A good solid read. ( )

not half as good as her other books ( )

Jane Smiley is one of my favorite authors. I have had this book in a drawer for 10 years and finally picked it up. Written in 2003, the story takes place in 1982 in a small town probably in North East Pennsylvania. The story is done with a first person narrator named Joe who is a 40 year old divorcee who is a real estate agent/broker. The book does a good job of describing his background and his simple approach to real estate. Smiley does a lot of real estate lingo so the book drags a little during these descriptions but you get the real feel for the deal making that occurred at that time. Ultimately, this resulted in the Saving and Loan debacle. This story shows how all of the characters in the town get caught up in the high charged energy of the out of town "deal maker". Smiley deals with many different issues in this story and does a great job of character development. She was able to get me to emotionally invest in Joe and actively dislike the slimy characters. A very solid book and not a bad introduction to first time Smiley readers. My favorite of hers is "Moo". She has a large inventory of books. If have never read her, then give her a try. She is one our best authors. ( )

This book offended me as a real estate agent and as a reader. Ms. Smiley is a far, far better writer than she shows herself to be in this book. ( )

I always approach a Jane Smiley novel hoping it will be another like A Thousand Acres. Similar with the well-crafted characters and property/home issues, it unfortunately falls short of Acres. Still a good beach read and good on audio. ( )