Two novels, grand in scale, take divergent approaches to historical fiction. The Great Divide brings us a cast of characters whose lives intersect and are forever changed by the decades-long feat to build the Panama Canal. Though this event anchors the historical setting, the stories of those who are pulled into its orbit capture the reader. Wild and Distant Seas delivers us a remarkable quartet of women through the generations, thereby focusing less on a particular moment and instead traveling through time and across place. In the hands of these novelists and through the lens of history, we gain knowledge and understanding as readers.

Presenters: Cristina Henriquez, Tara Karr Roberts

Moderator: Katherine Taylor