September 2020: Wallace Stegner

Hello, in September we will be reading books by Wallace Stegner, whom I think is another author we have not discussed here before, so I'm looking forward to that.

What have you previously read by Stegner? What do you plan to read in September?

Not really familiar with this author or his works so looking forward to what you all have to suggest before choosing a title.

I have read a few - he's most famous for Angle of Repose which I've read several times and like a lot. Also good is The Big Rock Candy Mountain - quite sprawling and heartbreaking. I have't read the sequel, but I could be persuaded. I also like The Spectator Bird and particularly recommend the audio narrated by Edward Hermann. It's an unusual story. I own, but haven't read, Crossing to Safety, so might jump in for that.

angle of repose is really beautiful.

>3 Bookmarque: Ooo, I loved Edward Hermann as an audiobook narrator.

edit: And my library has a digital copy of that audiobook! :)

Sweet- it’s fun to listen to Edward!

I've read Angle Of Repose, which was my introduction to Stegner, and Crossing to Safety. I'd like to try more of his works.

I have not read his books but looked at his list of books and I am impressed. I will try The American west--special issue: the Republic of Texas when my library fully opens.

I see audible has A Shooting Star which is the only book I see from him with a woman protagonist, and also Recapitulation which is the sequel to Rock Candy Mountain. Both of which I will probably buy. His books are always worth revisiting.

I have not read any of his books before but I'm looking forward to reading Angle of Repose that I managed to get from the library.

I am completely new to Stegner. It sounds like a few of you recommend Angle of Repose to start, so that's what I've requested from the library. Thanks!

I have The Spectator Bird on my shelf, so that's my choice.

I have never of him. My library has some of his books so I will request one.

I picked up Angle of Repose today, so I'm putting that in the queue for September. I'm not usually big on westerns, but definitely going to give it a try with the rave reviews!

Due to which titles were available when through my library digitally, I ended up listening to The Spectator Bird this month. Thanks for the suggestion Bookmarque! It was an interesting read and Edward Hermann was an excellent narrator for the audiobook version.

The book can essentially be boiled down as such ... a retired literary agent is reflecting on aging, the death of friends and family, and does quite a bit of looking into the past when he comes across some notebooks detailing a memorable trip he and his wife took to Denmark after the death of their son. It was a 'gentle' sort of read, in that it was much more introspective than plot-driven. (However, it covers deep and weighty topics so it's not necessarily a 'feel good' sort of read.)

Personally, that's the kind of book I enjoy a lot so it was a good fit. I found the psychological aspects interesting, especially as it seemed Stagner was having his protagonist work through the final stage of Erik Erikson's psychosocial development, namely "Ego Integrity vs. Despair: This stage takes place after age 65 and involves reflecting on one's life and either moving into feeling satisfied and happy with one's life or feeling a deep sense of regret. Success at this stages leads to feelings of wisdom, while failure results in regret, bitterness, and despair." https://www.simplypsychology.org/Erik-Erikson.html I don't know if that was Stagner's intention but that's the vibe I got from reading it.

edited to fix formatting issue

Oh, apparently the main characters of this book are in a previous title called All the Live Little Things. I did not feel like I had walked into a sequel needing more explanation, but an FYI if other folks here would prefer to read things in the order they were published.

>13 mnleona: I hadn't heard of him before this group either, but I'm happy I now have.

If this article is to be believed wholesale, perhaps it's because his work is known more "regionally" than nationally? https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/stegners-complaint/

That being said, his works have also won major awards, so who knows.

OMG! I had no idea there was another book with Joe. It looks to have been written after Spectator Bird, but the events take place before. And it's on Audible and read by Edward Hermann!!!

Thanks sweetiegherkin, that's my next pick for my Audible account!

>18 Bookmarque: Oh, you're right, All the Little Live Things was definitely written after The Spectator Bird. It was mentioned in a review of The Spectator Bird but I was confused by the wording and thought it was the first book, not merely set earlier.

I hope you enjoy it and let us know how it goes! :)

Finished Live Things yesterday. What a beautifully agonizing book. The writing, as usual, is elegant, poignant and unexpectedly funny. Spectator Bird was the same and I think it's Joe's character and curmudgeonly outlook on life. Some of it is cringe-worthy, but some of his opinions line up with mine. I like him despite his old-fashioned beliefs.

What I thought would be the ultimate clash turned out not to be and the story moves in a different direction at the very end. The pivotal scene was so horrific that I had to fast-forward through it because I couldn't take it. Yes, it involves humans, but not only them and it was the suffering of another that pushed me out.

It isn't a cheerful book, but worthy even through its sadness and death. What a writer he was.

I don't have a lot of time to read these days, but I did start Angle of Repose and I really like it. I honestly didn't realise how modern it was - Stegner is an author who is new to me and I know nothing about him.

Well I went pretty well afield this month with Stegner's essay collection Where the bluebird sings to the lemonade springs : living and writing in the West. I'm a couple of essays in, and enjoying it so far though I think it would've been helpful if I'd read Big Rock Candy Mountain first. The only other one I've read by him is Crossing to Safety, which I liked a lot.

Hopefully I'll really be able to read it this month - I still have Howards End on my nightstand where it's been sitting since May, I think.

>21 Yells: Yes, was new to me also. Glad someone suggested him! Agree that his writing sounds modern on the whole.

>22 bell7: Hmm, essays sounds like an interesting choice. Does he reference the other novel a bunch in it?

I hear that ... never ever enough time to read it all!

I read Angle of Repose. Stegner is a completely new author for me. I loved the prose in this novel. His writing is highly evocative: I grew up in Arizona and there were pieces of the novel where he would describe the great expanses of the North American West that made me feel like I was back there with the landscape developing before my eyes.

In terms of the novel itself, I thought it was ok. The prose was really the highlight. I don't know if it's because of all the upheaval of 2020, but something about Lyman's storytelling rubbed me the wrong way in places. I'm not really in a headspace to appreciate a tale about a man discovering, due to his old age and physical pain, that women are also people with complex inner lives and small heroic acts. Perhaps another time I would have liked it more. I did enjoy reading the historical accounts and read in the foreword that many of the letters Stegner used were authentic. (He did change names, but she was a real person!)

>24 sweetiegherkin: the first few essays were about his family, and he makes references at one point to the characters in the fictional story, how they were like or unlike his parents. I could follow the essay just fine, but not having read the book, his comparison had less meaning to me.

>25 sparemethecensor: That's great that the book could conjure up some memories of your childhood home state.

I do agree that his writing style is poignant. Not having read this particular title, I cannot speak to the content but I hear what you're saying about it sounding a bit out of touch perhaps? Neat about the historical parts though.

>26 bell7: I see. That makes sense.

I finally finished Angle of Repose after savouring it for over a month. I definitely agree that the prose is wonderful and I just let it flow over me. I saw Lyman as a victim of the time he grew up in, but I found myself liking him. He has some fairly conservative views, but he gets continually challenged by Shelley (he really doesn't know what to make of her and her hippy-dippy ways!) and that in turn, I think, helps him understand Susan better, or at least see her as more of a person instead of just his grandmother.

I have a copy of Big Rock Candy Mountain so I think I might need to move that up the pile. Good choice this month!

>28 Yells: Glad to hear that you enjoyed this author so much! Hopefully you like Big Rock Candy Mountain just as much :)