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shelfofunread's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
For the last four weeks I have been utterly immersed in the life and times of pioneering aviatrix Marian Graves, following her from the fateful night in which her father – ship’s captain Addison Graves – opts to rescue Marian and her brother Jamie from the chilly waters of the Atlantic (and becomes a pariah in the process) to the equally fateful moment when a ‘sharp gannet plunge’ deep into the sea appears to mark the end of her effort to circumnavigate the globe from pole to pole.
Describing a book as dense and layered as Great Circle – which clocks in at 673 pages in its UK paperback form – is challenging, especially without giving spoilers. On the surface, this is a novel about a woman who wants to circumnavigate the globe and is presumed to have died trying. Marian’s fateful flight, however, doesn’t even begin until page 577. So, if this isn’t actually a novel about a woman flying a ‘great circle’, what is it?
The answer to that question is that Great Circle was, for me at least, many things.
In one sense, it really is a novel about a woman who wants to complete a ‘great circle’ around the globe. Marian’s fateful flight is the link holding the dual timelines of the novel together: the one thing that connects Marian to Hadley Baxter, the scandal-ridden starlet whose path to Hollywood redemption might be through playing Marian in a new biopic. In another sense, however, the novel is about circles more generally: specifically, the interconnecting circles of family, friends, lovers, histories, dreams, and possibilities that make up and intersect with a single life.
In an effort to understand Marian’s ‘great circle’, the reader must first meet her father and mother, and must understand their relationship to her father’s employer. We follow her brother Jamie, her childhood friend Caleb, and her uncle, Wallace. We see how Marian’s involvement with a bootlegger, Barclay Macqueen, has far-reaching consequences and how, like the planes she obsesses over, Marian’s life both soars and dives: into (and out of) marriage, into war, and, finally, into the unknown.
If all of that sounds baggy and voluminous, that’s because it is. But, for all its diversions and digressions, I don’t think one page of Great Circle is wasted. Indeed, as the novel progressed, I became wholly invested in the various layers and strands of the novel, and increasingly in awe of Shipstead’s ability to casually drop minor plot point or character from several hundred pages earlier back into the plot and blithely continue with the novel. By the time I reached the end of the book – and all the various dots had been connected – I felt as if I’d watched a quilt being made, each tiny scrap being gradually joined together until a finished object of immense beauty and togetherness emerged.
I’m aware that I’m gushing but I really did adore this novel. That said, I’m not saying it’s for everyone: some readers probably will find it too baggy or overly melodramatic. Others, I imagine, will find the frequent skipping of time, place, and narrator to be incoherent and disjointed. Still more might wonder what the point of Hadley’s narrative is. Certainly in the hands of a less competent writer, the sheer scope and scale of the novel has the potential to get dangerously out of hand.
For me, however, Shipstead has successfully combined a complex and ambitious narrative with vivid storytelling, memorable characters, and electric prose that leaps off the page. An epic in every sense of the word, I think I can say with confidence that Great Circle will be making an appearance on my Best Books of the Year list at the end of 2022.
NB: This review appears on my blog at https://theshelfofunreadbooks.wordpress.com. My thanks go to the publisher and to NetGalley UK for providing an e-copy of the book in return for an honest and unbiased review.
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Abortion, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Suicide attempt
nialiversuch's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Stalking, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infidelity
sib_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Incest, Infertility, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Xenophobia, Excrement, and Pregnancy
nicoles_reading_corner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, and Abortion
mirireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Medical content, and Abortion
nadia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
One where you’ll be thinking about the characters and their stories long after. Shipstead wrote the book in such a way that you’d be surprised they weren’t real!
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and War
Moderate: Death, Violence, Abortion, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
c_dalton's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Animal death, Racism, Violence, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
juli_powers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The one thing that threw me is that there are so many characters. It can be hard to recall who someone is. The author is quick to provide a back story on someone new and cleverly ties then into the story itself. This book ended and I returned to reread the beginning as it captures Marions thoughts before her final leg of the flight and it was great to reread it. This book was a wild ride that I just didn't want to put down.
"I thought I would become more than I am, but instead I know I am less than I thought.
No one should ever read this. My life is my one possession.
And yet, and yet, and yet."
Graphic: Alcoholism and Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and War
Minor: Gun violence, Incest, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
nicoleamanfu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and War
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Misogyny
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Child death, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment