1971Pulitzer 1972
Angle of Repose
Wallace Stegner · 1909–1993 · United States
Why it matters
A wheelchair-bound historian reconstructs his pioneer grandmother's marriage to an engineer across the raw nineteenth-century West, testing her compromises against his own failed one. Stegner's Pulitzer winner is the Western novel's great act of inheritance.
At a glance
family sagahistorical fiction
Difficulty 6/10medium pace569 pagesInterwoven historical and present-day narration demands tracking two timelines.
Deep dive
What an engineering term for the slope at which loose gravel finally stops sliding is doing as the title of a novel about two ruined and one failing marriage.
Where to go next
Wallace Stegner · 1976The Spectator BirdLvl 4Medium pace
William Maxwell · 1979So Long, See You TomorrowLvl 5Slow burn
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Peter Taylor · 1986A Summons to MemphisLvl 5Slow burn
Carol Shields · 1993The Stone DiariesLvl 5Medium pace
Pearl S. Buck · 1931The Good EarthLvl 3Medium pace