Rating: 
Summary: Life as it is
Review: I am agonizing over recommending this book to my book group; this very night I am still waffling. This book is a peek into the lives of two somewhat ordinary couples. I relished reading, from a man's perspective, about the overbearing wife of his best friend, and his feelings at being married to a woman with severe physical challenges. As much as I enjoyed the book and know that great conversation would be stimulated by it, I believe that my group will find Crossing to Safety to be too tame and perhaps even tedious. My advice to you: read this if you are interested in normal people and what makes them tick; avoid it if you are a devotee of fast moving fiction, heavy on sex and disfunctional families.
Rating: 
Summary: An unexpected pleasure...
Review: Having tried unsuccessfully to read Angle of Repose previously, I was a little nervous about starting Crossing to Safety. I was pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful story about real life. I loved that the novel wasn't the typical bestseller these days. There weren't any murders, any scandalous affairs, any unusual conflicts. It was about real people who loved their friends and family and who overcame real obstacles. After finishing Crossing to Safety, I am determined to give Angel of Repose another try.
Rating:
Summary: Wallace, we miss you
Review: This is a remarkable piece of work, from one of the truly American voices in literature. A story of enduring friendship and loyalty, an intelligent search for the meaning of it all. I suppose one could find it "boring" (see below), in that there is no gratuitous sex, car chases, foul language or scatalogical humor. Just exquisite prose, and a story told with love and grace. I wonder if this book is ever assigned to high school students. It would be a refreshing antidote to the depressing dreck that passes for popular culture these days. Or am I just passing into curmudgeon-hood? A similarly wonderful book by Stegner is "The Spectator Bird".If one is seeking an in-depth historical piece, there is his award-winning "Angle of Repose". I plan on eventually reading every word written by Mr. Stegner. Talent like his is rare.
Rating:
Summary: Writers and Storytellers
Review: There are writers, and then there are storytellers. The former have all the mechanics down. The latter grip your imagination. Stegner is delightfully both. This is a marvelous read! Can't wait to read his others.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best!
Review: I am so happy to have discovered Wallace Stegner! Where has he been all my life?! Crossing to Safety is so beautifully written and so real that it had me thinking deeply, laughing and crying throughout!
Rating:
Summary: A literary miracle
Review: It would be perhaps an overly bold statement to say that this is the best book I have ever read, because I've read a number of great books. But it would not be at all rash to say that I have never in my life so thoroughly loved and enjoyed a book. This is a tender, beautiful tale about vulnerability and the strength that springs from it, about love and acceptance, about needing someone and not minding that you need them, about being needed and not minding that you are needed, about the way that four people and two couples grow and evolve within their relationships even as the relationships grow and evolve around them. This is the only book I have ever read that I would enthusiastically recommend to every single person I know.Read this book, and never look at humankind the same way again.
Rating:
Summary: Character driven novel
Review: This novel was very readable, and very intelligently written. Although there are few dramatic scenes, the story is carried quite well by the four main characters. Very enjoyable!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, touching, alarming! and true.
Review: I was amazed to find that this semi-autobiographical work has touched me beyond reason! It was amazing how much love these couples shared over their lives. The year in Italy made me ache to return myself. The ending made me cry. It is a great, great book.
Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: I discovered Wallace Stegner through my sister in San Francisco. I first read Crossing To Safety ten years ago and have reread it again and again. This story of friendship touched me greatly and I have shared it with many friends. I also recommend The Spectator Bird and A Shooting Star.
Rating:
Summary: Required reading
Review: This is the book my wife and I fell in love with after we fell in love with each other more than 12 years ago. Whenever we talk with friends about favorite books, we INSIST that they read Crossing to Safety. We've had to buy several copies over the years because we keep lending copies out -- and we can't blame any of our friends for not returning this book. It's a keeper. Wallace Stegner said this novel was the closest he came to writing autobiographically, which explains a certain brightness not found in, say, Angle of Repose (although AOR is an equally beautiful story). This is simply a beautifully told story about how a friendship formed and aged, so powerfully written that you will come to appreciate your own friends -- and how you came to be friends -- all the more for having made the journey with the couples in Crossing to Safety. This is a book you fall in love with and return to. I'm actually online right now to buy another copy.
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