toothpastefairy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Screaming, crying, and throwing-up throughout.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow. Have you ever read a book that stuck with you so much that you dreamed about it? I’ve been dreaming of airplanes and Marian Graves for the past several nights.
Great Circle was just the epic story I needed to close out the year. It’s almost 600 pages, but reads like a much shorter novel. Maggie Shipstead is a great writer. Her prose is descriptive yet readable and she manages to capture the sensations her characters experience. There are periodically asides (about the history of Missoula Montana, the history of women pilots) that in a lesser writer’s hands would be extraneous and annoying, but Shipstead manages to use these asides to add depth to her story.
I don’t want to say more, because I think the discovery is a huge part of the experience of this novel. Suffice to say, I felt all the things while reading this: worry, rage, heartache, hope, and joy. I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Abortion, Child death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Infidelity
Minor: Homophobia
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