Marian’s story is engrossing, but if Great Circle were only her chronicle, it would not be the richly-layered, riveting narrative that it is. Her desire to be airborne is almost strong enough to lift her however, to really fly, she has to pursue and withstand an abusive relationship with a gangster who gives her the necessary training and machinery for flight in exchange for submission and pantomimed domesticity. After she witnesses two stunt pilots flying over her Missoula home in 1927, she is determined to become a pilot herself. Marian is built for flight and only truly happy when she’s in the air. Adventurer Marian Graves of Maggie Shipstead’s exceptional novel Great Circle would have writhed under such limitations. 2020-21 was a year for reflection and appreciation of the things in our midst a year without travel a global, public grounding.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |