Crossing to Safety

"Wallace Stegner's 1987 novel showing the lasting power of long-term friendships between two couples in academia"

"It's about four friends looking back on their friendship and begins with their years teaching at Wisconsin when they were all trying to get tenure."

""Crossing to Safety," by Wallace Stegner — Charity's death I found wildly affecting."

"In a way this is an expansion of the theme in Stoner , once again set in a university. It is a novel mainly about friendship and suffering. It is very sad, beginning with the death of one of the protagonists and how it ends is incredibly touching. Wallace Stegner is known as the great western novelist and is famous for books about Montana and the crossing of the west, most notably a novel called Angle of Repose which is an absolute classic. But in terms of human tenderness I find this particular book remarkable and unforgettable. Yes, they are very different indeed. The differences between them are reflected particularly in the Vermont chapter, where all sorts of bizarre things happen during a walk in the woods. What I really love about this novel is the depth of friendship which crossed between these couples from very different classes, who are on the one hand academic failures and on the other academic successes."