Jane Smiley

A Pulitzer Prize winner makes her debut for young readers. Abby Lovitt has been riding horses for as long as she can remember, but Daddy hasn't let her name a single one. He calls all their geldings George and their mares Jewel and warns her not to get attached. The horses are there on the ranch to be sold, plain and simple. But with all the stress at school (the Big Four--Linda, Mary A., Mary N., Joan--have turned against her) and home (nothing feels right with her brother, Danny, gone), Abby can't help but seek comfort in the Georges and the Jewels, who greet her every day with soft nickers. Except for one: the horse who won't meet her gaze, the horse who bucks her off, the horse Daddy insists she ride and train. Abby knows not to cross her father, but she knows, too, that she can't get back on Ornery George. And suddenly the horses seem like no refuge at all. From Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley comes an emotionally charged and action-filled novel for young readers, set in the vibrant landscape of 1960s California horse country.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER - From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres comes "an uproariously funny and at the same time hauntingly melancholy portrait of a college community in the Midwest" (The New York Times).In this darkly satirical send-up of academia and the Midwest, we are introduced to Moo University, a distinguished institution devoted to the study of agriculture. Amid cow pastures and waving fields of grain, Moo's campus churns with devious plots, mischievous intrigue, lusty liaisons, and academic one-upmanship, Chairman X of the Horticulture Department harbors a secret fantasy to kill the dean; Mrs. Walker, the provost's right hand and campus information queen, knows where all the bodies are buried; Timothy Monahan, associate professor of English, advocates eavesdropping for his creative writing assignments; and Bob Carlson, a sophomore, feeds and maintains his only friend: a hog named Earl Butz. Wonderfully written and masterfully plotted, Moo gives us a wickedly funny slice of life.

From the author of the Pulitzer-winning A Thousand Acres, two novellas which showcase Jane Smiley's unique gift for capturing the nuances of American domestic life.

The verdant pastures of the Karlson farm in Illinois have the placid charm of a landscape painting, but the horses that graze there have become the consuming obsession of a woman who sees in them the ultimate fulfilment of her every wish - to win, to be honoured, to be the best. Her vaulting ambition becomes a tragically destructive force; a force that will drive a wedge between her and her family, and have unforeseen and brutal consequences for them all...

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres--and "one of her generation's most eloquent chroniclers of ordinary familial love" (The New York Times)--comes two exquisite twin novellas that chronicle the difficult choices that reshape the lives of two very different families. In Ordinary Love, Smiley focuses on a woman's infidelity and the lasting, indelible effects it leaves on her children long after her departure. Good Will portrays a father who realizes how his son has been affected by his decision to lead a counterculture life and move his family to a farm. As both stories unfold, Smiley gracefully raises the questions that confront all families with the characteristic style and insight that has marked all of her work.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author celebrates the art of fiction and the pleasures of reading as she looks at one hundred very different examples of the novel, ranging from the classics to little-known gems and from the Tale of Genji to Zadie Smith's White Teeth, discussing the evolution of the novel, the practice of novel-writing, and the publication process. Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

The best new American voices are heard here first: Writers like Julie Orringer, Adam Johnson, William Gay, David Benioff, Rattawut Lapcharoensap, Maile Meloy, Amanda Davis, Jennifer Vanderbes, and John Murray are just some of the acclaimed authors whose early work has appeared in this series since its launch in 2000. The new volume features a new crop of promising stories selected by renowned novelist Jane Smiley, who continues the tradition of identifying the best young writers on the cusp of their careers. Culled from hundreds of writing programs like the Iowa Writers' Workshop and Johns Hopkins and from summer conferences like Sewanee and Bread Loaf-and including a complete list of contact information for these programs-this exciting collection showcases tomorrow's literary stars.

In fourteenth-century Greenland, a small Norse settlement struggles for survival through increasingly harsh winters, famine, witchcraft, and a tragic feud between the family of Asgeir Gunnarsson and one of his neighbors. Reprint.

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres journeys into the high-stakes world of horse racing as she shares her lifelong love affair with horses, drawing on her firsthand knowledge of equine personality and behavior, trainers, veterinarians, and jockeys as she describes the story of two of her own horses as they begin their careers on the racetrack. Reprint. 35,000 first printing.

In Iceland, the age of the Vikings is also known as the Saga Age. A unique body of medieval literature, the Sagas rank with the world’s great literary treasures – as epic as Homer, as deep in tragedy as Sophocles, as engagingly human as Shakespeare. Set around the turn of the last millennium, these stories depict with an astonishingly modern realism the lives and deeds of the Norse men and women who first settled in Iceland and of their descendants, who ventured farther west to Greenland and, ultimately, North America. Sailing as far from the archetypal heroic adventure as the long ships did from home, the Sagas are written with psychological intensity, peopled by characters with depth, and explore perennial human issues like love, hate, fate and freedom.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres comes a brilliant literary thriller set in Manhattan that's "as taut and chilling as anything Hitchcock put on film" (San Francisco Chronicle). "A first-rate cliffhanger." --The New York Times Book ReviewAlice Ellis is a Midwestern refugee living in Manhattan. Still recovering from a painful divorce, she depends on the companionship and camaraderie of tightly knit circle of friends. At the center of this circle is a rock band struggling to navigate New York's erratic music scene, and an apartment/practice space with approximately fifty key-holders. One sunny day, Alice enters the apartment and finds two of the band members shot dead. As the double-murder sends waves of shock through their lives, this group of friends begins to unravel, and dangerous secrets are revealed one by one. When Alice begins to notice things amiss in her own apartment, the tension breaks out as it occurs to her that she is not the only person with a key, and she may not get a chance to change the locks. Jane Smiley applies her distinctive rendering of time, place, and the enigmatic intricacies of personal relationships to the twists and turns of suspense. The result is a thriller that will keep readers guessing up to its final, shocking conclusion.

On a prosperous Iowa farm in the 1970s, wealthy farmer Lawrence Cook announces his intentions to divide the farm among his daughters, setting off a family crisis reminiscent of Shakespeare's "King Lear." Reader's Guide available. Reprint. 12,500 first printing.

The luminous novella and stories in The Age of Griefexplore the vicissitudes of love, friendship, and marriage with all the compassion and insight that have come to be expected from Jane Smiley, the Pulitzer Prize--winning author of A Thousand Acres. In "The Pleasure of Her Company," a lonely, single woman befriends the married couple next door, hoping to learn the secret of their happiness. In "Long Distance," a man finds himself relieved of the obligation to continue an affair that is no longer compelling to him, only to be waylaid by the guilt he feels at his easy escape. And in the incandescently wise and moving title novella, a dentist, aware that his wife has fallen in love with someone else, must comfort her when she is spurned, while maintaining the secret of his own complicated sorrow. Beautifully written, with a wry intelligence and a lively comic touch, The Age of Grief captures moments of great intimacy with grace, clarity, and indelible emotional power.

#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK "A WISE, SPIRITED NOVEL . . . IN WHICH] SMILEY PLUMBS THE WONDROUSLYSTRANGE WORLD OF HORSE RACING." --People "ONE OF THE PREMIER NOVELISTS OF HER GENERATION, possessed of a masteryof craft and an uncompromising vision that grow more powerful with eachbook . . . Racing's eclectic mix of classes and personalities providesSmiley with fertile soil . . . Expertly juggling storylines, sheinvestigates the sexual, social, psychological, and spiritual problemsof wealthy owners, working-class bettors, trainers on the edge offinancial ruin, and, in a typically bold move, horses." --The Washington Post "A NOVEL OF PASSION IN EVERY SENSE . . . SHE DOES] IT ALL WITH APLOMB .. . WITH A DEMON NARRATIVE INTELLIGENCE." --The Boston Sunday Globe "WITTY, ENERGETIC . . . It's deeply satisfying to read a work of fictionso informed about its subject and so alive to every nuance and detail .. . Smiley's] final chapters have a wonderful restorative quality."--The New York Times Book Review "RICHLY DETAILED, INGENIOUSLY CONSTRUCTED . . . YOU WILL REVEL IN JANESMILEY'S HORSE HEAVEN."--San Diego Union-Tribune Chosen by the Los Angeles Times as One of the Best Books of the Year

An American classic from the bestselling author of the Pulitzer-winning A Thousand Acres. Lidie Newton is an extraordinary female protagonist, a genuine Great American Character, like Huck Finn or Isabel Archer. Lidie and her abolitionist husband join the pioneering westward migration into America’s heartland in the middle of the last century. Together with their family and friends, they find themselves caught amidst two great American forces.Vicious arguments about freeing slaves, political shenanigans and peacocking encounters over claims to land are about to erupt into the bloodiest war the world has yet see-the American Civil War. Against this chaotic background,The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton soars across the vista of the birth of the modern United States of America.This classic American novel shows, through the eyes of one remarkable woman, how shattering, tragic and resilient the history of that land is.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley recaptures an almost forgotten part of the American story and once again demonstrates her extraordinary range and brilliance in The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton Set in the 1850s, The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton speaks to us in a splendidly quirky voice--the strong, wry, no-nonsense voice of Lidie Harkness of Quincy, Illinois, a young woman of courage, good sense, and good heart. It carries us into an America so violently torn apart by the question of slavery that it makes our current political battlegrounds seem a peaceable kingdom. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW "Rousing . . . Action-packed . . . A gripping story about love, fortitude, and convictions that are worth fighting for."--Los Angeles Times "Powerful . . . Smiley takes us back to Kansas in 1855, a place of rising passions and vast uncertainties. Narrated in the spirited, unsentimental voice of 20-year-old Lidie Newton, the novel is at once an ambitious examination of a turning point in history and the riveting story of one woman's journey into uncharted regions of place and self."--Chicago Tribune " A] grand tale of the moral and political upheavals igniting antebellum frontier life and a heroine so wonderfully fleshed and unforgettable you will think you are listening to her story instead of reading it. Smiley may have snared a Pulitzer for A Thousand Acres . . . but it is with Lydia (Lidie) Harkness Newton that she emphatically captures our hearts. . . . The key word in Smiley's title is Adventures, and Lydia's are crammed with breathless movement, danger, and tension; populated by terrifically entertaining characters and securely grounded in telling detail."--The Miami Herald "Smiley brilliantly evokes mid-nineteenth century life. . . . Richly imagined and superbly written, Jane Smiley's new novel is an extraordinary accomplishment in an already distinguished career."--Atlanta Journal-Constitution "A sprawling epic . . . A garrulous, nights-by-the-hearth narrative not unlike those classics of the period it emulates. In following a rebellious young woman of 1855 into Kansas Territory and beyond, the novel is so persuasively authentic that it reads like a forgotten document from the days of Twain and Stowe."--The Boston Sunday Globe

In this brilliant novel, Pulitzer Prize-winning and bestselling author Jane Smiley delves into the domestic drama of the Robison family. While seventy-seven-year-old Ike Robison is dying in his bedroom upstairs, his wife defends the citadel of their marriage against an ill-considered, albeit loving, invasion by their three middle-aged daughters and their twenty-three-year-old granddaughter. Amply fulfilling the expectations raised by Smiley's other celebrated works, At Paradise Gate is a compelling, gracefully wrought portrait of intergenerational strife and family survival.

Brilliantly funny satire set in a contemporary American university.

In his bedroom upstairs, 77-year-old Ike Robinson is dying. Down in the living room his wife, Anna, defends the citadel of their marriage against an ill-considered, albeit loving, invasion by their three middle-aged daughters and 23-year-old granddaughter. By the author of "A Thousand Acres".