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Great Circle

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Great Circle

By: Maggie Shipstead
Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Alex McKenna
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize 2021

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2022

I was born to be a wanderer.

From the night she is rescued as a baby out of the flames of a sinking ship, to the day she joins a pair of daredevil pilots looping and diving over the rugged forests of her childhood, to the thrill of flying Spitfires during the war, the life of Marian Graves has always been marked by a lust for freedom and danger.

In 1950, she embarks on her life's dream - to fly a Great Circle around the globe, pole to pole. But after a crash landing, she finds herself stranded on the Antarctic ice without enough fuel. With one fearsome piece of water separating her from completion of the Circle, she writes one last entry in her logbook.

She is ready for her final journey.

Half a century later, Hadley Baxter, a brilliant, troubled Hollywood starlet is irresistibly drawn to play Marian Graves, a role that will lead her to probe the deepest mysteries of the vanished pilot's life.

Great Circle is an enthralling journey over oceans and continents and a drama of exhilarating power. Combining unforgettable characters and thrilling suspense, it is a sweeping story of loss and obsession, sacrifice and survival, of the unknowable mysteries of freedom, love and life itself.

©2020 Maggie Shipstead (P)2020 Penguin Audio
United States World War II Fiction Transportation Aviation War Mystery

Critic Reviews

"Ferociously clever." (Guardian)

"Joyously good." (Daily Mail)

"Impressive." (Jeffrey Eugenides)

What listeners say about Great Circle

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epic.

an epic of a story but so so worth it. while some details, characters, and storylines may seem irrelevant it all ties together in some way, shape or form to complete a brilliant story. the emotional honesty and complexity was gripping.

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loved it! Ripping yarn well narrated.

Didn't want it to end, great character development and has twists along the way. Was slightly slow I'm the middle, in Marion's married days but winds up again.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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A brilliantly executed historical fiction

Loved this book and all its interwoven characters. Settle in, because it’s long. I’d love to revisit the modern sections - those characters just spring off the page

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Epic adventure

I loved every winding second of this story. One of the best books I’ve ever had the pleasure of getting lost in. Both the story and the narration were fantastic.

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I could give this 500 stars!

For such an epic novel, it kept me enthralled from the first page to the last. A worthy shortlist of the Man Booker 2021, should have won in my opinion. the narrators were both incredible, managing to portray many different characters with skill and ease. Highly recommend this book and this particular audio version.

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Stunning sweeping story...

Loved everything about this, and it was stunningly read as well. A fantastic listen, feeling a bit sad it's over!

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I need time to process this amazing book

So much to think about with this book. It felt like two fully fledged books in one. For me a truly great book is really caring about characters especially if I don't really understand them. And care I did. Inspired by so many thoughts.

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A wonderful satisfying story.

Loved this. Loved everything about it - the characters, the story, the writing. The reader was excellent so although it’s a long book, the reader kept me engrossed. Highly recommend.

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Wow, that was long!!

I listened because it came highly rated. Had not realised it was 25+ hours. However, it is very easy to leave for weeks then come back to and there's only a few very significant characters. I didn't like the narrators voice so I think this would have been better as a written book to read. Very happy I finished it and didn't give up. Ultimately well worth the 25 hours.

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Story and Performance Perfect

A sweeping story of the life of a 20th century woman aviator who wanted to circumnavigate the globe. Beginning with the tragic details of how her and her twin brother come to live with their Uncle and continue living a simple and almost destitute circumstances. The story spans decades learning how she achieved her dream job in a male dominant industry and even helped the war effort flying spitfires.
The novel is also told through a second timeline of a 2015 actress, Hadley who plays the character of Marian Graves in a historical movie retelling of the inspirational female pilot who vanished at sea while completing her flight.
Fabulous performance and a captivating story that I might just have to listen to again!

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