2024 the best novels of 2023 review

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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.

From the Publisher

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage (April 5, 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 672 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1984897705
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1984897701
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.1 x 1.1 x 7.9 inches
Reviewer: switterbug/Betsey Van Horn
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Stunning and satisfying
Review: Maggie Shipstead has outdone herself in this extraordinary tale of resilience and perseverance, constructed with two parallel storylines of two complex women. Marian Graves and her twin brother, Jamie, are raised by an alcoholic/gambling addict uncle, in the wilds of Montana, during the Prohibition days. The fateful story of their parents is told with superb detail in the early pages of the book. Marian and Jamie become well educated in the natural world, where they spend a lot of time, and their uncle ensures that their literacy and creative spirits thrive. Besides Marian, Jamie has a story with many adventures, and his fate is inextricably bound with Marian’s.At an early age, Marian becomes self-sufficient and ambitious, especially after witnessing a husband and wife pilot team that visit for a show. She is determined to fly planes--and do whatever it takes to save the money (her uncle squandered much of their inheritance). Marian is disciplined, courageous, and highly intelligent, as well as physically strong. Moreover, she is devoted to Jamie. Yes, she has assistance from a wealthy cattle rancher with a stake in criminal enterprises, but most of her accomplishments were despite him, not because of him. She becomes a legendary aviatrix.We meet Hadley Baxter in late 2014, also raised by her uncle. Her parents died in a plane crash in Antarctica, their bodies never recovered. Hadley is quite young, yet is already a movie star, a household name, thanks to luck and timing. She got into showbiz with the help of her stuntman uncle, and landed the part of a superhero in a film franchise, Archangel. However, at this time, Hadley is a work-in-progress--a navel-gazer, the acme of vanity, who confuses love and lust. Hadley leaps before she looks in almost every area of her life. She hardly “earned” her status--it’s more like she fell into place. The young actress is privileged, frustrating, and loveable. Yes, loveable. Fundamentally, Hadley has a tender heart--she just doesn’t know where she misplaced it.After making millions on Archangel, Hadley impulsively sabotages her superhero role (unlike her counterpart, Marian, who planned vigorously and resourcefully to achieve self-sovereignty against the tide of traditional gender roles). And due to social media, Hadley’s reputation is also in shambles. While at her lowest and most self-pitying, she is offered an opportunity to play Marian in a hagiographic film of Marian’s life. It’s a chance to mature, to step into a new role that could lead to self-agency and self-determination. After reading a book about Marian’s journeys, as well as some of Marian’s pilot logbook, she becomes infatuated with the brave female aviatrix who dared to circumnavigate the globe.The novel is about 75% Marian, 25% Hadley (this isn’t an exact figure, of course). Shipstead is astonishing on all fronts. Plotting, themes, character development, language, and pacing just vibrate off the pages. This epic and startling tale of two women, a century apart, illustrates the “great circle” of life in unexpected and exquisite ways. It also demonstrates that we can only have a limited view of other people's lives, which is framed by our own experiences. Hadley and Marian can be fierce and uncompromising, even as they paradoxically sacrifice-- for a desire to be seen, to be made manifest in magnificent and sublime ways. It’s a sweeping narrative that made me feel special just for reading it.I won’t go into the story details; it’s enough to say that Marian and Hadley’s stories intersect through the author’s masterful and elaborate storytelling talents. Shipstead’s meticulous research adds even more luster to this tale. Interspersed with the parallel narratives are portraits of pilots--mostly female--who have broken records and braved the impossible. For readers who would want to know beforehand--the tale also covers scenes of sexual abuse/assault, graphic at times but eloquently nuanced. THE GREAT CIRCLE will surely be one of my top 10 of the year.“What is the border between life and oblivion? Why should anyone presume to recognize it?”

Reviewer: Ashley E Pyne
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Enjoyable epic family saga
Review: Great Circle is a BIG. Book. One of my favorite things about lengthy books is the ability to immerse yourself in the world of the narrative. I found myself lost In Marian and Jaime Graves’ story. I enjoyed Marian as a character because she was flawed.I enjoyed the juxtaposition of how Marian and Jaime responded so differently to their childhood abandonment. Jaime sought to create, Marian to escape.When my wife asked me a few days ago, what the book I was reading was about, I struggled to answer her. I was at the part of the narrative that followed Marian and Jaime through war, but it was more than a World War I novel.The truth is Great Circle is “about” many things: gender, family, societal expectations, pain, trauma, but above all else it is a novel about love and about all the ways we get it right and all the ways we get it wrong.I enjoyed Marian’s narrative much more than Hadley’s and didn’t feel like Hadley was a fully formed character and simply a plot device. I believe I would have enjoyed the book just as much without the modern storyline at all.I do recommend Great Circle to anyone who enjoys big sweeping narratives with great character development, which in my humble opinion, should be everyone.

Reviewer: LindaL
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Great Long Read
Review: The New York Times calls this novel ambitious. It certainly covers vast territory—literally and figuratively, in its 600+ pages. I devoured all the pages since it is written beautifully with so many literary elements. However, I am still working on understanding how the circle and its symbolism highlight the story. Marian Graves is a fictional female aviator who went missing as she sought to circumnavigate the earth north-south over the poles. In a parallel story, Hadley Baxter, a modern actress, prepares and then plays the role of Marian in a Hollywood movie. We begin to learn Marian’s backstory from Hadley’s contemporary impressions.The story alternates between Marian’s and Hadley’s lives. The Marian parts of the book are lengthier and better developed, with great characters and plot points. Hadley’s sections are thinner and almost annoying at times, but I can see why the author weaved her tale into this epic story. Hadley had been a struggling actress when she landed the part of Marian and identified with her immediately. Hadley also represents a modern woman who may need to connect with historical women to understand herself better.After Marian and her twin brother Jamie were born on a ship, The Josephina Eterna, in 1914. Their mother, suffering from postpartum depression, evidently commits suicide and their father, Addison Graves, saves the twins as the ship sinks. Addison leaves Marian and Jamie with his brother Wallace in Montana while he does time at Sing Sing. Wallace is an artist and has little desire or competence for raising children. So, Marian and Jamie pretty much rear themselves with a neighbor and friend, Caleb, whose mother is an alcoholic and prostitute. Caleb and Marian exchange sexual favors and eventually have an on-again-off-again, circuitous relationship throughout their lives. Marian, Jamie, and Caleb, all suffering from virtual abandonment by caregivers, develop different levels of trust with each other and the people they meet in their lives’ wanderings.The movie that Hadley stars in is entitled Peregrine, after the name of Marian’s plane. The literal meaning of peregrine is “tending to wander.” Besides the obvious desire of Marian to wander in a great circle around the world, there are other great circles of realization experienced during the travels of various characters from Montana to Vancouver, Alaska, Hawaii, New York, Antarctica, and more. Yes, the different geographic locations provide more circles to consider. One wonders how much of the main characters’ predispositions are related to their lack of parental grounding.Marian Graves has an early interest in learning to fly, but she realizes that being female is an impediment to achieving her passionate goal. Her early attempts to appear masculine and earn money include chopping off her hair and dressing like a boy. She ponders and questions her sexual identity during her life, accounting for some of the great circle metaphors. Shipstead uses engaging and thought-provoking names and symbols. While she yearns to be male, Marian’s brother Jamie is a budding artist, animal rights advocate, and vegetarian. He is sentimental and thoughtful. The gender-neutral names and plot points force us to consider gender roles and expectations and the difficulties of those who don’t conform.Marian eventually acquires a benefactor to support her flying lessons and provide a plane for her to fly. Still, Barclay Macqueen is an abusive man who is involved in bootlegging and other illegal activities. As a result, Marian must compromise her integrity in many ways to begin to accomplish her goals. Her self-determination and free-spirited disposition lead to myriad adventures and interactions with many three-dimensional characters.Marian took her infamous flight after serving as an ATA pilot in London during the second world war. Jamie seems to be too much of a pacifist to serve in the war effort until he finds an acceptable opportunity as an artist. There are many subplots and side stories about famous aviators, war efforts, and news items of the entire century covered in the timeline of this novel. The story spans the globe in settings. I found all of it intriguing, and I liked how the author integrated the plot and themes.

Reviewer: Annie Wisecarver
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Big Sweeping Historical Fiction
Review: Excellent read. In depth details about every subject and time period this book addresses. Thorough character development. Not a boring moment of reading. Insightful perspective of women trying to live their dreams in a world that tried to prevent that.

Reviewer: Baldy
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: It's a bit of a soap opera, particularly in the first quarter of the story as the characters are established, but the intricate plot is rewarding, and there's a welcome twist at the end. Enjoy!

Reviewer: A
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Great read overall. A fascinating story about life, love and flying. The only thing I'd criticize is that I don't feel like the parallel story set in the present really contributes to the book. I don't even remember the protag's name. Marian's story was all I cared about. Still 5 stars because her parts were so awesome.

Reviewer: Kez
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Great Circle reminded me of the movie version of The French Lieutenants Woman. In both that movie and this book events from the past and the making of a movie about those events run side by side. The difference here is that some of the characters from the past and the present are linked. This makes Great Circle something more than just an historical novel. The historical part concerns Marian Graves, an aviator who in the 1940’s attempts to circumnavigate the world by flying over both poles. It’s interesting here though that Maggie Shipstead didn’t choose to write about one of the many female aviators such as Amelia Earhart or Amy Johnson but instead created a heroine of her own in Marian. The 21st century part of the story concerns an actor Hadley Baxter who in an attempt to revive her flagging reputation prepares to portray her in the movies.This duel story gives Great Circle two heroines and Shipstead skillfully interweaves the lives of Marian and Hadley highlighting the parallels between their experiences.As Hadley immerses herself in Marian’s story in order to develop her role she finds Marian’s experiences help her to navigate her own life.The majority of the novel however concerns Marian who’s story actually starts before she was born in 1914 and goes on to trace her life from cradle to grave. I found her story the more interesting of the two.We are told something of Marian’s fate at the beginning of the book. Initially I felt this took something away from the story. I am not overly keen on endings being revealed at the beginning of stories. However at over 600 pages I felt there must be something more here than just the story of a round the world flight attempt, and this proved to be the case. Great Circle is much much more than that.Maggie Shipstead’s book is populated by strong, vivid, memorable characters and the stories of these people as their lives intertwine are heartbreaking at times sometimes shocking and even achingly funny, but mostly they are totally believable. Their stories also hold a few surprises along the way, it isn’t predictable. The core of the story though is Marian’s circumnavigation of the world and I became totally absorbed in her obsession with flight, willing her on every inch of the way. Shipstead’s brilliant descriptive prose puts you firmly in the aircraft with her. However Marian’s eventual destination isn’t the point here, it is the story of getting thereIf I was to make a criticism it would be that Marian’s story is brought to life better than that of Hadley’s. Marian’s story is full of extraordinary detail bringing it into sharp focus, it’s incredible realistic. Hadley’s story however feels a bit lightweight in comparison. In conclusion however Great Circle, which covers many years and half the world, is a fabulous epic of a novel. It’s a story brilliantly told and is a remarkable and rewarding read.

Reviewer: Nandhini(Books and Bliss)
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This book is one of the longlisted books of Booker Prize 2021. This review is about the condition of the book and not the content. The book arrived in great condition, and it is a big floppy paperback edition therefore it's very comfortable to read and no need to worry about breaking the spine of the book! I've heard really good things about it , and I can't wait to read it!

Reviewer: Ingrid S Hoelscher Menzell
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Marvellous writing, marvellous story, don't miss It!!