Monday Moments - Jane Smiley and Writing

 The Questions That Matter Most: Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of Freedom by Jane Smiley.    Wow - quite a title and a lot to think about.   I've read most of Jane Smiley's fiction and it's excellent. Here in her essays, her skills, thought process, and deep dive into character are quite educational and thought provoking. 

cover blurb - Smiley dives beneath surface level interpretations to examine the works of de Navarre, Dickens, Trollope, Beecher Stowe, Alcott, Twain, Cather, and more.  Smiley works to think harder and, in  her words, with "more clarity and nuance about the questions that matter most". 

I had to really think here. Great writing. Impressive contrasts and comparisons. She has inspired me  to go back and read some classics that I haven't read in a zillion years. I need to approach with a new appreciation. 

I got this book at the library after perusing  the shelves. Her name made me grab this book and I'm glad.  Got the gray matter astir.  Dang!

Book Review - Golden Age

Golden Age by Jane Smiley is the finale of her trilogy which included Some Luck, and Early Warning.  She’s covered a century of life for the Langdon family – touched on America’s history as a backdrop, and brought to life the turmoil and triumphs of generations.  Golden Age opens in 1987 – economic, social, political, and personal challenges face the current tribe.  Michael and Richie, the twins, now work on Wall Street and government – high stakes fields. Charlie, a newcomer to the family, proves a worthy rival, and Guthrie who should run the family farm is deployed to Iraq.

Climate change concerns Felicity and could prove the undoing of the Langdon legacy. Here in the 21^st century, the Langdon women find themselves charged with carrying their storied past into an uncertain future. (cover blurb)

Jane Smiley digs deep into the characters and the family. You, the reader, will find an underlying thread of similarity in all family travails. Love, hate, revenge, and faith all play a part as the family works through its struggles to maintain dignity and their heritage. And despite luck and early warnings, it is a golden age of life and writing. Enjoy this saga.

Book Review: Early Warning

Early Warning by Jane Smiley is the second book in her new trilogy series.  I reviewed Some Luck when it came out.  The Langdon family in 1953 is about to change, just like America. Walter, the patriarch has died. Rosanna watches as Joe stays to manage the farm, and the rest of her five kids scatter from Iowa. Through the 1960s and 70s, the Langdon children each follow a different path in a rapidly changing world, and they marry and have kids of their own. Twin boys are best friends and bitter rivals. A girl whose rebellious spirit takes her to the notorious Peoples Temple in San Francisco. And a golden boy drops out of college to fight in Vietnam – he leaves a legacy that will send shock waves through the family for the next generation.  (cover blurb) 

Early Warning is rich in its mix of history and storyline. The characters have depth and as Smiley weaves her tale, the pages turn faster. I liked this book more than the first. I felt it flowed better and was more interesting. Then again, it covers more than the farm era. It’s an engrossing story of the challenges – and rewards – of family and home, even in the most turbulent of times. Jane Smiley delivers once again, and now I eagerly await the third and final book.

Book Review: Some Luck by Jane Smiley

Jane Smiley’s Some Luck is part of a planned trilogy. Lots of good reading and writing to look forward to. She never disappoints.  The book begins in the 1920s as soldiers return home. Walter is a farmer in Iowa and we follow his struggles through the Depression and then on to success in the 1950s. Through the decades, Rosanna is at his side – cranking out kids and supporting Walter and their life. Frank is the handsome, willful oldest son. He’s brilliant and enigmatic. Joe, never bright, turns out to be a great farmer. Lillian, the shallow beauty, has her issues. The youngest of six, Claire, is truly her Dad’s daughter and when this book ends we have no idea of her potential. 

Personal and historical aspects of America merge seamlessly in this broad story of America and its growth. From the cover blurb – Some Luck delivers on everything we look for in a work of fiction. Cycles of birth and death, passions and betrayals, and characters we come to know inside and out, it is a tour de force. It’s a literary adventure that will span a century in America, an astonishing feat of storytelling by a beloved writer at the height of her powers.   Indeed, you can count on Jane Smiley to slowly play her cards and deliver full characters that we care about.  

p. 332  As if on cue, Walter turned from Andrea and looked at Rosanna, and they agreed in that instant; something had created itself from nothing – a dumpy old house had been filled, if only for that moment, with twenty-three different worlds, each one of them rich and mysterious.  

Some Luck starts a tad slow, but it builds. It’s a pleasant read about a family. Join in and celebrate births, mourn deaths, and worry about whether the farm will produce or not.  The book ends in 1952, and you’ll be wishing the next book was in the queue. What shall happen to the Langdon extended family?  No doubt, they’ll muddle along with some luck.  Join me in this trilogy.