Reading the Chunksters discussion

Here is the proposed Schedule, how about a start date of May 6???

by Wallace Stegner

Week 1: Part I (Grass Valley) chapters 1-5
Week 2: Part I ch. 6&7 and Part II (New Almaden) ch. 1-3
Week 3: Part II ch. 4-7 Part III (Santa Cruz) ch. 1
Week 4: Part III ch. 2-7 Part IV (Leadville) ch. 1
Week 5: Part IV ch. 2-5
Week 6: Part IV ch. 6-10
Week 7: Part V (Michoacan) ch. 1-6 Part VI (On the Bough) ch. 1
Week 8: Part VI ch. 2 Part VII (The Canyon) ch. 1-4
Week 9: Part VII ch. 5-7 Part VIII (The Mesa) ch.1
Week 10: Part VIII ch. 2-6
Week 11: Part VIII ch. 7 through end of book. Finished!

Two new books concurrently. It is going to be a true challenge. I looooove reading challenges:-) Thank you, Kristi:-)

Zulfiya wrote: "Two new books concurrently. It is going to be a true challenge. I looooove reading challenges:-) Thank you, Kristi:-)"

Anything for you!

I'm planning to listen to it, and so I'm going to start tomorrow at work! :) can't wait to see what everyone's first thoughts are!

Judy wrote: "Ditto, I had a super busy day today, so I hope I will get the chance to sit down and start it this evening. That is awesome that you can listening to audiobooks at work Kristi. You have a great job..."

I work as a Structural Drafter, so while I draw I let my brain listen to the book...it's nice! Although if I have to type an email or read words I have to pause the book, can't do those at the same time, but drawing and listening work together. Pretty cool.

Starting tonight:-)

I have about 30 pages left in The Grapes of Wrath. I hope to finish those this morning and then start Angle of Repose tonight. Looking forward to it.

Judy, I totally agree: I managed to read first 18 pages last night, and I am absolutely mesmerized by the voice of the book. The language also deserves its own credit - it is beautiful, sophisticated, and elegant without being pretentious.

I just finished the second week of reading and am thoroughly enjoying the book. The writing is beautiful and Stegner does a masterful job of describing the scene. The story is also enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it unfolds.

I agree, Judy. His descriptors are so vivid; I feel like I'm in the scene and have a clear picture of exactly what the scenery looks like as well as the "feel" of the scene.

Would you mind sharing some of the metaphors you've listed?

I'm struggling through it. We've had a rough week - my oldest daughter (10) has a concussion from a boy throwing a rock at the back of her head and my son (9) has a bad ear infection. So lots of needed tlc for the kiddos and not much reading time for mommy. I think I started Ch. 7 last night; I'll check back in when I'm done with Week 3's section.

Alright ~ I finished. Susan's "thees" and "thous" are amusing; I told my husband I was going to start addressing him like that. Ha!

I'm confused about Shelly staying with Oliver in Ch. 1 of the Santa Cruz part of the book. He told her she could stay, then seemed to flashback to the night before and the flashback ended with her staying at the house that (the night before he told her she could stay)? Did I miss something? It's not a big issue really; I'm quite sure it's inconsequential to the plot.

Is anybody else reading?

I agree, Judy. It sure seems like Shelly will go back to him.

Only through the second chapter of this section. Hoping life will slow down a bit after this week ... (I can hope, right?!)

Finished ~ yeah! Just in time to start next week's section.

Yes, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Shelly didn't go back to her husband. And chuckled at him sending her canaries.

I thought the chapters of Santa Cruz were beautiful, especially the one where she nursed Ollie.

I'm looking forward to the Leadville section since we vacation near Leadville every summer.

Yes, Susan seems to be acclimating to Western life. But it also seems like she's growing more critical of Oliver. Or maybe it was just more apparent in these chapters, especially the last? What do you think?

I just finished Ch. 5.

What did you think about this week's section, Judy? I thought Stegner focused more on Susan's flaws and Oliver's "frustration" with her?

That's a great way to describe it, Judy. I agree.

*spoiler warning*
A few other thoughts: I understand Oliver didn't have a real choice, but I was really sad about Pricey. I'm not very confident that he actually made it back to his family.

It's interesting to me how quickly Susan agrees to leave Ollie behind while they go to Michoacan, especially after he was so sick. Was this normal? I know times and circumstances are different, but I can't imagine leaving my children like that.

I think life is just busy, but so very blessed.

What's Toppler?

So this summer is kicking my bottom ... and I had so much hope that I would find more time to read. I still plan to catch up and finish, but I'm not sure if it will be in the next few days, or next month.

So sorry, Judy.

I'm going on vacation next week but will try to get through another section or 2. I've read up to Week 7.

Hi Judy ~ I'm back from vacation and have finished Weeks 7 and 8. Depending on work, I'm hoping to finish the rest this week.

A few completely random, disjointed thoughts/comments:
1. When we were in Denver last Saturday, we visited the Molly Brown House. Molly Brown went to Leadville to meet a husband and ended up marrying a mining engineer. It was approximately the same time period as Oliver and Susan's Leadville time - maybe 15 years later? But a fun coincidence and connection to the narrative.

2. Back to Susan leaving Ollie when she went to Leadville and again to Michocan, I can't imagine leaving my children like Susan did. But I really think it's just how things were done at the time.

3. Spoiler!!!
I have to admit that Frank's kiss surprised me and then again their conversation when he left the canyon.

4. I loved this passage at the beginning of Part 6, Ch.3: "That does not mean he was foolish or mistaken. He was premature. His clock was set on pioneer time. He met trains that had not yet arrived, he waited on platforms that hadn't yet been built, beside tracks that might never be laid. Like many another Western pioneer, he had heard the clock of history strike, and counted the strokes wrong. Hope was always out ahead of fact, possibility obscured the outlines of reality." Great writing and sums up Oliver beautifully.

Good points about Susan and Ollie. I agree that Stegner doesn't establish a true relationship between them and certainly not a mother/son relationship . Lyman comments on this when he speaks of Ollie's sensitivity.

I'm also with you re. the amount of influence that Augusta and Thomas have on Susan. Susan remains so tied (and indebted) to them, yet she also goes along with a completely different lifestyle plagued with true material hardships. Is Stegner making a statement in contrasting these two lifestyles and placing Susan in the middle?

Finally finished! I wrote down a few things as I was reading the last part of the book. In no particular order (and certainly not fully fleshed out):

1. The theme of exile and how humans adapt to being in exile. Lyman is in a self-imposed (but arguably at least partially because of his wife's choices?) exile and chooses to turn to his grandmother's history / past. Susan is also in exile. She endures and even adapts, but doesn't join in, holds onto the past and remains tied to the East Coast. Ollie is sent to school and his own form of exile. After Agnes' death, he chooses to reject his family? Shelly is also in a self-imposed exile from her marriage and isn't sure what to do with her life; the considered commune is another form of exile.

2. This is discussed a little in the final chapter but I really thought about the title throughout the book and where each character (and where I) finds his/her angle of repose. Where are we willing to settle and why? How do we let our circumstances completely define us?

3. I really struggled with Susan's lack of belief in Oliver. On the one hand, he's her husband and a good guy. Shouldn't a wife support her husband regardless of where that takes her and what that might mean for their family? On the other hand, I grew up with a father who always had big ideas but wasn't often successful. It put a huge strain on our family and, looking back, I'm not sure how my mom hung in there some of the time. Don't get me wrong; I'm a very loyal person. But I don't think placing complete faith and support in your husband over and over through very difficult circumstances is easy.

4. Frank and Susan. Do you agree with Lyman's interpretation of their relationship? It makes sense given the facts, especially his suicide, but I guess I would have preferred for them to be merely friends.

5. I'm so glad the last part was a dream. It didn't ring true to me and I was struggling with it ... then it turned out to be a dream. Whew!!!

Would you believe that I've never taken a post-high school lit class? But I'm pretty sure law school and my appellate experience have created a critical analysis monster.

I love your thoughts about Susan and Frank. I think part of my issue with the their relationship (whatever it was) is that Frank wasn't fully developed, especially after Leadville. I didn't dislike him, but I didn't really know him either.

This has been an enjoyable discussion for me, too. I'm usually up for read-a-longs so please keep me in the loop with any books you'd like to read or other group discussions you're participating in.

How crazy! I was just looking at A Fine Balance on Amazon earlier today. I have read it before but remember very little about it and want to revisit it. Maybe sometime this fall or early winter?

Judy wrote: "I guess Misrty is an excellent writer?"

Maybe?! I think so?! I read this when my youngest was an infant and I had 3 under 3. I remember liking it but that's about it!

Perfect! Looking forward to it.

I didn't realize this was a Pulitzer Prize winner when I picked it up. I can see why, it has some excellent writing. I didn't realize he was so prolific an author, either; I may have to check out some more of his books.

I agree that Susan and Frank would not have been a great match. While Oliver was too much of a dreamer in many ways, and should have listened to his wife more when it came to some practical things, Susan is also too much of a dreamer, looking for her perfect world. It takes a healthy blend to make a good marriage and Frank just would not have been right. I think Susan and Oliver both took each other for granted and didn't value each other enough. Yes, Susan was probably the worst of the two, but she put up with a LOT, as Oliver made financial decisions that effected both of them, usually without at least discussing it with her first. Granted, when he tried, so often shut him down, but his choosing not to involve her at many points was very detrimental. Also, how could he NOT have noticed the interactions between Frank and Susan? At some point, a man has to put his foot down and do what's best for his family, and that includes staying away from someone who could clearly bring so much temptation to his wife. Doesn't mean he shuts her off from society, but clearly something needed to be done.

I found Lyman's thoughts at the end to be interesting. From all he described of his grandmother, and the focus on her life, in the end, his thoughts are with his grandFATHER, and whether he's capable of doing what his grandfather wasn't; to forgive. The self reflection is the most important part, his finding his own "angle of repose" and learning from the past.