Our Discontent by [a:John Steinbeck|585|John Steinbeck|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1182118389p2/585.jpg]. Not in subject matter or even in tone, but in that sure hand of a great author at or near the end of their career that still has something important to say.
An interesting character in [b:Crossing to Safety|9820|Crossing to Safety|Wallace Stegner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436043179l/9820._SY75_.jpg|1488871] was Charity Lang. Charity is an iron-willed planner who tried to control every aspect of her life and for those around her.. Charity Lang is a complicated character and will be the most memorable part of this book.
I plan to revisit this at some point. I wish I had started here with my [a:Wallace Stegner|157779|Wallace Stegner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1252177524p2/157779.jpg] reading because [b:Angle of Repose|292408|Angle of Repose|Wallace Stegner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329151576l/292408._SY75_.jpg|283706] was just too long in my opinion.
4 solid stars - One for each of the main characters Larry, Sally, Sid, and Charity. Each character was unique but combined they just worked together very nicely.
This novel would be most appreciated by folks that have gone through a lot of life experiences. It is an episodic story of a guy named Larry looking back on his life during the mid 20th century, mostly in relation to his marriage to Sally and their longtime friendship with another couple, Sid and Charity Lang.
Beautiful, moving passages and nuggets throughout - too many to quote here, but as I was reading in my Nook I was highlighting quite often.
The time setting of The Great Depression and then WWII was a good back drop
Spoiler
and Sally’s suffering from polioWith this being [a:Wallace Stegner|157779|Wallace Stegner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1252177524p2/157779.jpg]’s final novel, I could feel his inner confidence and a firm sense of place and sense of urgency in every line he wrote. It reminded me a lot of reading The Winter of Our Discontent by [a:John Steinbeck|585|John Steinbeck|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1182118389p2/585.jpg]. Not in subject matter or even in tone, but in that sure hand of a great author at or near the end of their career that still has something important to say.
An interesting character in [b:Crossing to Safety|9820|Crossing to Safety|Wallace Stegner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436043179l/9820._SY75_.jpg|1488871] was Charity Lang. Charity is an iron-willed planner who tried to control every aspect of her life and for those around her.
Spoiler
In the end, Charity succumbs to cancer and she tries to go out only on her terms and she even goes so far as to plan out everything for those around her. On the flip side Charity is a selfless compassionate friend to Sally when Sally is suffering the worst from polio.I plan to revisit this at some point. I wish I had started here with my [a:Wallace Stegner|157779|Wallace Stegner|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1252177524p2/157779.jpg] reading because [b:Angle of Repose|292408|Angle of Repose|Wallace Stegner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1329151576l/292408._SY75_.jpg|283706] was just too long in my opinion.
4 solid stars - One for each of the main characters Larry, Sally, Sid, and Charity. Each character was unique but combined they just worked together very nicely.
This is a powerful character study with beautiful writing. It is candid in its assessment of both marriage and friendship.