Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #34217 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 352 pages

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

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.

Customer Reviews

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 the challenge Stegner set himself.

The novel, running from the 1930s to the 70s, revolves around the friendship between two couples, the Langs and the Morgans, in which the men are both literature professors. The Langs are rich and endowed with extended families and the Morgans are self-made and orphans. They all lead full lives in which they remain by-and-large happily married.

Stegner is erudite, and he obviously loves the places he describes, from Madison, Wisconsin to Florence and including the secluded lakeside spot in New England where much of the book is set. But it is difficult to identify with characters whose lives are so uneventful. From the beginning, one of the protagonists is dying, but because the story is told from the perspective of the old Larry Morgan, that only comes out as looking back on a life well spent. The characters barely struggle, and when they do, Stegner chooses to skirt around their conflicts. The reader is left to enjoy his detailed and moody descriptions, his poetic quotes, and the contrasts between the depression and post-war eras: pleasant because the book is well written, but not very exciting.

`You don't,' would be my answer to Stegner's question. Judging from other reviews, obviously, I've come to the wrong conclusion.

Elegant and Poised
This novel captures the interace between two couples as they grow and mature both together and apart. The perspective of the elderly narrator brings a careful sensitivity and honesty to the relationships and the execution of the final set pieces is pitched just right. If you enjoyed any of the John Updike Rabbit books, or have enjoyed William Wharton's Tidings or Dad then you will love this.

A Gift To Be Savoured.......So Rich In Content
Crossing to safety is a novel which I took my time with, and savoured every written word. This was a blessing for it was my first experience with this author, and now having the majority of his books on my wish list, I'm going to have a ball.

We read about Larry and Sally Morgan and Charity and Sid Lang; two couples who meet in Madison Wisconsin, where their husbands are professors at the same university. The two couples become fast friends like love at first sight and soon they are so together and tight, sharing everything.........food, houses, money, children; whatever. The Langs who are wealthy are unstiningly generous with their possessions. There is no adventure too exciting that they cannot enjoy with the Morgans; no country too far that they cannot visit together and enjoy it's culture; no meal too costly or exotic that they cannot share and the beat goes on.

THE LANGS AND THE MORGANS leave no holds barred. They openly display their affection for each other, refusing to hide the fact that they enjoy their friendship which is based on love and trust. Their frienship endures and suffers all things, be they good, bad or indifferent, also creating bonds within their own families. Sid cannot live without Charity who is a perfectionist and a very dominant character, and Larry who holds a special bond with his wife Sally even more so, after a severe turn of events.

The novel starts with Larry as the narrator of the story. The couples are now in their sixties and the Morgans have been summoned from their New Mexico home to the Langs Vermont home retreat. A location where memories are still fresh and alive of past summers days and nights, and where presently there are experiencing some crucial developments. Developments important to them all and their children.

Larry takes us into the story from the beginning when they first meet in Wisconsin, until the present where they have gotten on in age. Bless someone with this great book as it is fitting gift for any occasion and will make an indelible mark on that person's life. Well written and highly recommended!!!