saville08's review against another edition
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, and Toxic relationship
maryclaire92's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
If I’m being honest, it dragged at times for me, but that can also be attributed to me reading it towards the end of this semester of grad school.
Graphic: Gore, War, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Rape, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Abortion, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Homophobia, and Misogyny
booksconleche's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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'Great Circle' is an entire world, a handful of lives, all within 600-ish pages. If I could encapsulate it into one word, I'd choose "vivid" – the characters seem like they're just about ready to walk off the page. Not an easy feat when you're carrying multiple points of view (though the book is mostly focused on Marian's and Hadley's), but each character definitely felt like they had a distinct voice and personality. They all had that humanity to them that tends to make books four or five stars for me. Marian and Jamie, in particular, stole my heart, even in their less loveable moments. I also loved Hadley and her Old Hollywood wit in a 21st-century movie star's brain. Maggie Shipstead can definitely pull off the art of making characters' flaws part of their charm. And even the side characters that we get smaller glimpses of made their mark so wonderfully.
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The prose itself is beautiful. I have various lines highlighted for their way of capturing what seem to be universal truths of the experience of being a human who loves and dreams and yearns and loses. Seemingly simple lines that, when you pause, capture so much more. (I felt very validated when I noticed that Maggie Shipstead had highlighted a couple of these passages on Goodreads too). Swipe for some of my top ones!
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TLDR: read 'Great Circle' for a fantastic exploration of wanderlust, womanhood, family, love, and longing. You really won't regret it.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Abortion
swaanderer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Abortion, Rape, Homophobia, Vomit, Toxic relationship, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, War, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexism
siobhan_oak'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: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, and Rape
Moderate: Classism, Alcoholism, and War
Minor: Violence
uhm_kai'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
4.5
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, War, Rape, Pregnancy, Abortion, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Hate crime, Grief, Death, and Adult/minor relationship
nenaveenstra's review against another edition
- 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
chameleonhound'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Rape and Alcoholism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Abandonment, Abortion, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Death of parent, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, and War