Wallace stegner book club

Learn about some lasting friendships, book club questions, what our group thought, themes, characters and more crossing to safety by wallace stegner. Stegner also won the national book award for the spectator bird in 1977. Wednesday was the centennial of wallace stegner, the writer and ubercitizen of the west. Wallace stegner has said of his epic novel, its perfectly clear that if every writer is born to write one story, thats my story. Crossing to safety by wallace stegner by linda40 see profile 081814 this is an excellent book for a book discussion group. Why do you think stegner chose this term for the title of his novel. Learn about some lasting friendships, book club questions, what our group thought, themes, characters and more. Wallace stegner audio books, best sellers, author bio. Wallace stegner was a novelist and shortstory writer whose work celebrated the american west and won him the countrys highest literary awards. Crossing to safety by wallace stegner crossing to safety. Pulitzer prize for fiction national book award commonwealth club book award o. Dec 05, 2008 not only a book of a lifetime, crossing to safety is a book that comes at the end of a long lifetime of writing.

All his writings are informed by a deep sense of the american experience and the potential, which he termed the geography of promise, that the west symbolizes. Crossing to safety wallace stegner, 1987 random house 368 pp. Sierra club board of directors for a term that lasted 19641966. Stegners use of uncredited passages taken directly from footes letters caused a minor controversy. Wallace stegner was born on february 18, 1909 in lake mills, iowa. The spectator bird by wallace stegner reading guidebook club. This tourdeforce of american literature and a winner of the national book award is a profound, intimate, affecting novel from one of the most esteemed literary minds of the last century and a. Stegners novels are known for their strong sense of place. One of the finest american authors of the 20th century, wallace stegner compiled an impressive collection of accolades during his lifetime, including a pulitzer prize for fiction, a national book award, and three o. Stegner takes a long look backat four decades of a foursomes lifein a novel that at moments is beguiling, though at others it labors for its theme.

The spectator bird by wallace stegner reading guidebook. Wheelchairbound with a crippling bone disease and dependent on others for his every need, ward is. Edward abbey claimed, before stegners death in 1993, that he was the only living american writer worthy of the nobel. Crossing to safety wallace stegner introduction by molly lundquist. Crossing to safety tells an american tale of two couples who form a lifelong bond extending from the great depression to the 1970s. An american masterpiece and iconic novel of the west by national book award and pulitzer prize winner wallace stegnera deeply moving. Not only a book of a lifetime, crossing to safety is a book that comes at the end of a long lifetime of writing. Crossing to safety by wallace stegner fab book club. Stegner s novels are known for their strong sense of place. The spectator bird by wallace stegner red stag supper club we dined at the red stag supper club, and enjoyed satisfying if not exceptional meals. See more ideas about wallace stegner, angle of repose and books.

He worked at the university of wisconsin like sid and larry, harvard, and eventually stanford. Writers and poets writers write wallace stegner work pictures book writer american literature glenda books to read novels wallace stegner, the art of fiction no. Wheelchairbound with a crippling bone disease and dependent on others. Crossing to safety a wonderfully written book about lasting friendships, kindness, dominance and much more. Based on the correspondence of the littleknown 19th century writer, mary hallock foote. Collecting angle of repose by stegner, wallace first. It is a testament to the power of stegners prose and vision that angle of repose, winner of the 1972 pulitzer prize for fiction, can be appreciated as americas story as well. Crossing to safety by wallace stegner crossing to safety by. Wallace stegner, who also wrote short stories, essays, biographies and histories. All the little live things, 1967 commonwealth club gold medal. Some of our book club struggled with it though it is a classic.

There are no cliff hangers or huge dramatic events which. It is a book that reminds us of the complexity of deep relationships and the. Wheelchairbound with a crippling bone disease and dependent on others for his every need. A sweeping novel, a commentary on marriagewhy it works, why it fails. Our book club discussion drew out further aspects that i hadnt seen, but had been discovered by others. Crossing to safety modern library classics wallace stegner. Watkins 19362000 was the first wallace stegner distinguished professor of western american studies at montana state university, and was the author of twentyeight books. Dec 02, 2015 stegner s use of uncredited passages taken directly from footes letters caused a minor controversy. It is a testament to the power of stegner s prose and vision that angle of repose, winner of the 1972 pulitzer prize for fiction, can be appreciated as americas story as well. A site dedicated to book lovers providing a forum to discover and share commentary about the books and authors they enjoy.

Stegner s use of uncredited passages taken directly from footes letters caused a minor controversy. Its his most accessible book, a warm, charming story that allows the reader to familiarize herself with his signature style of one chapter past tense, one chapter present tense, one chapter past tense, etc. Crossing to safety by wallace stegner, paperback barnes. Angle of repose wallace stegner, 1971 penguin group usa 392 pp. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion and a free quiz on crossing to safety by wallace stegner. It has a lot of beautiful language and descriptions, but our book club found it to be tedious at times and hard to get through. His friends said he looked like god ought to look, and perhaps not since eden was first sketched in genesis has an author been so sternly rhapsodic about the land. He is 70 years old, difficult to deal with, and a former literary agent who has no goals in life. He was elected to the sierra club board of directors for a term that lasted 19641966. Stegners new book is an eloquent, wise and immensely moving narrative. Wallace earle stegner 19091993 was often called the dean of western writers. What do you think of stegners narrative technique, i. Its a pulitzer winner, but its dream sequence ending feels like a copout. I nearly included this in the summer reading guide but decided maybe not too many of you would be interested in a 672 page book published in 1971.

Wallace stegner 19091993 was the author of, among other novels, remembering laughter, 1937. Wallace stegner 19091993 may be better known for his 1972 pulitzer prizewinner, angle of repose, but its his last novel, crossing to safety, which quietly celebrated its 25th anniversary. In particular the irreconcilables between generations youll remember the death of their son and the fact of growing old alone with the worst of life, crabbed by more than arthritis. Edward abbey claimed, before stegner s death in 1993, that he was the only living american writer worthy of the nobel. By the end of the novel, has lyman reached his own angle of repose.

Wallace earle stegner february 18, 1909 april, 1993 was an american novelist, short story writer, environmentalist, and historian, often called the dean of western writers. Wallace stegner 19091993 was the author of, among other novels, all the little live things winner of a commonwealth club gold medal, angle of repose winner of the pulitzer prize, and the spectator bird winner of the national book award. Angle of repose by wallace stegner, paperback barnes. Honest and straightforward, educated yet unpretentious, cantankerous yet compassionate, wallace stegner was an enormous presence in the american literary landscape, a man who wrote and lived with ferocity, energy, and integrity. I am a fan left wondering how i missed reading wallace stegner before now. One of the finest american authors of the 20th century, wallace stegner compiled an impressive collection of accolades during his lifetime, including a pulitzer prize for fiction, a national book award, and. Angle of repose by wallace stegner angle of repose tells the story of lyman ward, a retired professor of history and author of books about the western frontier, who returns to his ancestral home of grass valley, california, in the sierra nevada. In the late 1980s, he refused a national medal from the national endowment for the arts in 1992 because he believed the nea had become too politicized. Stegner picks up some years later with joe and ruth allson of all the little live things and paraphrases some of the themes of that book as well as the later angle of repose. Is dinosaur, with photographs by philip hyde, a sierra club book that was. The spectator bird, 1976 national book award, 1977. Larry morgan and his wife sally are young westerners who, one day in depressionpoor 1937, arrive in madison, wisconsin, where larry is to take a oneyear teaching post at the university of wisconsin. Dec 07, 2012 wallace stegner 19091993 may be better known for his 1972 pulitzer prizewinner, angle of repose, but its his last novel, crossing to safety, which quietly celebrated its 25th anniversary.

The spectator bird by wallace stegner is about joe allston. A biography of bernard devoto, and where the bluebird. Popular wallace stegner books meet your next favorite book. Not only did wallace stegner likely set the literary world on fire with this book, he set me on fire.

What role does the terrain in the west play in angle of repose. Content includes books from bestselling, midlist and debut authors. Among the novels are, the big rock candy mountain, 1943. Two young ambitious couples become friends in madison, wisconsin, when the two husbands begin their academic careers as professors at the university of wisconsin in the 1930s. In his sixtyyear career, he wrote thirty books, both fiction and nonfiction. His nonfiction includes the sound of mountain water, the uneasy chair. Wallace stegner, in full wallace earl stegner, born feb. How does he change over the course of the summer in which this novel takes place.

Angle of repose by wallace stegner reading guidebook club. A lot of book clubs draw the line on reading books over fourhundred pages, so it was a bit of a surprise that stegners novel, all fivehundredplus. Wallace earle stegner, wellknown as the dean of western writers, was an american historian, environmentalists, novelist and short story writer who encourage the need for preserving the west in younger generation of authors. Angle of repose by wallace stegner book club discussion. Crossing to safety wallace stegner introduction bccls. Idea by peter kain on good reads in 2020 penguin modern. Stegners novel angle of repose won the pulitzer prize for fiction in 1972, and was directly based on the letters of mary hallock foote later published as the memoir a victorian gentlewoman in the far west. A book club for several guys from the twin cities since 1997. The characters burrow into your heart, and stegners prose, as one critic put it, is prismatic, lush and painterly. Our discussion ranged from tigers trials, to football foibles, to palins preenings. I was glad to find much of my book group felt the same way. Apr 09, 2020 wallace stegner, american author of fiction and historical nonfiction set mainly in the western united states. As stegner shines a spotlight on the everyday minutiae of life, these tiny moments glow with importance as the couples travel through the years together. All his writings are informed by a deep sense of the american experience and the potential, which he termed the geography of promise, that the west.