Wallace Stegner’s novel “The Angle of Rest,” for which he received the Pulitzer Prize, weaves together two stories—one from the past and one from the present. The main character, Lyman Ward, decides to study the archives of his grandfather and grandmother in order to recreate their life story. These pioneers—an engineer and an artist—played a significant role in settling the American West. In the course of his research, Lyman also begins to reflect on his own life. The Los Angeles Times calls this novel “magnificent,” noting that it makes you feel the pulse of life.