Good Faith

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 show more 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. show less

Maybe less ambitious than some of Smiley's other work ... on the other hand, the narrator is a single 40-year-old man, a real estate salesman who gets into sucked into a development scheme just as the 1980s savings and loan debacle grips on an exurban town in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, the countryside where New Yorkers weekend. We even get a few sex scenes from his POV.

I marvel at all the real estate research. And the descriptions of houses. If there's a page-turner centered around real estate, this is it. Of course, despite taking place in 1980, it's so timely.

I stayed clear of her books for a long time because I did not like "A Hundred Acres" Why did it win a Pulitzer? But...this was good. More to my interests - real estate, investing, and I liked the characters. I wonder if all her books have affairs and formerly rich people broke in the end.

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.

An interesting sort of novel; I wouldn't have thought that a book about a once-in-a-lifetime land development deal that the protagonist, a mid-level realtor, becomes involved in during the land-boom 1980's would have held my interest. But it did, although I was a bit surprised to read on the cover jacket that the author had won the Pulitzer for another of her books. This is a good read, but didn't make me want to go out and find her other works. I have heard of "A Thousand Acres", though, and may check that one out.

The real estate novel, and of course it is about greed and corruption. An odd man comes to town – Marcus Burns, and finds everyone willing to go along with his plans to get rich with little effort. Of course, there is quite a revelation late in the novel, which I won’t spoil here. It’s well written by Pulitzer winner Jane Smiley.

Curious ending, saw it coming which usually doesn't happen with her. Story of intrige in commercial real estate. Not one of her best.