Reviews with content warning for Abortion - O Grande Círculo

this book is poetry in the sense of words strung together beatifically but also in the sense of the expanse of a single human life and what we choose to make of it.

this book captivated me, although i did find some parts a little slow and boring during the war; and the parts i wanted to be dug into the most were often glossed over. for example, Marian flying around the world was only in the last 60 pages or so when i expected it to be half the book worth. i also wished we got to see more emotion from Marian so we can connect with her more. i would have loved to see a deeper romance between her and Caleb, although i know that is not the point of the book. i also wish that Marian and Hadley's connection was deeper than it was with more of a shock factor. we do go into some parts of Hadley's life that are unnecessary, like the mushroom trip for example — i hated reading through that.

i have a discovery pilot flight tomorrow :)

Content Warnings

uhm_kai's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

tbh i really loved this book even tho i wouldn't have picked it myself

Content Warnings

saltycoffee's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional reflective sad slow-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

5.0

Content Warnings

kimberlyallen011's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

alomie's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

So, I really loved the parts about Marian Graves from her perspective, but the Parts about Hadley really ruined this book for me and I would have rather not had the spoiler at the end and the epilogue I felt gave a neat ending but I think I would have liked not to know to be left with the option of deciding for myself.

I really felt for Marian stuck in a time that was not ready for her. She was a trail blazer and although flawed she did all she could despite her circumstances to make her dreams a reality.

Hadley on the other hand felt thin maybe vapid, and unable to make a good decision to save herself. She redeemed herself in the latter half of the book but by then I found I could not get behind her.

Overall I liked this book and its worth a read but I really can't forgive half the story.

Content Warnings

anapthine's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark inspiring medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

vikkom's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This piece of fiction HITS on so many levels once it's finished. Judging by my engagement at the start I was definitely not expecting how many moments throughout that I would read a sentence and just sit there and stare and ponder, or bookmark to write down once I get up after keeping on reading.

I thought this book was going to be about this random lady Marian Graves attempting a north-south circumnavigation, and the fictional actress Hadley being fascinated and throwing herself into the history of Marian in preparation for the role. The book is about that, but I'd say that it's only about 10% that.

The rest of the book is about Marian Graves, and the people she loved and loved her, from before birth, to death; it is about Hadley, the starlet, and her journey with the pressures of hollywood, acting, falling in lust, and being... drawn to Marian and also knowing and feeling uncomfortable with the fact that the Marian she is playing is almost entirely reconstructed.

This book paints the sweeping arc of Marian's life, and the lives of the people that were most important to her. It deals with feeling multiple, contradictory feelings at once; it deals with estrangement from people you love; it deals with loving people and yet hating them; it deals with queer love in the 40s and 50s; it deals with the what-could-have-beens while acknowledging that sequences of events have a certain inevitability and circularity; and overall, it deals with the messy and complex and less-than-idyllic ways that humans connect. Lives are lived, opportunities are lost. People die. We go on.

N.B. one thing I would say though, is that it took me over half of the book (no small feat, it's a solid 300 pages) to actually get *into* the story. I think mainly because I wasn't expecting a grand sweeping whole-of-life tale, but the book comes around in a nice circle, once I realised that was what it was.

Content Warnings

empeddle's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Very good, liked the book but was a little underwhelmed towards the end. It felt very similar to The Seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo (the two women definitely give off those vibes).

Content Warnings

More...