In the words of the Los Angeles Times, “ simultaneously miniaturises and contextualises three decades of American history by zooming in on one multi-generational midwestern farm family… In this, Smiley’s most commanding novel yet, the medium matches the message. Indeed, at a skinny 6ft 2in, Jane Smiley is something of an honorary “guy” herself, and the more you dig into her creative life you find a woman who wants to conduct every bit of her professional career with the same “easy-going” detachment.Įach one of these men in her life has had a role in Smiley’s latest, daunting project, a trilogy about the US experience of “the Last Hundred Years”, the first volume of which has just been published in America to widespread approval. “Oh yes, they’re all great guys, all easy-going guys, and I’m fond of all of them.” That’s one of the things about her: apparently no hint of darkness. And are they still her friends? Smiley’s infectious laugh punctuates her answer. Who are they, these merry, long-suffering, dedicatees, John, Bill, Steve and Jack? Smiley’s three ex-husbands of course, plus the incumbent. V irtually all you need to know about the novelist Jane Smiley is encrypted on to the dedication page of her new book, Some Luck, which thanks four men for “decades of patience, laughter, insight, information, and assistance”.
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