bookzofonzarelli's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
The story of Hadley echoes this too, all that surrounds her and her personality is also wonderful, showing sides of modern people not often reflected in a way that Maggie writes them.
Marians love of flying, her growing up, girlhood, her marriage, her love and her sexuality is all explored incredibly, and I would really recommend this to ANYBODY.
An absolute work of art. A wonderful book, thank you.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, War, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Incest
tangleroot_eli's review
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Xenophobia, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Infidelity, War, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
Postpartum depressionhinkleh's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Rape, Stalking, Emotional abuse, and War
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
janelleaimi's review
- 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: Suicide, Emotional abuse, Death, Abortion, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, War, and Rape
toothpastefairy'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
5.0
Marian is someone who you desperately want to hug and throttle at the same time. Devastating and heartwarming, the novel's end is poignantly built in a way you could not predict from the start. Each character is crafted with care and depth, their lives reach across the pages to brush each other and arrest the reader's heart.
Overall, brutal and tender.
Graphic: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Abortion, Violence, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Cursing, Rape, War, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Sexual content, Death, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Gun violence
btodd12'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
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Nothing short of an epic saga, Great Circle spans multiple generations and reaches (literally) around the world. Marion Graves attempted to fly a great circle from pole to pole in 1950, but disappeared during the last leg of her journey. ✈️ Yes, this is a story about flying but it is also so much more. It’s the lengths to which Marion would go to achieve her dream of being a pilot during a time when women generally couldn’t hold such a career. It’s her struggles against her controlling husband and her attempts to find true love. It’s her twin brother Jamie’s journey to becoming an artist. And fast forwarding 60 years, it’s actress Hadley Baxter’s experience playing Marion in a movie about her astonishing feats. And I’d be remiss not to mention the shipwrecks, LGTBQ, bootlegging, WWII, brothels, and Great Depression that all add to the myriad of plot lines. Summed up in a line from the book, “Hope shouldn’t be so expensive.” 💔
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I was admittedly intimidated by the size, which is why this signed copy of the book has sat on my shelves for over a year. I eventually listened on audio during a long road trip & loved it. The only parts I didn’t care for were the early chapters of Hadley Baxter & the sexual abuse. (Definitely look up or DM me for trigger warnings, because there are several but they relate to spoilers so I’m not listing them here) While the beginning can be confusing, stick with it.
Moderate: Sexual violence, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, War, Lesbophobia, Abortion, and Sexual assault
siobhan_oak's review
- 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: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape
Moderate: Classism, Alcoholism, and War
Minor: Violence
nenaveenstra's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Summarizing this book, or my feelings about it, in one tiny review seems impossible, as it's so big and complex. I'll try nonetheless.
There's the story of Marian Graves, who goes through trauma, multiple sexual awakenings, but stays constant nonetheless; a stubborn, boyish woman who loves to fly. There's the people who surround her, some of whom get their own stories - especially dear Jamie - some of them remain side characters to Marian's.
Then there's the story of this actress - Hadley - who plays Marian in a movie, but also has problems of her own to deal with. Fame, grief, love, scandal, finding a goal in life (no one is as blessed as Marian, after all, with a life direction handed to her on a golden plate (or in an airplane)).
I thought it was interesting, to follow these lives, but I did find myself confused quite often. This because of multiple reasons: the massive amount of characters - their names, their varying agrees of importance to the story and how exactly were they connected to Marian again; the switching timelines, and the timejumps within those timelines; and the writing, which was beautiful, but sometimes unclear on whether it was being literal or figurative.
Also unclear to me, was the meaning of this book. I'm inclined to say it was just a character study; a behind the scenes on these two women's lives and the extra mile they have to walk to achieve the same things a man can with half the effort, the trauma they have to go through, both emotionally and physically. But then why would you write this dual timeline, why not just focus on Marian, who was interesting enough on her own? Maybe it was a way of showing the discrepancies that can exist between a real life and the way outsiders view it. Oftentimes the script of the movie they're producing in modern times, doesn't rhyme with what actually happened. Take for example the (spoiler?) sapphic love affair Marian has with someone she meets during the war. Society is so eager to paint her as a straight woman that they choose to ignore this very real part of her.
That does bring me to one critique, though: the only lesbian mentioned in this book gets killed off relatively quickly after we get to know her. I get that it was necessary to the ending of the book, but damn, it's 2022, we've had enough of seeing lesbians die in media.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, War, Grief, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia
Plane crashes and boat sinkings are discussed quite often, but in a non-grave way, except for in the beginning when the twins Jamie and Marian are rescued from a sinking ship. Also a sibling dies.alomie's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Moderate: War, Violence, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, Lesbophobia, Infidelity, Abortion, Pregnancy, Grief, and Death
anapthine's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, War, Death, Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, Alcohol, Blood, and Eating disorder
Minor: Murder, Antisemitism, and Gun violence