A review by kmuttschall
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Spoiler "Until she dies, she will wonder if she could have persuaded him to come with her. Until she dies, she will remember Eddie's small, dark figure on the ice, waving to her with both arms as she circles up. She will always be afraid that his valedictory gesture might have changed, at some moment when she was too far away to notice, into a plea for her to return."

"She supposes there will be nothing. She supposes each of us destroys the world. We close our eyes and snuff out all that has existed, all that will ever be. But if she could choose, she would ask for a lift. She would want to rise from her body and have it be like when she'd first gone up with Trout, as though she were being held aloft by pure possibility, as though she were about to see everything."


This book is a combination of all of my favourite books (Milkman, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, East of Eden) while still managing to be its own distinct entity.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings