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Crossing to Safety
by: Wallace Stegner |
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Binding: Paperback Dewey Decimal Number: 813.52 EAN: 9780140133486 ISBN: 0140133488 Label: Penguin (Non-Classics) Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics) Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 341 Publication Date: March 15, 1990 Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) Studio: Penguin (Non-Classics) |
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| Customer Reviews | ||
  - Larry and Sally and Sid and Charity: a foursome to rememberWallace Stegner's "Crossing to Safety" is a moving, immersive novel about marriage and friendship, closely examining the rewards and challenges of each. Character isn't revealed so much by big plot moments or outside situations pushing on the characters and making them respond in a certain way, but by inherent personality traits gently revealed during the course of the kind of normal social interaction we all experience: dinner parties, picnics, vacations together, errands, walks, etc. Big developments do happen occasionally, but not for the purpose of testing or revealing what these characters are truly like. The small moments do that just fine. If all this sounds a little dull, it's not. Mr. Stegner's book makes each dinner party a vibrant, lively, fun event and every outdoor excursion a breath of fresh air. You'll really enjoy being along for the ride as the two central married couples meet and get to know each other. Certainly, there's darkness, sadness, and tragedy later, but the kinds we all face sooner or later in some capacity, and even then the richness of the friendship that went before makes such scenes bittersweet, not just bitter. For the most part, I think that Larry and Sally- the quieter couple, the ones less surrounded by an air of drama- are meant to be stand-ins for the reader. Charity and Sid, rather, are meant to remind us of that couple seemingly all of us have in our lives: people we dearly love but often make us shake our heads at their eccentricities and needless difficulties they impose on themselves. There's a scene involving Charity and Sid deciding who's going to do the dishes (one of the many character-revealing small scenes I referred to above) that has to be seen to be believed, generating more intensity than a set piece from a thriller novel. Larry and Sally have their own challenges- quite big ones, in fact- yet their inherent personalities and ways of looking at things make their own lives so much easier than their friends'. "Crossing to Safety" is an extremely fast-reading book, more like an invitation to spend time with two fascinating couples than a novel. But of course it is a novel, and a quite rich, wonderful one at that. Rating: - A classic indeed!I can only say that if one reads this book without it having an impact then check your pulse. For those of you who have never read any of this author's works, make it a priority in adding him to your reading list. I could write about the narrative as other reviewers have done, or how well I enjoyed W.S's prose, but one has to read it for oneself to truly understand why this novel is rated 5 stars. Rating:  - Great ConditionThis book arrived and it was a pleasant surprise to find the book to be almost new. No page creases or soiled areas. Why buy a new book when you can get a "like new" book that is fine? Great seller too. Rating: - Crossing to SafetyBook was in good condition, I would say, rather than the very good advertised. Arrived promptly and I am happy with my purchase. Rating: - A Beautiful Book of Life-Long FriendshipI've read this novel three times now over the space of about fifteen years, and each time have found it a meaningful and rewarding story of life-long friendship and of the complexity of devotion. Ignoring every opportunity for literary gimmicks, schmaltzy emotional plays, and lazy writing, Stegner instead uses unvarnished prose and relies on the truth of emotionally honest, intellectually aware characters -- whose professional skills, not surprisingly, often mirror Stegner's own love of precise language and carefully built imagery. The only awkwardness to modern readers will be a few politically incorrect jokes, which serve as reminders of the time they mirror and if the time in which they were written. If a better novel of friendship and love exists, and if it can match Stegner's thoughtful, careful language, I'd like to know about it -- but even so, Crossing to Safety will still find its way to the top of every list of favorite novels I can make. This is a novel of great rewards for many different moments in life. |
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