An epic novel! Loved it.

Discussed on Episode 130 of the Book Cougar’s podcast.

https://www.bookcougars.com/blog-1/2021/episode130

This book kept me engrossed, for all 608 pages! The story is an interweaving of time and place, but like the earth itself, it all is a great circle. The plot centers around Marion, and the early days of aviation. Her desire to know the limits and test them is the underlying theme and the author makes this the central point for all the characters. Wonderfully constructed, highly recommended.

This was incredibly engrossing. A tale of the romanticized myth versus reality, more or less. In the past, Marion Graves wants to be a pilot. In 2014, Hadley Baxter is set to star in a movie, supposedly based on Marion's life. Hadley is trying to salvage her career after she self-sabotages out of frustration with being conflated with the main character in a hit romance movie series. Marion's story is told concurrently with Hadley's--and Marion's story reflects very little of what is being filmed.

It's a huge novel--over six-hundred pages--but it is so well written and so enveloping, you don't even notice. It's marvelous.

This was a good, interesting story. I can see why it is getting great reviews. I love stories where parts link together. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I am so grateful to have been approved to read this book. It blew up everywhere. I’ve seen it all over Bookstagram and other social media sites as well as best seller lists at well known book shops. What an epic story. Love reading about iconic women doing big things all over the world. Well written and I appreciate the historical facts. Would recommend to family and friends. I can see this becoming a classic read.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were engaging, and I enjoyed the unexpected ways in which it turned out they had touched one another's lives. Yes, it was long, but it kept my attention throughout. I'll definitely recommend it.

Holy guacamole, this book was entirely too long.

I really, really, really wanted to love it. I do love the bones of this story a lot! This was such a slog for me to get through. I was not engaged and just finished it to finish it.

IMO the entire modern day aspect could have been left off and it wouldn't have harmed the story at all and may have improved it a bit.

A bit more editing and I think it would have been a 4/5 star book but for me it was a 2 because of how annoyed I was by the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for an eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Long but I get why! It was a commitment but I came away feeling like I learned a lot a d I really enjoyed the character building that a novel this length often contains!

Wow! I couldn't wait to get back to this book. Such an interesting story and well-written characters. I liked the Hollywood frame because it helped remind the reader how hard it is to know the truth about historical people and events. Loved the epic journey of this novel and it never got slow or dragged on. Felt like the characters were truly growing and changing against the landscape of the 20th century.

Thank goodness for ebooks! If you had to pack this tome for your next airplane ride, you’d have no room left in your luggage. But make room for this blockbuster of a novel somehow, because it is a delightful, century spanning epic.

Set in modern day Los Angeles and early 20th century America, this dual timeline novel tells the story of an aviation pioneer and the woman who is going to depict her character in a movie. The stories intertwine and interact in unexpected ways as the aviator’s life builds up to its culmination in a death-defying Great Circle—flying longitudinally around the earth over both polar regions.


Maggie Shipstead’s research was clearly extensive, but is never heavy handed. Aviation history, the role of women pilots in World War II, the mechanics of bootlegging pilots flying ‘over the line’ to Canada, all are intrinsic to the story. Hadley and Marian are both immensely sympathetic characters and despite the length of the novel, I was not ready for their stories to end.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Could not finish. Too long. Didn’t like any of the characters. Didn’t care about their stories. Flipping back and forth between time lines didn’t help. Marian’s story was the more interesting of the two. Still didn’t care enough to finish.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Thanks for the ARC of this book. I could not finish. Historical fiction is a genre I have mixed feelings about, and though I tried, I couldn't get into the story.

Some might find this a bit long, but I loved it. Don’t want to give spoilers; the characters have stayed with me. The cultural and economic shifts of the past century are beautifully captured. Maggie Shipstead did an amazing job!

Yes, I assigned a feature story on this book and author that ran in more than 12 newspapers. Here is a link to the piece: https://www.ocregister.com/2021/05/02/how-the-real-life-exploits-of-a-pioneering-aviatrix-inspired-maggie-shipsteads-novel-great-circle/

I loved much of this book even though it was far too long. By the end, I just wanted it to be over! I loved Marian and Jamie, but Marian's story just ran too long with too many different turns and it became a bit overdone. That being said, this book was also a surprisingly quick read for me. Maggie Shipstead is a gifted writer and I would definitely read more books by her.

I loved the historical aspects of the story and I'm fascinated by aviation, so Marian was an intriguing and interesting character. I also loved Jamie, Marian's twin brother. Though they were different, their bond spanned time. I didn't care for Hadley's portion of the story. The whole Hollywood scene didn't really fit with the rest of the story and wasn't interesting to me. I'm glad Hadley's portion was relatively short compared to Marian's.

I'm having a hard time finding books I love this year and while this wasn't quite my favorite, it was very good.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Great Circle. I had such high hopes for it and while I do believe the writing is strong, this book is very long. In my opinion, it is too long. I also did not understand why there was such a focus on Marian's parents in the beginning. I also did not connect with Hadley and did not care to see where her storyline went. I really wanted to read the entire book but it's just not going to happen at this time.

Totally enjoyed this book that told two storie that were related. . It intertwined historical figures sometimes in thr narrative which made it interesting. There were a couple surprises ar the end. Very enjoyable read.

While long - and at first a little slow to evolve - it is a great historical fiction.

A little too long - but so worth sticking with it. Characters are so well developed and you feel for everything that happens to each of them.

Definitely for those strong women that love to read about other strong women.

Truly an epic story that parallels a daring female aviator Marian Graves in the 1940s=1950s with a young self-destructive Hollywood actress, Hadley Baxter, slated to play her in the movie biopic under production. At times I felt the story was slow, laden with more descriptive detail for various backstories and secondary characters, but somehow it all is pieced together like an impossible-to-complete jigsaw puzzle by the very end. A creative and unexpected ending makes this is a great summer read. Highly recommend.