Great Circle

Lift. If you’re likely to ready only one book this summer, consider Maggie Shipstead’s novel titled, Great Circle. Fans of historical fiction will find a compelling story about Marian Graves through most of the 20th century. After Marian and her brother, Jamie, are orphaned and rescued from a sinking ship, they are raised in Montana by their uncle whose neglect makes them self-sufficient. Marian falls in love with aviation when a biplane comes to town. At two critical points in her life, she is asked what she would like, and both times she answers that she wants to fly. In the first case, she wants to learn to fly an airplane. In the second, she wants to circumnavigate the earth from pole to pole. Shipstead enhances the total novel by adding a contemporary story in which a movie is being made of Marian’s life. There’s a big cast of compelling characters, engaging stories set in the past and present, and fine writing over the course of six hundred pages. If that doesn’t lift your summer to a new level, consider looking skyward every now and again as you read this novel, and think about the lift that Marian achieved throughout her life, and feel great about the world and all its possibilities for each of us. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Great Circle from amazon.com.