Majel’s Reviews > Great Circle > Status Update

Devastating. Sickening. Tragic.

A testament to the author. Suddenly I realized my image of Marian and Jamie had changed to thirty year olds compared to the small 11 year olds when we first meet them. A testament to the authors maturing of the characters voices and descritpions of their appearances, both in narrative and in thru the eyes of other characters.

Jesus, the sycopahntic rhapsodized musings of people high on mushrooms trying to make LA seem magical. Fuck off.

Although i enjoyed the interlude of Jamie's time in seattle, it strikes me that Shipstead bestows opportunity and respect upon Jamie, and meanwhile, every female main character is opppressed, sexually abused by men. So she *can* envision a social underclass characters chancing upon dignity and opportunity. Just not Matilde, Annabel, Hadley, or Marian. Its clearly a choice, then, to write every woman's victimization.

"Hectored"

This is the most likeable Hadley has ever been. " after my utter failure to fly a plane, I'd only become more determined to be Marian. I needed the relief of being someone who wasn't afraid. It helped that she wasn't completely alien, that we were both products of vanishment and orphan hood and negligence and airplanes and uncles."

The scene of Hadley taking a discovery flight is so well done. I just love an outsider's perspective on flying. And you compare that to how she wrote Marian's first flight, and it shows masterful skill of voice. Shipstead described the same exact experience from two wholy, entirely different character perspectives. Loved it, loved it.

25% in to a very long book and finally she starts learning to fly. Why is this so long???

Finally we get to an airplane. Im enjoying the early 1900s passages a lot more than the modern passages. I even like the author's descriptions of the geological history of the area or the feel and workings of steam liner ships. But the modern character is abrassive, buffeted by the partiarchy and abuse and is jaded. I will say, there is a little too much of abuse of women, as well.