Great Circle: A Novel Paperback

I was immediately captivated by the writers stunning prose. The female aviator story was fascinating but the modern day story got a bit neglected - especially towards the end of what is a very long book. I enjoyed the twist at the end but was left wondering what might have been made of the story with some sharper editing.

An amazing narrative, bringing to life an imagined female flyer. Full of wonderful lyrical passages and carefully researched background detail. The Hollywood recreation adds an authentic 21st Century retelling.

Could not put it down. Epic.

Very engaging story and characters and enjoyed reading this which I did very quickly as I ‘couldn’t put it down’.

I think the editors should have been stricter. This could have been 3 or 4 books. It is like a saga,following families from birth to death. I found it too long.It was well written and each section of the main protagonists lives was well researched and interesting - but to cover it all in just one book was, to my mind, too long. The wartime section was probably the most interesting.

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.

A stunningly odd book where lots of things happen, yet nothing feels like it's happening.The author can't seem to write one good story, so they've instead written about 3 or 4 fairly poorly developed ones and slammed them together whilst also taking random pages from real life biographies and jamming them in.Following Marian and her brother in the past after following her parents for a bit whilst also following the movie star protagonist in the modern day is not particularly hard. The stories all churn along with the barest hint of any kind of personality or character. Everyone does things, but no one really shows much of anything. Our modern day movie star has a bit of character, but not much. The whole book feels like bullet points. Thing next thing and the thing after that. The sexual element is entirely void of excitement or any real sense of something meaningful. It's just more events.I wanted to like this. I did keep reading it. But it went on forever and experienced readers will hear the alarm bells ring when I say it's one of those that you're determined to finish but absolutely eager to avoid picking up which drags the pain out further.There's a good story about a flawed couple who's female half has zero maternal desire.There's a good story about a young aviatrix.There's a good story about a young artist.There's a good story about a fallen movie star on the comeback.There's even a good history of aviation.Sadly all of these great ideas have been executed in the most dull and lacklustre way possible. To have read so much about Marian and to be left with: is determined, likes the women. Well, it's sad. All those words and not an ounce of personality to be found.I feel like some women may find this more appealing. There's plenty of strong female lead in here to inspire something in those desperate for it, but there are dozens of better examples where the strong female has been developed more and feels more real.Sadly, Marian could be an inanimate object and it wouldn't be all that different.