Books286 entries
Jane Smiley - Private Life
Released: 06/05/2010
Faber
Jane Smiley has had quite a career. She has bagged a Pulitzer Prize, has judged the Man Booker and is generally considered one of the finest living novelists. Private Life is likely to fortify this status. A stunning work, set between the 19th and 20th centuries, about the peril of blind dedication.
For more information visit: http://www.faber.co.uk/work/private-life/9780571258741/ Buy: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0571258743?ie=UTF8&tag=cultur00-21&linkCode=as2&ca…Page [1]
60%
The Independent“The langourous pace can frustrate...” A fine piece of writing but, like an unhappy betrothal, not much fun. Marital strife is simply the bitter flavour lacing a heady historical backdrop. In fact, there is a lot going on – just not at home...
.
90%
The New York Times“A fully-fleshed portrait of a conflicted woman...” “Private Life” reflects the pressures of the larger world on the most intimate aspects of personal existence. What Smiley finally delivers has a Jamesian twist of the unforeseen, but it’s achieved with a sureness of hand that’s all her own...
.
80 %
The Telegraph“Expansive and deeply moving...” Smiley vividly brings to life the everyday realities of a marriage – and the strain brought about by a series of personal tragedies, including the death of Margaret’s son, Alexander, at just 18 days old...
.
80 %
Guardian“A novel rich in symbolism...” Smiley treats marriage and family life with scope and depth. With beauty and tenderness, Smiley draws together the threads of her narrative and weaves them into a moving reflection on the forces, great and small, that coincide to shape a life...
.
70 %
Financial Times“A persuasive historical paean to the importance of divorce...” Feminist in the best sense, Private Life examines a certain variety of marriage: not terrible but also not warm, not equal and devoid of mutual respect. A union that contemporary women would flee in a heartbeat...
.
80 %
The Scotsman“Her author's hand, then, is as invisible as it should be...” Smiley is never hectoring or didactic: indeed, she weaves a truly spellbinding web as gently and as innocently as any unseen spirit might...
.
Page [1]
Review and recommend
-
Books
-
Cinema
-
Recorded music
-
Exhibitions
-
Theatre
Ads
