Angle of Repose
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • A “masterful” (Boston Globe) portrait of four generations in an American family and the traditions of our national past
“Brilliant . . . Two stories, past and present, merge to produce what important fiction must: a sense of the enhancement of life.”—Los Angeles Times
Lyman Ward is a retired professor of history, recently confined to a wheelchair by a crippling bone disease and dependent on others for his every need. Amid the chaos of 1970s counterculture he retreats to his ancestral home of Grass Valley, California, to write the biography of his grandmother: an elegant and headstrong artist and pioneer who, together with her engineer husband, made her own journey through the hardscrabble West nearly a hundred years before. In discovering her story he excavates his own, probing the shadows of his experience and the America that has come of age around him.
“Brilliant . . . Two stories, past and present, merge to produce what important fiction must: a sense of the enhancement of life.”—Los Angeles Times
Lyman Ward is a retired professor of history, recently confined to a wheelchair by a crippling bone disease and dependent on others for his every need. Amid the chaos of 1970s counterculture he retreats to his ancestral home of Grass Valley, California, to write the biography of his grandmother: an elegant and headstrong artist and pioneer who, together with her engineer husband, made her own journey through the hardscrabble West nearly a hundred years before. In discovering her story he excavates his own, probing the shadows of his experience and the America that has come of age around him.
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Community Reviews
Sprawling family saga, tracing from New York to California, Colorado, Mexico, and Idaho.
Lyman Ward, a retired history professor suffering from a debilitating disease that has left him an amputee confined to a wheelchair, is the narrator of this story. He decides he's going to write a biography of his grandparents, Oliver and Susan Burling Ward. Susan wrote many letters to her good friend Augusta during her life, and Lyman uses these to reproduce the story of his grandparents. Along the way, he's gaining some insight into their relationship, their hopes and dreams, disappointments, failures, flaws, heartbreaks, and he may just be getting some clarity on his own failed relationships.
Stegner does a great job of fleshing out the characters and giving us a good sense of who they are and the struggles they go through. I found myself enjoying more the present-day narrative of Lyman's dealings with his caretaker Ada and her daughter Shelly, who he hires as his secretary and who becomes a sort of sparring partner for him. He's a cantankerous old coot (of 58!), and you can't help but laugh at some of his observations on life in the early '70s.
But I slowly got wrapped up in the story of Oliver and Susan, and you could feel, with every move, the waning enthusiasm (of Susan) and the growing disappointments and resentments.
Interesting back story: The letters that are quoted in the book are actual letters of Mary Hallock Foote, an author and illustrator, and there was some controversy about Stegner's use of these letters in his book.
Lyman Ward, a retired history professor suffering from a debilitating disease that has left him an amputee confined to a wheelchair, is the narrator of this story. He decides he's going to write a biography of his grandparents, Oliver and Susan Burling Ward. Susan wrote many letters to her good friend Augusta during her life, and Lyman uses these to reproduce the story of his grandparents. Along the way, he's gaining some insight into their relationship, their hopes and dreams, disappointments, failures, flaws, heartbreaks, and he may just be getting some clarity on his own failed relationships.
Stegner does a great job of fleshing out the characters and giving us a good sense of who they are and the struggles they go through. I found myself enjoying more the present-day narrative of Lyman's dealings with his caretaker Ada and her daughter Shelly, who he hires as his secretary and who becomes a sort of sparring partner for him. He's a cantankerous old coot (of 58!), and you can't help but laugh at some of his observations on life in the early '70s.
But I slowly got wrapped up in the story of Oliver and Susan, and you could feel, with every move, the waning enthusiasm (of Susan) and the growing disappointments and resentments.
Interesting back story: The letters that are quoted in the book are actual letters of Mary Hallock Foote, an author and illustrator, and there was some controversy about Stegner's use of these letters in his book.
What a wonderful novel “Angle of Repose” ended up being.
Susan Ward is such a dynamic and layered character, one that felt so deeply rooted within the American West, while still having the ability to see the growing world from an outsider’s perspective. I fell in love with this character, as well as the relationships that she developed throughout the novel.
It was very interesting to see Lyman’s perspective in regards to the 70’s counterculture, as he was seemingly trapped in the late 1800’s alongside his family, resulting in a combative attitude towards any new ideologies. While I was not a fan of his character (which I understand I wasn’t entirely supposed to be), I think this dynamic made the novel even more interesting.
I wasn’t anticipating to be as emotionally attached to these characters as I ended up becoming, which made the final chapter of Susan’s story even more gut-wrenching. I have found myself to be completely enamored by the idea of the West, and getting to experience this journey from Susan’s perspective was a very eye-opening experience. It made me fall deeper in love with the American West, and I cannot wait to dive deeper into the stories of the people who pushed West, as well as the stories from the Native Americans who were decimated because of this expansion.
Needless to say, I loved this novel. Having researched it before I read it, I understand why it is as controversial as it is within literary canon. With that, I think these letters that Stegner took from created a lush story and gave a base for a wonderfully complex character, one that I doubt I’ll ever encounter again in a novel. This easily is one of the best novels that I have ever read, and it woudn’t surprise me if this ended up becoming my favorite novel. I’m glad I took my time to get through this story, since it was so rich and detailed, I didn’t want to leave. I still don’t want to leave, and I know that I will be visiting this novel again and again for the rest of my life.
Susan Ward is such a dynamic and layered character, one that felt so deeply rooted within the American West, while still having the ability to see the growing world from an outsider’s perspective. I fell in love with this character, as well as the relationships that she developed throughout the novel.
It was very interesting to see Lyman’s perspective in regards to the 70’s counterculture, as he was seemingly trapped in the late 1800’s alongside his family, resulting in a combative attitude towards any new ideologies. While I was not a fan of his character (which I understand I wasn’t entirely supposed to be), I think this dynamic made the novel even more interesting.
I wasn’t anticipating to be as emotionally attached to these characters as I ended up becoming, which made the final chapter of Susan’s story even more gut-wrenching. I have found myself to be completely enamored by the idea of the West, and getting to experience this journey from Susan’s perspective was a very eye-opening experience. It made me fall deeper in love with the American West, and I cannot wait to dive deeper into the stories of the people who pushed West, as well as the stories from the Native Americans who were decimated because of this expansion.
Needless to say, I loved this novel. Having researched it before I read it, I understand why it is as controversial as it is within literary canon. With that, I think these letters that Stegner took from created a lush story and gave a base for a wonderfully complex character, one that I doubt I’ll ever encounter again in a novel. This easily is one of the best novels that I have ever read, and it woudn’t surprise me if this ended up becoming my favorite novel. I’m glad I took my time to get through this story, since it was so rich and detailed, I didn’t want to leave. I still don’t want to leave, and I know that I will be visiting this novel again and again for the rest of my life.
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