Angle of repose book discussion

A late autumn retrospective, accomplished with a long lens, in which lyman ward, retired, ill and wheelchairbound, attempts to affirm the continuity of the past and the doppler effect of time by reconstructing his grandparents lives. Wallace stegner 19091993 was the author of, among other novels, all the little live things winner of a commonwealth club gold medal, angle of repose winner of the pulitzer prize, and the spectator bird winner of the national book award. Click to read more about angle of repose by wallace stegner. It is told by a former college professor and historian who.

This angle is called the angle of repose of the material. By the end of the novel, has lyman reached his own angle of repose. It is a testament to the power of stegners prose and vision that angle of repose, winner of the 1972 pulitzer prize for fiction, can be appreciated as americas story as well. Angle of repose is a 1971 novel by wallace stegner about a wheelchairusing historian, lyman ward, who has lost connection with his son and living family and decides to write about his frontierera grandparents. Wallace stegners 19091993 masterpiece angle of repose 1971. How would this novel be different if lymans own story were excluded. It seems to describe the loose wandering of the ward family as they try to carve a civilized existence in the west and, hopefully, return to the east as successes. Angle of repose by wallace stegner about the ook wallace stegner has said of his epic novel, its perfectly clear that if every writer is born to write one story, thats my story. Angle of repose by valeriesmith2 see profile 011016 i very much enjoyed the authors description of places in the west. A book is generally a fast paced and entertaining story. Stegners method of weaving the stories together works marvelously and so many of his sentences are simply perfect. The angle of repose was on most of these lists and in my opinion it should be on all of them. Among his many literary prizes are the pulitzer prize for angle of repose 1971 and the national book award forthe spectator bird 1976. We plan to begin the discussion on monday october 27th.

But then i got to the last 14 of the book and it seemed rushed, unfinished, and i turned the last page not fully understanding what really happened between oliver and susan ward. On another thread a number of us thought we would like to discuss the book angle of repose by wallace stegner. I believe i read it over 20 years ago and marveled at the character development. Wallace stegners pultizer prizewinning novel is a story of dis. Feb 18, 2009 the angle of repose is my favorite book of all time. Lyman wards history of his grandparents and his need to keep his. Stegners use of uncredited passages taken directly from footes letters caused a minor controversy. The term angle of repose is a geologic one which means the slope angle, about 30 degrees, at which dirt and pebbles stop rolling. The experiment is repeated to vary the concentrations of glidants which are 0.

Wallace stegners pulitzer prizewinning novel is a story of discoverypersonal, historical, and geographical. Wallace stegner has said of his epic novel, its perfectly clear that if every writer is born to write one story, thats my story. Angle of repose that is, the novel that wallace stegner has written, not. See more ideas about wallace stegner, angle of repose and books. This study guide consists of approximately 31 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of angle of repose. The angle of repose or the critical angle of repose, of a granular material is the steepest angle of descent or dip relative to the horizontal plane to which a material can be piled without slumping. When granular solids are piled on a flat surface, the sides of the pile are at a definite reproducible angle with the horizontal leveled surface fig. It may deal with geopolitics, romance, horror, murder, or any other topic you can think of. The book has an interesting, and at times challenging, structure. Angle of repose by wallace stegner book club discussion. Wallace stegner has said of his epic novel, its perfectly clear that if every writer is born to write one story. I thought in lymans case, at the very end, he was trying to overcome his angle of repose in terms of both where he was in his life and in terms of his rigid body he wanted.

Angle of repose by wallace stegner discussion questions. But susan and lyman ward are too alert to the possible figurative, human possibilities of the phrase to allow it to be a mere descriptive term for detrital rest. The book became a literary and financial success and helped gain stegner a position as an instructor at harvard university. Pulitzer 1972 explores the marriage relationships of susan and oliver ward and lyman and ellen ward and the freelove relationship of shelly rasmussen and larry. This in partial contrast to and rebuttal of his son at berkeley interested in change but only as a process. The couple enjoyed a 59year marriage and had one son, stuart page. It is a testament to the power of stegners prose and vision that angle of repose, winner. The title is an engineering term for the angle at which soil finally settles after, for example, being dumped from a mine as tailings. If wallace stegners angle of repose hadnt been the clayton community library book club pick for january 2019, i never would have chosen. His collection of essays, where the bluebird sings to the lemonade springs 1992, was nominated for the national book critics circle award. A modernday historian, lyman ward, is looking back, doing painstaking research of his family, and his findings become a story on one level the story of those people. Wallace stegner booklist wallace stegner message board.

Angle of repose summary lyman ward is a wheelchairbound exhistorian whos diving into the most ambitious project of his life. Angle of repose by wallace stegner, first edition abebooks. March by geraldine brooks postponed 2020 weston playhouse teachers workshop. The geologic term angle of repose, defines the angle of the slope at which debris will cease rolling downhill and settle in one place, as in a landslide. Angle of repose is the recording of the ebb and flow of life in one family, over generations. Angle of repose is another important physical property used for characterization of the bulk of particulate foods such as seeds, grains, flours, grits, and fruits. Lyman, a retired historian, writes a history of his grandparents lives after his wife leaves him for his surgeon. Angle of repose topics for discussion wallace stegner this study guide consists of approximately 31 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of angle of repose. One major distinction between the two is that of scale, as stegner. Angle of repose, which won, in 1972, the pulitzer prize for wallace stegner, unites past and present in telling two stories. Based on the letters written by mary hallcock foote, the inspiration to stengners character, susan ward, stegner writes about a man, lyman ward, who has developed a bone crippling disease and has become dependent on others to assist him on his.

The discussion that follows, about changing mores and whether a. The novel is directly based on the letters of mary hallock foote, later published as a. Wallace stegner 19091993 wrote many books of fiction and nonfiction, including crossing to safety and the national book awardwinning the spectator bird. Based on the correspondence of the littleknown 19th century writer, mary hallock foote. This detailed literature summary also contains topics for discussion on angle of repose by wallace stegner. The discussion went well and a number of the book club members riffed off what i had to say. Susan wards lifeand lymans and shellys is the believable story of a flawed human beingits not picture perfectthere are no rosy endings for us here. One biography each year is awarded a pulitzer prize, but these character studies wouldnt counteach is a pulitzerwinning work of fiction, with portions based on one persons reallife story.

An american historian, novelist, short story writer, and environmentalist, stegner was often called the dean of western writers and. Apr 23, 20 jordan pye 81211 angle of repose written by wallace stegner, angle of repose won the pulitzer prize in 1972. Its a little bit literary, a little bit unknown, but incredibly readable. Topics about this book topics that mention this book. Angle of repose by wallace stegner reading guidebook club. Oct 29, 2012 wallace stegners 19091993 masterpiece angle of repose 1971.

In the late 1960s lyman ward, a crippled history professor abandoned by his wife some years before, researches and recreates the life of his grandparents, particularly his grandmother susan. Stegners novel angle of repose won the pulitzer prize for fiction in 1972, and was directly based on the letters of mary hallock foote later published as the memoir a victorian gentlewoman in the far west. Wheelchairbound with a crippling bone disease and dependent on others. I heard natalie portman telling oprah once that this is one of her alltime favorite books, so i got it. Lyman, a retired historian, writes a history of his grandparents lives after his wife leaves him for his surgeon during his struggle. Confined to a wheelchair, retired historian lyman ward sets out to write his grandparents remarkable story, chronicling their days spent carving civilization into the surface of americas western frontier. Angle of repose by wallace stegner, paperback barnes.

Angle of repose wallace stegner, 1971 penguin group usa 392 pp. Wallace stegner described angle of repose as a novel about time, as much as anythingabout people who live through time, who believe in both a past and a future. Jordan pye 81211 angle of repose written by wallace stegner, angle of repose won the pulitzer prize in 1972. Ultimately, i thought of the angle of repose as the place susan and oliver finally reached at the end of the book, stable and no longer moving, but not happy, either. He also did a great job with character development. In order to do that, he plans on holing up in their old homedubbed the zodiac cottageand writing all day, every day. Angle of repose, footing and foundation work recently, i have been involved in a discussion between contractors and professional engineers regarding excavation work in the crawl space at an older home.

Whom does lyman like besthis grandmother or his grandfather. Wheelchairbound with a crippling bone disease and dependent on others for his every need. Angle of repose is a 1971 novel by american author wallace stegner that explores themes of family history, bitterness, and forgiveness. Dec 04, 2014 the angle of repose or the critical angle of repose, of a granular material is the steepest angle of descent or dip relative to the horizontal plane to which a material can be piled without slumping. As an easterner who has lived in seattle for 25 years i too am aware of americas split personality of socalled east coast sophistication and west coast genuineness. Angle of repose by wallace stegner is a pulitzer prize winning novel about marriage. Why do you think stegner chose this term for the title of his novel. Angle of repose is a 1971 novel by wallace stegner about a wheelchairusing historian, lyman ward, who has lost connection with his son and living family. The angle of repose is my favorite book of all time. Angle of repose is, to a large extent, a study in contrasts between east and west. Angle of repose won the pulitzer prize for fiction in 1972.

Librarything is a cataloging and social networking site for booklovers. His collection of essays, where the bluebird sings to the lemonade springs 1992, was. Based on the letters written by mary hallcock foote, the inspiration to stengners character, susan ward, stegner writes about a man, lyman ward, who has developed a bone crippling disease and has become dependent on others to assist him on his mission to discover his grandmother. This 48page guide for angle of repose by wallace stegner includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 54 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. It is told by a former college professor and historian who looks at his grandparents lives in search of a reason for the success or failure of a marriage. In this experiment, we had measured an angle of repose of 355mic, 500mic, 850mic and various sizes of sands with and without the presence of glidant. There is a huge difference between a book and a novel. The issue came up when the contractor, who is in charge of establishing proper clearances between structural lumber and the.