Book Club December 1

 About a dozen members of the Book Club convened on Zoom to discuss Angle of Repose, a long, complex novel dealing with a marriage and the struggles of an engineer and an artist in the harsh environment of the western states.  Some found it “depressing” or even “confusing.” while others admired Stegner’s skills in structure and style, finding his characters sympathetic and the narrative engaging.  Some of these differences centered on Stegner’s use of a limited narrator, Lyman Ward, who researches and recounts the life of his grandmother Susan; especially in view of Lyman’s strong opinions and the dream fantasy at the end of the novel, we might distrust some of his judgments.  Readers’ responses to Susan ranged from impatience with her social snobbery and her decision to marry Oliver Ward (a “consolation prize?”) to sympathetic admiration for her strength and courage in the difficult circumstances of western life.  Lyman views her sympathetically but never defends or excuses her possible involvement with Frank; he is notably evasive about the nature of their relationship and perhaps also condescending towards her work as an artist.

 Several readers were interested in Stegner’s use of the Foote family letters and noted that many letters were used almost verbatim; perhaps these added to the sense of history, of real life, in the novel.  There was general agreement that Stegner’s narrative style was eloquent, particularly in rendering the visual splendor and the harsh reality of life in the western states.   One reader added that the novel’s treatment of life in the small town and cities of Idaho and California revealed that the exploration and settlement of the West was not only the work of brave individualists, but was controlled and exploited by large Eastern corporations and unscrupulous lawyers and investors—like the lawyer who cheats Oliver out of a homestead.  Altogether, the novel’s scope and style help to explain Stegner’s literary awards and staying power, even if some readers “admired rather than loved” the novel.  Despite its multiple stories,  Angle of Repose makes a determined march towards tragedy; after Agnes’s death Oliver and Susan can never recover their trust and happiness, and even their son appears withdrawn and cold.  One reader pointed out that Lyman’s final lines consider forgiveness, something greater than his grandfather was capable of, and thus end the novel with the possibility of redemption or healing.

Our next book will be John LeCarre's memoir The Pigeon Tunnel: Stories of my Life. Next meeting willbe Wednesday, February 2, still on Zoom. Discussion starts at 11 am, with link open at 10:30 for log on and chat. Please contact Kathryn DeGraff or Helen Marlborough with any questions.