Angle of Repose

By: Wallace Stegner

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 22 hrs and 9 mins

Publisher's summary

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize when it was first published in 1971, Angle of Repose has also been selected by the editorial board of the Modern Library as one of the hundred best novels of the 20th century.

Wallace Stegner's uniquely American classic centers on Lyman Ward, a noted historian who relates a fictionalized biography of his pioneer grandparents at a time when he has become estranged from his own family. Through a combination of research, memory, and exaggeration, Ward voices ideas concerning the relationship between history and the present, art and life, parents and children, and husbands and wives. Like other great quests in literature, Lyman Ward's investigation leads him deep into the dark shadows of his own life. The result is a deeply moving novel that, through the prism of one family, illuminates the American present against the fascinating background of its past.

Set in many parts of the West, Angle of Repose is a story of discovery - personal, historical, and geographical - that endures as Wallace Stegner's masterwork: an illumination of yesterday's reality that speaks to today's.

©1971 Wallace Stegner (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Brilliant....Two stories, past and present, merge to produce what important fiction must: a sense of the enhancement of life." ( Los Angeles Times)
"Masterful...Reading it is an experience to be treasured." ( Boston Globe)

Simpering female

I love Angle of Repose. So I got the audio book for a road trip and found the narrator's rendition of a Susan's voice really grating. It seemed like he went out of his way to make her sound like a whiner... not at all like how I imagined it when I read the novel. There were times when he "slipped" from the effort and she sounded somewhat normal, but in general she came across like a breathy, helpless airhead. Gah!

I'm glad I listened

Years ago a colleague told me this novel was one of her favorites. Stegner's writingitg is powerful, his characters compelling, and his depiction of the settling of idaho fascinating, though i would not say the novel is a favorite. Contemplativee, this work of art is epic..

A different to look at the west.

This is a interesting novel about a portion of wester history often overlooked. The husband wife relationship is very interesting if not disturbing. I very worthwhile listen or read.

Stick with it!

it was slow to start. almost quit it twice but happy I stuck with it and happy I did

Disappointing

I loved some of Stegner's other work but not this one. I disliked the narration and never felt engaged with the characters or interested in the story. I had a hard time finishing this long, drawn out book.

An exceptional masterpiece.

Authors like Steinbeck and Hemingway have left their mark in literature. But I think Stegner has matched, if not surpassed them, with Angle of Repose. I encourage you to listen to this tale of struggle, adventure and bravery. And I can’t say enough about the narrator who made me feel as if I was actually there. I don’t think I will soon forget this amazing novel.

Wonderfully written, superbly read.

I was captivated by the story and piqued by the slice of Americana that it represents. One could do worse than to read this book as a primer to the settling of California and that enterprise’s difficulty. Above all, it is a classic work of literature that should be treasured by future readers.

Excellent

Bramhall’s read of the work was perfect. Wallace is one of the best. His understanding of time and place and people is tremendous. Thankful I got to listen to this tale. I am better for it.

Magnificent

The prose is sculptured and moving in its rendering of this powerful saga.. Stegner has written an epic of an historic time and place, and a timeless story of human tragedy.

Creation of an Amazing Author

I loved every spoken word. I'm sure that I'll l be revisiting this treasure and understand why it was voted one on the 100 novels of the last century.