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Angle of Repose (Contemporary American Fiction)
Angle of Repose - Contemporary American Fiction
Author: Wallace Stegner
Wallace Stegner's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a story of discovery--personal, historical, and geographical. Confined to a wheelchair, retired historian Lyman Ward sets out to write his grandparents' remarkable story, chronicling their days spent carving civilization into the surface of America's western frontier. But his research reveals eve...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780140169300
ISBN-10: 014016930X
Publication Date: 5/1/1992
Pages: 576
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 143

4 stars, based on 143 ratings
Publisher: Penguin Books
Book Type: Paperback
Members Wishing: 1
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

tish avatar reviewed Angle of Repose (Contemporary American Fiction) on + 384 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 8
this could possibly be the best written book i have ever read! it won the Pulitzer in the early 70's and ambles along telling its story taking its time as a storyteller in the old west would do.
a historian who is confined to a wheelchair decides to write the history of his grandparents who were some of the first people to settle the west. it is about the ups and downs of mining,marriage,family and the time out on the plains.
a must read for those who love historical fiction that is genuine and wonderful
reviewed Angle of Repose (Contemporary American Fiction) on + 42 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
Hard to get into at first, but then it carried me along on a journey that brought about introspection as well as entertainment. Highly recommend for those who enjoy classic literature.
reviewed Angle of Repose (Contemporary American Fiction) on + 92 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 6
One of the very few books that I've read twice. A wonderful story of a family on the Western frontier, told by a master. Wallace Stegner was a brilliant writer. Anyone would enjoy this book, winner of the 1972 Pulitzer Prize.
reviewed Angle of Repose (Contemporary American Fiction) on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
Read this book. Stunningly beautiful writing, vivid imagery and characters you can't help but invest in. Wallace Stegner won the Pulitzer for this book.

I had been hearing high recommendations for Angle of repose for more than a year before I finally decided to read it. What held me back? The misconception that Wallace Stegner, being a contemporary writer that loved writing about the the West, wrote 'Westerns'. I love many genres, but Westerns do not hold my interest so I do not choose to read them.

But I couldn't have been more misinformed. Wallace Stegner loves to place his stories in the West that he grew up in, but they are most definitely not 'Westerns' of the Cowboy/Indian/Wild West variety. You will be hard-pressed to find a more hauntingly eloquent writer, more universal themes, and more vividly life-like characters.
reviewed Angle of Repose (Contemporary American Fiction) on
Helpful Score: 4
As old as I am, I believe this is the first time I have ever read a Pulitzer Prize winning book. I may have read another in the far distant past, but if I did, I certainly don't remember it like I will remember this book. It is a story that kept me spell-bound and I would recommend it as highly as I can. You will be drawn in by the author and kept on the brink throughout the entire read. I can't say enough good things about this book and am looking forward to reading more by Wallace Stegner. What a great author.
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kellilee avatar reviewed Angle of Repose (Contemporary American Fiction) on + 66 more book reviews
This quiet book hit home for me on multiple levels and I enjoyed this read very much. The format is a story within a story - one set in the present of the 1970s and the other set in the late 1880s - and the narrator, a retired and disabled Berkley professor, is struggling to write a history of his grandparent's lives while simultaneously reflecting on his own lot in life. As a budding genealogist with a secret wish to capture my own family's history on paper, I was drawn to the historical nature of the story as well as the narrator's mission. The book also spoke to me on an emotional level and I enjoyed the study of relationships, and especially the power play between the narrator's grandparents. The balance between his grandmother's career and preconceived notions of what her marriage and husband "should be" and their impact on her husband and children felt very contemporary. Although I have questioned the award of the Pulitzer Prize in the past, this time the accolades are justified.


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