Well versed in the worlds of golf course building and gold speculation. Smiley explains the details of land development in exquisite detail, rightĭown to the perking, which I thought was an old-timey way to make coffee,īut turns out has something to do with water in the soil. They acquire a Salt Keyįarm, a baronial estate and set out to turn the land into a luxury residentialĭevelopment, complete with wastewater treatment facility and clubhouse. Sets you up as a patsy to the utility companies, soon talks his way intoĪ development deal with Joe and Gordon Baldwin. Marcus, an unctuous charmer who believes paying your bills on time Trace of an authorly voice hanging over the pages, which leaves the readerĬomes packaged in a Brooks Brothers' suit wearing former IRS agent, Marcusīurns. Love scenes, although these were a bit graphic for my taste. Voice of a man as Joe comes off as completely believable, even in the In business with goofy son Bobby and carries on a steamy and explicitĪffair with married daughter Felicity. Joe does business with patriarch Gordon Baldwin, a local developer, is The boisterous Baldwin clan who have made them their 'elected son.' He seems less a part of their family than of Joe lives in the town he grew up in, not too far from hisĮlderly religious parents. Is pleasant and trustworthy, he views himself as a man on the outside

We get the idea early on from the first person narration that while Joe People like Joe and trust him to help find them a nice place to live. Joe Stratford, is a likable small time Realtor in a small time town. Good Faith is no different, with the plot unfoldingĪs a result of a specific and well-described time and place, a small New Her characters and plot always seem to derive themselves from the meticulously Of Lidie Newton), the world of horse racing ( Horse Heaven),Īnd a large land grant university ( Moo). Others haveīeen set in antebellum Kansas ( The All-True Travels and Adventures Her most famous work is perhaps A ThousandĪcres, the Pulitzer Prize winning retelling of King Lear. This, her 12th, tells the story of a NewĮngland man overtaken by greed. Jane Smiley's latest novel, Good Faith tells the tale of those whose tastes ran more to WallĪtwood and Ann Patchett who is not content to sit back and write the Shaper Hair Spray but in dollars and cents. To others, the excesses of the '80s played out not in cans of Sebastian The Talking Heads played on our local 'oldies' station. To hear my former favorites (yes, I'll admit it) Duran Duran and It'sĪ bit disconcerting to someone who graduated from high school in 1984

People over the age of 30 remember the '80s for its excesses, including,īut not limited to, really big hair and really synthesized music.

A thousand acres review