A life in books » Jane Smiley

Six Degrees of Separation is a meme hosted by Kate over at Books Are My Favourite and Best. It works like this: each month a book is chosen as a starting point and linked to six others to form a ...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2021/01/six-degrees-of-separation-from-hamnet-to-the-story-of-a-happy-marriage/

Here we go again and in my middle-aged way I can’t believe it’s that time already.  The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist is due to be announced next Tuesday. Only novels written ...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2016/02/my-wish-list-for-the-baileys-womens-prize-for-fiction-2016/

Not nearly so many paperbacks to look forward to for me in March as there were in February, and four of them I’ve already read and reviewed. Two of those popped up on my 2015 Books of the Year ...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2016/02/paperbacks-to-look-out-for-in-march-2016/

This second batch of 2015 goodies covers April and May, and is made up entirely of women writers. No plan there – just the way this particular cookie crumbled. I’ll begin with The Shore, Sara...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2015/12/books-of-the-year-2015-part-2/

Three Jane Smileys in a year seems a little greedy but once started on The Last Hundred Years Trilogy all thoughts of delayed gratification go out of the window. For those who haven’t yet come ...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2015/10/golden-age-or-is-it/

Bit of a lean month for those of us who tend towards the more literary end of fiction. The novel that stands out above all others for me is Golden Age, the final part of Jane Smiley’s The Last ...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2015/09/books-to-look-out-for-in-october-2015/

There are some particularly tasty paperback treats to look forward to this September. I’ll start with the ones I’ve reviewed, my favourite of which is Helen Oyeyemi’s fabulous tale of race ...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2015/08/paperbacks-to-look-out-for-in-september-2015/

Just before last year’s Man Booker prize winner announcement I wrote a rather disenchanted post about it so you might think that I’ve cast off my world weariness, given the title above. Not e...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2015/07/my-2015-man-booker-wish-list/

Early Warning is the second instalment of Jane Smiley’s The Last Hundred Years Trilogy which reflects the twists and turns in America’s fortunes from 1920 until an imagined 2020 through an Io...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2015/05/early-warning-moving-on/

Back from sunny Spain on Saturday to a UK where spring has most definitely sprung. More of that later in the week but here’s a taster of things to come next month to be going on with and there ...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2015/04/books-to-look-out-for-in-may-2015/

It’s that time of year again. The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction judges are putting the finishing touches to their longlist, due to be announced shortly. Only novels written by women in En...

https://alifeinbooks.co.uk/2015/03/my-wish-list-for-the-baileys-womens-prize-for-fiction-2015/