Review of Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 this historical fiction weaves a tale of the narrators grandparents lives using the true life of Mary Hallock Foote as a model for his grandmother. Mary Hallock Foote was an American short story novelist known for her illustrated works depicting the lives of mining communities at the turn-of-the-century. You can find a nice write-up on her life in this PDF created by The Idaho State Historical Society Junior Historian Program, it includes some illustrations of her work as well.
Narrated by Lyman Ward, a wheelchair bound retired historian, he uses letters and stories left behind from his grandmother Susan to piece together her life. Susan started life out in the east as a typical Victorian woman of the times, how life changes if you fall for a man that has different aspirations in life. Oliver, the man she has fallen for has his eyes set on the expansion of the west.
Life is not easy in the west, the infrastructure is largely lacking for towns, those that do exist are centered on the mining communities, supplies are limited and traveling to them is hellish. Oliver's work for the mines provides minimal money, this does allow (and force) Susan to pursue her earlier aspirations of being an artist to provide for the family. She is a gifted artist and is able to provide sketches for various works and moves to creating her own stories with sketches to describe life as she sees it. Oliver and Susan are forced to move about the west in search of the elusive dream of Oliver's, this puts a serious strain on their relationship at times. Can Susan, who really desires the life she led in the east with the hub-bub of the elite, accept the dry desolate land presented in the west cut-off from her friends and family? We follow along as Oliver and Susan build a life together, start a family and face adversity.
The story is peppered in with narratives on current day characters that surround and care for the narrator. In the beginning of the story I did have to adjust to the time jumps and orientate myself. The descriptions given of Susan's work really had me wishing this novel had been written with illustrations. Her sketches sounded so captivating to catch a glimpse into the past. The narration does a good job at transporting you back to the expansion of the west, the staking of claims, the building up of mines, harrowing travel on horseback and the ingenuity required to survive the elements. This was one of my Top Ten picks for 2013.
[Notice: Original posting 2014-01-01 at Plethora of Books Blog: http://bookchallenges.weebly.com]
Tags: Historical Fiction, Top Ten by Year, 2013
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1972 this historical fiction weaves a tale of the narrators grandparents lives using the true life of Mary Hallock Foote as a model for his grandmother. Mary Hallock Foote was an American short story novelist known for her illustrated works depicting the lives of mining communities at the turn-of-the-century. You can find a nice write-up on her life in this PDF created by The Idaho State Historical Society Junior Historian Program, it includes some illustrations of her work as well.
Narrated by Lyman Ward, a wheelchair bound retired historian, he uses letters and stories left behind from his grandmother Susan to piece together her life. Susan started life out in the east as a typical Victorian woman of the times, how life changes if you fall for a man that has different aspirations in life. Oliver, the man she has fallen for has his eyes set on the expansion of the west.
Life is not easy in the west, the infrastructure is largely lacking for towns, those that do exist are centered on the mining communities, supplies are limited and traveling to them is hellish. Oliver's work for the mines provides minimal money, this does allow (and force) Susan to pursue her earlier aspirations of being an artist to provide for the family. She is a gifted artist and is able to provide sketches for various works and moves to creating her own stories with sketches to describe life as she sees it. Oliver and Susan are forced to move about the west in search of the elusive dream of Oliver's, this puts a serious strain on their relationship at times. Can Susan, who really desires the life she led in the east with the hub-bub of the elite, accept the dry desolate land presented in the west cut-off from her friends and family? We follow along as Oliver and Susan build a life together, start a family and face adversity.
The story is peppered in with narratives on current day characters that surround and care for the narrator. In the beginning of the story I did have to adjust to the time jumps and orientate myself. The descriptions given of Susan's work really had me wishing this novel had been written with illustrations. Her sketches sounded so captivating to catch a glimpse into the past. The narration does a good job at transporting you back to the expansion of the west, the staking of claims, the building up of mines, harrowing travel on horseback and the ingenuity required to survive the elements. This was one of my Top Ten picks for 2013.
[Notice: Original posting 2014-01-01 at Plethora of Books Blog: http://bookchallenges.weebly.com]
Tags: Historical Fiction, Top Ten by Year, 2013