Another Score

So I made a quick stop at one of my local used bookstores the other day. I was looking for a cheap copy of a writing book that I have long packed away … to be opened when I have my own place again. And I couldn’t help but glance through the clearance shelves. I’m so glad I did … I found 3 Pulitzer Prize winners for a total of $2. (One of which was on my list of “hard to find.”) I also found a hardback copy of a Wallace Stegner book (see post about Angle of Repose) a new favorite author.

Still Reading …

OK … I promise, I’m still reading! But this last one was a doozy to get through! (And I took a couple breaks for other things!) But my sluggish reading pace had nothing to do with the quality of novel. In fact, Angle of Repose (1972 PP winner) by Wallace Stegner has introduced me to a new favorite American novel and author.

The novel uses one of my favorite writing techniques, the story within a story, to tell the tale of the Ward family — back several generations. It mainly focuses on Lyman Ward, a disabled history professor and writer, as he chronicles the life of his grandmother, Susan Burling Ward.

Susan grows up in a life of priviledge in the New England area, but as she sets her sights on adulthood, she takes a twist no one in her life could see coming. Susan chooses to marry Oliver Ward, an engineer determined to be a part of cultivating the new Western frontier. At first, Susan casts a romantic glance toward her life in the West. She utilizes her talent for art and writing and makes her own career depicting this “new” world that readers back in New England have no opportunity to see firsthand.

Susan’s romance with her frontier life and with her husband take their hits as Oliver’s endeavors take his family to parts unknown and uncivilized. As children are added to the mix, Susan begins to resent her husband and his choice of careers. She longs for the familiarity of New England and the class and clout her family held there.

While delving into the past, Lyman Ward is dealing with his own disappointments and difficult marriage. His wife left him soon after his leg was amputated, for his surgeon no less, and his son has set his sights on putting dad in a home. Lyman’s quarky neighbors add humor and realism to the mix … especially when Lyman takes on a young female typist to help him with his research and writing.

I don’t want to say too much more because this novel other than it is well worth the 500+ pages. Wallace Stegner’s vivid descriptions of land, emotions, and people are enough for a Pulitzer Prize itself. But put those together with an intriguing tale of family heritage and dynamics and you come away with a true masterpiece.

Book Rating: * * * *