A review by toniapeckover
The Big Rock Candy Mountain, by Wallace Stegner

5.0

A long, deep exploration of an early 20th century family trying to make a go of it in the American West, always searching for the "Big Rock Candy Mountain" around the next bend. Stegner's eye for details of the time period and his obvious appreciation for the vast landscapes of his settings make the book worth reading, but he also has a genius for understanding and explaining the uniquely American mindsets that arose out of that time and place. (One example is the protagonist's mocking reaction to the 1918 flu pandemic and its accompanying restrictions of social distancing, masks, and quarantines. It felt shockingly real and immediate though the book was written in the 1940's.) The characters are so real and well-considered it's hard to bear with them sometimes (the book is somewhat autobiographical), but ultimately worth it. It's also fascinating to read about the West before it was over-developed and exploited and Stegner has a tremendous eye for detail that makes his scenes sing. I know so much more about every day life at the turn of the last century just by reading this. There's a reason he's one of our literary treasures.

"To have that rush of sentimental loyalty at the sound of a name, to love and know a single place...Those were the things that not only his family, but thousands of Americans had missed. The whole nation had been footloose too long, Heaven had been just over the range for too many generations. Why remain in one dull plot of earth when Heaven was reachable, was touchable, was just over there?"