Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead was released in 2021 and was HUGELY successful.
It was shortlisted for both the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Booker Prize. It was a New York Times bestseller and a Time Magazine book of the year.
I really love historical fiction and this novel sounded right up my street.
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Plot
Whatever happened to Marion Graves?
In the 1950s, female aviator Marion Graves crashes in during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe from pole to pole. Her body is never recovered.
The book takes us back to Marion’s childhood and various points throughout her life, all leading up to her final daring adventure.
In the present day, over 50 years later, troubled actor Hadley Baxter is tasked with portraying Marion on screen. Hadley is instantly drawn to the role, and is led to an unexpected discovery, throwing fresh light on the story of the mysterious Marian Graves.
Great Circle Book Review
I really wanted to love this book. It started promisingly but I just found it too much of a slog.
If a book is over 600 pages I really need to be gripped by it. I kept picking up other books instead of this one which just shows I wasn’t as hooked by it as I should have been.
I enjoyed Marion’s story. She was brave and tenacious and her storyline was an interesting one. I wasn’t really interested in Hadley and would have preferred more focus on Marion. Although I do appreciate Hadley was a plot device used to explain the gaps in Marion’s story.
I’ve read so many dual-timeline stories but I felt there were too many changes in perspective and jumps in time. It felt like a very slow read and while I understand the story spans a century, it just felt too long.
It’s beautifully written and I loved the feminist angle. I just wanted a story that ultimately was about adventure to be a bit more exciting. I did, however, really enjoy the ending.
I’m clearly very much in the minority for not loving this book. I think my disappointment comes from having such high expectations of it. I wanted to love it but I just didn’t.
Has Maggie Shipstead written any other novels?
Maggie Shipstead is also the author of Seating Arrangements and Astonish Me.
What should I read after Great Circle?
If you enjoy adventure books set in the 20th century you may also enjoy The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo and Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce.