Great Circle - Maggie Shipstead

Great Circle

By Maggie Shipstead

  • Release Date: 2021-05-04
  • Genre: Literary Fiction
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 825 Ratings

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK • The unforgettable story of a daredevil female aviator determined to chart her own course in life, at any cost: an “epic trip—through Prohibition and World War II, from Montana to London to present-day Hollywood—and you’ll relish every minute” (People).

After being rescued as infants from a sinking ocean liner in 1914, Marian and Jamie Graves are raised by their dissolute uncle in Missoula, Montana. There--after encountering a pair of barnstorming pilots passing through town in beat-up biplanes--Marian commences her lifelong love affair with flight. At fourteen she drops out of school and finds an unexpected and dangerous patron in a wealthy bootlegger who provides a plane and subsidizes her lessons, an arrangement that will haunt her for the rest of her life, even as it allows her to fulfill her destiny: circumnavigating the globe by flying over the North and South Poles.

A century later, Hadley Baxter is cast to play Marian in a film that centers on Marian's disappearance in Antarctica. Vibrant, canny, disgusted with the claustrophobia of Hollywood, Hadley is eager to redefine herself after a romantic film franchise has imprisoned her in the grip of cult celebrity. Her immersion into the character of Marian unfolds, thrillingly, alongside Marian's own story, as the two women's fates--and their hunger for self-determination in vastly different geographies and times--collide. Epic and emotional, meticulously researched and gloriously told, Great Circle is a monumental work of art, and a tremendous leap forward for the prodigiously gifted Maggie Shipstead.

Reviews

  • awful

    1
    By adghiiytvvvfhi
    not worth 5.00
  • A masterpiece

    5
    By Economan1
    The book took me on a literary journey unlike anything I’ve read before. Richly written, fascinating characters, awesome descriptions of places all over the world. Thank goodness it’s so long; I didn’t want it to end. A tour de force.
  • Fascinating tale

    5
    By G3Soars
    I absolutely loved this book! Rich in interwoven plots that I related to on many levels. Superb writing!
  • Great Circle

    4
    By Cini kc
    Satisfying read but way too long. It just kept going and going.
  • Captivating Novel

    5
    By serather
    The characters all felt very real to me and I loved the clever way they were woven together to tell Marion’s story. It was the kind of book that I couldn’t put down, yet now I’m sad that it’s over!
  • Women Flying-soar

    5
    By KeriSueB
    Great read! A little hard to set down and pick up with different time lines involved.. thanks
  • Great circles”

    5
    By Lynn Wohl m.
    I especially liked the flying., to experience Marians’ Learning to fly and feeling a part of that was very important for me, I especially liked the characters in the book who were so alive for me and so real. Marian is a superb writer and I cherished reading the book,
  • There are other books. Try one of those.

    1
    By tomkat1319
    This is so bad, I refuse to waste my time. Finishing it. What was Booker thinking?
  • Too Long

    3
    By AimJordy
    While the story and writing style are excellent, the plot suffers terribly under the strain of too much filler and too many characters. There were whole chapters in the book that were superfluous. Would have been a great 325 page book. It was laborious and ultimately unsatisfying as a 600+ page book.
  • Don’t give up

    5
    By Sterritt
    I felt the book started so slowly. I find myself an impatient reader and want to be hooked right away. I decided to keep reading. Plod along as it were. I’m grateful I did. The careful building of characters was so essential to the experience. There comes a place where to stop reading was almost not an option. Every character here was rich and complicated. Mysterious and telling. A gorgeous read.

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