Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner

I actually read this book several years before I started this blog. I've been thinking about "good writing" lately and this book came immediately to mind--without its title or author. Of course. So after searching for and finding it on the internet, I decided to add it to the blog.

This is probably the most beautifully written book I've read in a very long time. I found the language transporting. Who writes like this today? I can't think of a single person. Suggestions, anyone?

However, the reason I do not have this book in my collection is because the story itself is heartbreaking. In common with so much beautiful literature, the writing is fantastic but the story is not. Why is this? In today's literature it seems almost as though the story trumps the writing and, while there is nothing actually wrong with this, I would really love to read a book that has both transporting language AND an uplifting story line.

This is the story of a refined Eastern young lady who falls in love with and marries (and ultimately betrays and is never forgiven by) a rough and gifted Western young man. Stegner sets this on the Western frontier and he makes that time come vibrantly alive.  Several years and hundreds of books later, I still have bright pictures in my mind of his characters and their surroundings. This is truly a memorable book.

If you have the stomach for an unhappy ending and have a desire to read some truly wonderful writing, give this book a try.