"The Great Circle" by Maggie Shipstead

I enjoyed The Great Circle quite a bit. I rooted for Marian Graves' happy ending, even when all seemed dim (I didn't care as much about actress Hadley's parts of the story). But I've been thinking about the novel's protagonist--a lone wolf who never says goodbye (or hello, really). Her aloofness and reticence to discuss her feelings are key elements of her personality, something those who love her--her brother Jamie, her neighbor-turned-lover Caleb--are forced to accept. In some ways this stoicism, in a woman, in the early 20th century, feels a little heroic. But in the end I'm left feeling how not-heroic it is. Her lover Ruth dies never hearing Marian's feelings for her. Her lover Caleb pines after her his entire life. Her niece doesn't even get to know her. Obviously an individual has no obligation to another. But ignoring those who love us, and whom we love, does make us a jerk. Shipstead certainly acknowledges Marian's many failings, and I don't think authors must or should write entirely admirable characters, and yet... 

For what it's worth, the Marian-Barclay-Caleb triangle gave me a lot of Twilight vibes.