This is a qualified recommendation.
One of the reasons this is a qualified recommendation is that it's a sequel (of sorts) to "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" since the main character (Bruce Mason) is now an elderly man returning to his home in Salt Lake City after a lifetime away whereas in the first book, he was just barely in his 20s by the time the book ended. Consequently, I would not recommend Recapitulation to someone who hadn't first read "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" which was written by Stegner in 1943. The simple fact is that the first book is invaluable in helping you to know Bruce's early family history which this second book only hints at while also filling in some blanks at the same time.
This book was published in 1979. Consequently, it not only represents 36 years since the first book was written, but you can see the literary growth of the author who is, quite simply, a damn fine writer of the first order. I also think the book is probably also hard to find since the copy I got was a 1979 printing which I ended up getting through an interlibrary loan from a university library.
If there's one downside, it's that sometimes the narrative is a little difficult to follow when Bruce mentally moves from recalling certain points in his past to other points in his past and on to the present day because the reader doesn't always get a clear indication of when that's happening
One of the reasons this is a qualified recommendation is that it's a sequel (of sorts) to "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" since the main character (Bruce Mason) is now an elderly man returning to his home in Salt Lake City after a lifetime away whereas in the first book, he was just barely in his 20s by the time the book ended. Consequently, I would not recommend Recapitulation to someone who hadn't first read "The Big Rock Candy Mountain" which was written by Stegner in 1943. The simple fact is that the first book is invaluable in helping you to know Bruce's early family history which this second book only hints at while also filling in some blanks at the same time.
This book was published in 1979. Consequently, it not only represents 36 years since the first book was written, but you can see the literary growth of the author who is, quite simply, a damn fine writer of the first order. I also think the book is probably also hard to find since the copy I got was a 1979 printing which I ended up getting through an interlibrary loan from a university library.
If there's one downside, it's that sometimes the narrative is a little difficult to follow when Bruce mentally moves from recalling certain points in his past to other points in his past and on to the present day because the reader doesn't always get a clear indication of when that's happening
