Great Circle

I finally finished the other book on a female pilot I allude to in my overview of 2022's books: Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead. Apart from it being shortlisted for the Booker and appearing in loads of great reviews, I also felt drawn to the story after reading Beryl Markhams autobiography. As it should be, Great Circle references that book, and several other books written by female pilots, at some point. But without the implied reference to Beryl Markham's beautiful prose, this is a fantastic book in and of itself.
The book centers around two women: Marian Graves, a female pilot in the 1920s, 30, and all through WWII, who sets out to complete a circumnavigation of the earth via both poles, and Hadley (who surely must have a surname, but I have no idea), a famous Hollywood movie start who portrays Marian in a film made about this final flight sometime in our days. There are some simliarties between these two women, mostly in that they were both raised by their uncle and have some unfortunate experiences with men, but they are two very distinct characters. The Hadley parts are written in the first person, whereas the Marian parts, which also travel into other people's lives, such as her parents, brother, childhood friends, are told in the third person. The two stories meet repeatedly, intertwining until only you as the reader can see the full picture. For if there is anything to learn from this novel, it is that the truth is never as straightforward as it may seem from the present. Even if you peel back the sugar-coated Hollywood layer that is of course enforced when making a film, people still make lots of assumptions without even realising they do.

The language is beautiful. I read one part early on, where an ocean liner sinks, with open mouth, so completely immersed I forgot my surroundings completely. When Marian finds herself in the cold of Antarctica, it is as if you are in the tent beside her. We never really get to know her fully, because of the third-person perspective, but Maggie Shipstead clearly gave both their own distinct voice.

If I could find fault with the novel in any way, it would be that it might be a tad too long. Too over complete, maybe. At almost 700 pages, it took me quite a while to get through. There were some revelations, which did not really appear as revelations, until the final chapters did bring something new, surprising me into loving the story as a whole even more. It has been quite the experience, reading this story, and I very much look forward to reading her other novels.