Although published as a Penguin Modern Classic, I had not heard of the twentieth-century American author Wallace Stegner until I was given this book. I learned from the introduction that he wrote prolifically across six decades, winning a variety of literary prizes including the Pulitzer. Crossing to Safety was his last novel, published in 1987. It is the story of a long adult friendship between two couples, exploring their relationship rather than focusing on their children and families. In many ways this was refreshing, although the attitudes are very much American in tone, a view I will expand upon in due course.
The story opens and closes on a late summer’s day in 1972. It is narrated by Larry Morgan who has just woken up in guest accommodation located within a large lakeside compound owned by his friends, Sid and Charity Lang. Larry is there with his wife, Sally, who requires leg braces and canes to walk following an illness. We learn early on that Charity now has terminal cancer and has called her family together – she regards Larry and Sally as family – for a last hurrah.
The timeline moves back to 1937 – pre war but in a country still reeling from the Depression – when the two couples met in Madison. The men had jobs at the university of Wisconsin and hoped to achieve tenure. As well as teaching, Larry was writing stories that met with some success. Larry and Sally were struggling financially. Sid and Charity were not.
The characters are introduced and developed with a rare skill. They are made interesting if not always likeable. The friendship runs deep but not always smoothly. We learn their backstories but this is not dwelt upon. What matters are key events in their relationship as narrated by the now older Larry. Much of this is drawn from anecdotal evidence as much as remembered experience. Memory, he concedes, cannot always be relied upon but what interests him is how the four principles in the story have been affected by events and the changes wrought.
Experiences include shared interests in music and literature. The men teach the latter at the university and also write. Charity is ambitious for Sid and decries his attempts at poetry, considering it a waste of effort.
“Literature was for mobilizing the masses (the middle-class masses), Doing Good and Righting Wrongs.”
Sid is full of boundless energy yet allows himself to be controlled by a demanding and imperious Charity. Larry comes across as more laid back, believing things will work out yet ending up having to accept help, always generously offered by his friends. Sally is gentle and loyal, clearly intelligent but willing to support her husband rather than seek any personal laudation. She and Charity grow to love each other in a way Larry can see is of immeasurable value to both. He wonders at Sid’s acceptance of how Charity treats him. Larry and Charity clash at times but push through for the sakes of the others.
Despite tribulations faced over the years the two couples are shielded by the Lang’s wealth and willingness to share. They harbour a blinkered arrogance, believing themselves superior in thought and deed. It is this that comes across, from a European reader’s viewpoint (where damaging violence from hard nationalism is still a living memory), as so American – the supposed greatness of that country inculcated from an early age. One discomfiting viewpoint expressed suggests the author does not appreciate the ongoing suffering endured by veterans of war.
“We thought them luckier. They had had only a war to damage them, and war’s damage is, when it isn’t fatal, likely to be stimulating rather than the reverse.”
Both couples employ others to help with childcare within their homes, thereby freeing them to go on adventures. Servants are often referred to by role rather than granted a name.
What the author does well is to offer a study of his characters and how clashes can occur. Plot may be slow at times, although more forensic in description than ponderous – an attempt to tell it as it was without leaving out details that may aid understanding. We know the four survive what is recounted, and remain friends albeit at a greater distance, because this is a looking back from what will end the long relationship as the first of them dies.
An interesting read that proved satisfying to ponder despite a few minor quibbles. Although not, perhaps, enough to make me want to pick up any of the author’s earlier works.
Crossing to Safety is published by Penguin.
