‘Crossing to Safety’ by Wallace Stegner

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

If you like books by Wendell Berry, Marilynne Robinson, Jane Smiley, and Meredith Hall, you might like Wallace Stegner. Indeed, Stegner mentored Wendell Berry.

Widely known as one of the great American novelists, Stegner also has a Canadian connection. He was born in Iowa, and even though he finally settled in Salt Lake City, Utah, he spent some of his growing years in Saskatchewan and North Dakota. In 1972 he won the Pulitzer Prize for his most popular novel Angle of Repose. It’s on my list to read.

Never too early to start with the classics!

It’s good to read a modern classic once in awhile. I’ve had Crossing to Safety (which was Stegner’s last novel, written in 1987 when he was 78 years old) on my shelf for years and years. I finally took it along on a cross-country road trip and enjoyed reading it while driving through the prairies. The Penguin print version I had, included an excellent introduction by another great American author Jane Smiley. I find it useful to know what themes to be looking for in a literary novel before reading it and Smiley’s comments were helpful without giving any spoilers.

Crossing to Safety is a literary novel that explores two marriages in the 20th century, one without money and one with. The Morgans personify self-help and resilience, The Langs personify old (and new) money. Actually, there’s a third marriage–the friendship between the two couples throughout their lives. Written from the perspective of an aging Larry Morgan, the book is an exploration of the struggles of four people coming to terms with the trials and tragedies of everyday life. When they were young and idealistic, they longed to make contributions in life that would “leave a mark on the world.” When they gathered in old age, they had to admit that even though they did a lot, it was not as much as they’d hoped. Instead “the world has left marks on us.” 🙂

Stegner writes well. This is a quiet character driven novel. He tackles issues of class and conformity so insightfully, his descriptions are exquisite, and he often captures multiple layers of thought and theme at once, in the middle of a relatively simple story or dialogue.