A novel of the friendships and woes of two couples, which tells the story of their lives in lyrical, evocative prose by one of the finest American writers of the late 20th century.
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Review
Not only a book of a lifetime, Crossing to Safety is a book that comes at the end of a long lifetime of writing....a miraculous book, written with the wisdom of age but without seeming old...A book of great maturity, this one, and not to be missed.
-- Gillian Slovo, The Independent, Friday 5th December 2008
-- Gillian Slovo, The Independent, Friday 5th December 2008
About the Author
Wallace Stegner (1909-1993) was the author of, among other novels, Remembering Laughter, 1937; A Shooting Star, 1961; Angle of Repose (Pulitzer Prize), 1971; The Spectator Bird (National Book award), 1977; Recapitulation, 1979. Three of his short stories have won O.Henry prizes, and in 1980 he received the Robert Kirsch award from the Los Angeles Times for his lifetime literary achievements. His collected stories were published in 1990.
Jane Smiley is the author of many novels and works of non-fiction, including, most recently, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel", about the history and anatomy of the novel. Her most recent novel is "Good Faith". She won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992 for "A Thousand Acres", and was shortlisted for The Orange Prize in 2001 for Horse Heaven.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Floating upward through a confusion of dreams and memory, curving like a trout through the rings of previous risings, I surface. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Floating upward through a confusion of dreams and memory, curving like a trout through the rings of previous risings, I surface. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By RachelWalker
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Crossing to Safety is a remarkably beautiful book backed up by a tender, stern intelligence. It's one to be savoured. It is rare to ever feel so connected to characters on the page, to feel you know them so completely, that they could genuinely be picked straight out of life at the time. I loved it. Both couples' journey from youth to late-middle age is examined with a wonderful human eye, seeing all the details that make such people truly human. The interplay and the tensions between all four players are subtle and fascinating. Crossing to Safety is a book I recommend wholeheartedly. It's to treasure.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By booksetc
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
Realised that I was reading slower and slower because I didn't want this book to end, and now that I've finished I want to go back - wind back the years - and start again. Wallace Stegner is a breathtakingly good writer and this novel, written towards the end of his long life, has the wisdom of old age - and yet retains memories of all the freshness of youth and hope.
'If we could have foreseen the future during those good years in Madison where all this began, we might not have had the nerve to venture into it ...' This book is about Life, I know that sounds corny but I can't think how else to put it. It is about two young couples and all that life throws at them. It will make you think about your own life and friendships and love and loyalty.
'Leave a mark on the world. Instead the world has left marks on us ...' Probably not a book to read when you're young - if I'd read this in my 20s, even my 30s, I don't think I'd have got it - but for the middleaged and slightly battered, a profoundly emotional read. One of those rare, unforgettable books that become part of what you are. (And the descriptions of New England landscapes are like a garden of Eden.)
'If we could have foreseen the future during those good years in Madison where all this began, we might not have had the nerve to venture into it ...' This book is about Life, I know that sounds corny but I can't think how else to put it. It is about two young couples and all that life throws at them. It will make you think about your own life and friendships and love and loyalty.
'Leave a mark on the world. Instead the world has left marks on us ...' Probably not a book to read when you're young - if I'd read this in my 20s, even my 30s, I don't think I'd have got it - but for the middleaged and slightly battered, a profoundly emotional read. One of those rare, unforgettable books that become part of what you are. (And the descriptions of New England landscapes are like a garden of Eden.)
25 of 27 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
This is the book my wife and I fell in love with after we fell in love with each other more than 12 years ago. Whenever we talk with friends about favorite books, we INSIST that they read Crossing to Safety. We've had to buy several copies over the years because we keep lending copies out -- and we can't blame any of our friends for not returning this book. It's a keeper. Wallace Stegner said this novel was the closest he came to writing autobiographically, which explains a certain brightness not found in, say, Angle of Repose (although AOR is an equally beautiful story).
This is simply a beautifully told story about how a friendship formed and aged, so powerfully written that you will come to appreciate your own friends -- and how you came to be friends -- all the more for having made the journey with the couples in Crossing to Safety. This is a book you fall in love with and return to. I'm actually online right now to buy another copy.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
I highly recommend reading this brilliant novel.
A beautifully crafted novel which suggests how the story is going to finish right at the beginning which actually enhances the reader's involvement. Read more
Published 1 month ago by flower
3.0 out of 5 stars
Stick with it!
Slow and unpromising initially and the American style of writing was at times off putting. The smugness and lack of self doubt in any aspect of life of the story teller was... Read more
Published 2 months ago by louise bullen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb
Heard a +ve review for this one on Radio 4 and got it as a Christmas present. Read it in two days, enjoying every minute. Read more
Published 4 months ago by R. M. Carr
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE SURPRISE OF 2012
Simply, unexpectedly wonderful. I'll rememer 2012 for this book Two surprises: I had not encountred Wallace Stegner before; the book is not on Kindle.
Published 4 months ago by douglas davis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb
A wonderful and inspiring novel.Thanks to Justin Webb for introducing this author to English readers on BBC RADIO. Read more
Published 5 months ago by J. Cunliffe
5.0 out of 5 stars
a brilliant read
Crossing to Safety is the last novel by American author Wallace Stegner. The year is 1972, and 64-year-old author and college professor, Larry Morgan and his crippled wife, Sally,... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Cloggie Downunder
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
Lives with you a long time, long enough to warrant a re-read. Initially I found it a little too autobiographical and it is very literary. Read more
Published 14 months ago by cherrysobo
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as is claimed...
This is a book that has a massive and ultimately somewhat undeserved reputation. It is a tale of four largely comfortable individuals, who lead a charmed and civilised life despite... Read more
Published on 13 Mar 2011 by bloodsimple
3.0 out of 5 stars
No pain, no gain
'How do you make a book that anyone will read out of lives as quiet as these?' asks the author of his own characters, about two thirds through Crossing to Safety; that seems to be... Read more
Published on 1 July 2008 by reader 451
5.0 out of 5 stars
Elegant and Poised
This novel captures the interace between two couples as they grow and mature both together and apart. Read more
Published on 14 Aug 2006 by A. Meyrick
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