Title: Crossing to Safety
Author: Wallace Stegner
Genre: Fiction/Literature
Pages: 341
Rating (out of 5 stars): *****
Reviewed by: Jenn
Description: It's hard for me to describe what this book is "about" without making it sound boring. It's not boring, by any means. My heart and mind were both completely involved throughout the entire read. That said, the book is a story of the friendship between two young couples who meet during the Depression and remain close throughout their lives. As the plot follows their friendship, it opens up questions about marriage, failure/success, relationships, tragedy, wealth, and work in a very compelling way.
Thoughts: This is one of my favorite books. I haven't read it in years, and this time I read it for my book club (my choice because I have been craving the feeling of Crossing to Safety recently). Wallace Stegner blows me away. Somehow, he managed to write a book without some crazy, fanciful plot -- it's just about regular people and their fairly regular lives -- yet it truly wrapped me up as a reader. I found myself laughing, crying, worrying, and most of all -- probing the world as well as my own life for answers throughout the reading. I felt a special connection to the two couples this time, as they start out in the book in roughly the same stage we're in right now: young, poor, parents. I longed for a friendship comparable to what Larry and Sally find in Charity and Sid, and longed for their beautiful days picnicking near Battell Pond or their nights listening to good music and poetry together. I found myself really relating to Charity at the beginning of the book, only later to find myself horrified at how her (my?) jubilant, dominant personality backfired. I believe most people who have any sort of humanness in them could relate to and enjoy this book. Highly recommended.
Author: Wallace Stegner
Genre: Fiction/Literature
Pages: 341
Rating (out of 5 stars): *****
Reviewed by: Jenn
Description: It's hard for me to describe what this book is "about" without making it sound boring. It's not boring, by any means. My heart and mind were both completely involved throughout the entire read. That said, the book is a story of the friendship between two young couples who meet during the Depression and remain close throughout their lives. As the plot follows their friendship, it opens up questions about marriage, failure/success, relationships, tragedy, wealth, and work in a very compelling way.
Thoughts: This is one of my favorite books. I haven't read it in years, and this time I read it for my book club (my choice because I have been craving the feeling of Crossing to Safety recently). Wallace Stegner blows me away. Somehow, he managed to write a book without some crazy, fanciful plot -- it's just about regular people and their fairly regular lives -- yet it truly wrapped me up as a reader. I found myself laughing, crying, worrying, and most of all -- probing the world as well as my own life for answers throughout the reading. I felt a special connection to the two couples this time, as they start out in the book in roughly the same stage we're in right now: young, poor, parents. I longed for a friendship comparable to what Larry and Sally find in Charity and Sid, and longed for their beautiful days picnicking near Battell Pond or their nights listening to good music and poetry together. I found myself really relating to Charity at the beginning of the book, only later to find myself horrified at how her (my?) jubilant, dominant personality backfired. I believe most people who have any sort of humanness in them could relate to and enjoy this book. Highly recommended.
Disclaimer: A few un-detailed, brief mentions of marital intimacy. Very mild language.
