Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead, narrated by Cassandra Campbell and
Alex McKenna
This is a parallel time line story, so part is in the present, but the majority
of the book (25 houraudiobook!) is in the past. There's a bit of Les
Miserables going on here, in that perhaps some character's backstory goes
back too far. Like when you read about the bishop and think he'll be the
main character and he really has no big part in the story? That's what this
felt like. I didn't actually mind the long story because when Cassandra
Campbell narrates, the story moves along so easily. But I'm sure if I was
reading a paper book I would have wanted a more judicious editor as I
didn't need to know so much about Marion's mother's background.
The main story is about Marion Graves, a pilot who flew around the Earth
in a longitudinal circle and then disappeared. In the present, a young
troubled actress is set to play Marion in a bio-pic movie.The story goes back
and forth between them. We start with Marion, (after her mother's
backstory) and her twin Jamie are rescued from a sinking ship in the early
1900s. Then the rest is Marion as she grows up, gets obsessed with flying,
marries an older man who becomes obsessed and controlling with her.
I liked it, but I'm not sure I got the big picture or theme of the story. Not
that there needs to be a bigger picture, but for the length of the story I
wanted a little more. Or for an interesting biography type historical fiction
it could have been a bit shorter, with less of the present day actress.
However, I think it would make a great movie. The role of a strong
determined woman, the war times,the mystery of her disappearance - it
would translate well.
This has been longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022.
