lols_cat'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
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Abandonment, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
heatherilene's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Death, and Rape
cecilialau's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, War, Abandonment, Abortion, Death, and Incest
jazhandz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, War, Alcoholism, Death, and Alcohol
Moderate: Abortion, Rape, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Confinement, Misogyny, and Sexism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Dementia, and Hate crime
smaravetz'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual violence and Rape
Minor: Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Abortion
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.” 💔
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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
eggpilot'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Death and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Abandonment and Alcoholism
hazelgirl21'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Abandonment, Biphobia, Violence, and Homophobia
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, and Animal death
vikkom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I thought this book was going to be about this random lady Marian Graves attempting a north-south circumnavigation, and the fictional actress Hadley being fascinated and throwing herself into the history of Marian in preparation for the role. The book is about that, but I'd say that it's only about 10% that.
The rest of the book is about Marian Graves, and the people she loved and loved her, from before birth, to death; it is about Hadley, the starlet, and her journey with the pressures of hollywood, acting, falling in lust, and being... drawn to Marian and also knowing and feeling uncomfortable with the fact that the Marian she is playing is almost entirely reconstructed.
This book paints the sweeping arc of Marian's life, and the lives of the people that were most important to her. It deals with feeling multiple, contradictory feelings at once; it deals with estrangement from people you love; it deals with loving people and yet hating them; it deals with queer love in the 40s and 50s; it deals with the what-could-have-beens while acknowledging that sequences of events have a certain inevitability and circularity; and overall, it deals with the messy and complex and less-than-idyllic ways that humans connect. Lives are lived, opportunities are lost. People die. We go on.
N.B. one thing I would say though, is that it took me over half of the book (no small feat, it's a solid 300 pages) to actually get *into* the story. I think mainly because I wasn't expecting a grand sweeping whole-of-life tale, but the book comes around in a nice circle, once I realised that was what it was.
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and War
Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Hate crime
Minor: Abortion and Child death
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