New Releases by Jane Smiley

From the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize–winning writer, a soaring, soulful novel about a folk musician who rises to fame across our changing times • “A robust, atmospheric coming-of-age story.” —People Before Jodie Rattler became a star, she was a girl growing up in St. Louis. One day in 1955, when she was just six years old, her uncle Drew took her to the racetrack, where she got lucky—and that roll of two-dollar bills she won has never since left her side. Jodie thrived in the warmth of her extended family, and then—through a combination of hard work and serendipity—she started a singing career, which catapulted her from St. Louis to New York City, from the English countryside to the tropical beaches of St. Thomas, from Cleveland to Los Angeles, and back again. Jodie comes of age in recording studios, backstage, and on tour, and she tries to hold her own in the wake of Janis Joplin, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, and Joni Mitchell. Yet it feels like something is missing. Could it be true love? Or is that not actually what Jodie is looking for? Full of atmosphere, shot through with longing and exuberance, romance and rock ''n'' roll, Lucky is a story of chance and grit and the glitter of real talent, a colorful portrait of one woman''s journey in search of herself.

1851, Monterey, Californie. L’Ouest, le vrai. Prématurément veuve – délivrée d’un mari qu’elle a suivi sans passion depuis son Michigan natal –, la jeune Eliza devient prostituée dans une maison bien tenue, sous l’égide d’une patronne soucieuse du bien-être de ses « filles », la très sage Mrs Parks. C’est le temps de l’indépendance, des amitiés confraternelles, de la découverte de soi et de la littérature. Mais voilà qu''une série de meurtres viennent faucher de jeunes consoeurs. Face à l’indifférence des autorités, et inspirée par les aventures du détective Dupin, d’Edgar Allan Poe, Eliza décide de mener l’enquête. La grande Jane Smiley revient célébrer avec malice l’élan de rébellion féminin et signe un western souriant, une enquête à la Agatha Christie au temps de la ruée vers l’or.

Collected together for the very first time, witty and wide-ranging essays from the celebrated author of Little Women. Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) is, of course, best known as the author of Little Women (1868). But she was also a noted essayist who wrote on a wide range of subjects, including her father’s failed utopian commune, the benefits of an unmarried life, and her experience as a young woman sent to work in service to alleviate her family’s poverty. Her first literary success was a contemporary close-up account of the American Civil War, brilliantly depicted in Hospital Sketches, which was drawn from her own experience of serving as an army nurse near the nation’s capital. As with her famous novel, Alcott writes these essays with clear observation, unforgettable scenes, and one of the sharpest wits in American literature. Blending gentle satire with reportage and emotive autobiography, Alcott’s exquisite essays are as exceptional as the novels she is known for. Published together for the first time, this delightful selection shows us another side to one of our most celebrated writers.

“Clear, vibrant” essays on reading and writing by the Pulitzer Prize–winning, New York Times–bestselling author: “A reader feels smarter just taking it in” (The Boston Globe). From the author of A Dangerous Business, A Thousand Acres, and Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel, this volume “gathers essays (and two stories) composed with wit, enthusiasm, expertise, and candor” (Booklist). Long acclaimed as a preeminent American novelist, Jane Smiley is also an unparalleled observer of the craft of writing. In this book, she offers penetrating essays on some of the aesthetic and cultural issues that mark any serious engagement with reading and writing. After a personal introduction tracing Smiley’s migration from Iowa to California, she reflects on her findings in the literature of the Golden State, whose writers have for decades litigated the West’s contested legacies of racism, class conflict, and sexual politics through their work. With meticulous attention, she also dives beneath surface-level interpretations of authors like Marguerite de Navarre, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, Franz Kafka, Halldór Laxness, and Jessica Mitford. Throughout, Smiley seeks to think harder, and with more clarity and nuance, about the questions that matter most. “Valuable . . . Smiley gives educators, readers, and writers much to discuss.” —Library Journal (starred review) “Her literary criticism . . . brims with the same keen observations, inquisitiveness, and humor as her novels. . . . Fleet-footed and smart, this delights.” —Publishers Weekly

"Monterey, 1851. Ever since her husband was killed in a bar fight, Eliza Ripple has been working in a brothel. It seems like a better life, at least at first. The madam, Mrs. Parks, is kind, the men are (relatively) well behaved, and Eliza has attained what few women have: financial security. But when the dead bodies of young women start appearing outside of town, a darkness descends that she can''t resist confronting. Side by side with her friend Jean, and inspired by her reading, especially by Edgar Allan Poe''s detective Dupin, Eliza pieces together an array of clues to try to catch the killer, all the while juggling clients who begin to seem more and more suspicious. Eliza and Jean are determined not just to survive, but to find their way in a lawless town on the fringes of the Wild West - a bewitching combination of beauty and danger - as what will become the Civil War looms on the horizon. As Mrs. Parks says, ''Everyone knows that this is a dangerous business, but between you and me, being a woman is a dangerous business, and don''t let anyone tell you otherwise . . ."--Publisher.

Traducere și note de Irina Bojin Autoare laureată a Premiului Pulitzer Bestseller național 2021 în Statele Unite • Roman finalist la American Library in Paris Book Award 2021 „Indiferent dacă veți aborda acest roman ca pe o fabulă sau o alegorie, ca pe o carte de aventuri sau ca pe un studiu despre bunătate, ba chiar și ca pe o imagine magică a Parisului, veți descoperi o scriitură și o artă de a povesti de mâna întâi. Mulți critici au descris Perestroika la Paris ca pe un antidot la timpurile neliniștite pe care le trăim. Au dreptate. Citind acest roman, cei mai mulți nu se vor putea sustrage unei înalte stări de bine de la prima pagină până la sfârșitul inevitabil.“ — New York Journal of Books Perestroika, sau Paras, pentru cei care ajung să o cunoască mai bine, este numele pe care i l-au dat oamenii, căci oamenii, după cum ea însăși o spune, nu se prea pricep să recunoască un cal, în tot cazul nu așa cum se recunosc caii între ei. Nici chiar atunci când vine vorba despre un cal de curse ca ea, premiat și îndrăgit. Inocentă, ar putea-o descrie noii ei prieteni din Paris – Frida, bracul german care o învață regulile traiului pe străzile Orașului Luminilor, Raoul, corbul mândru și sfătos, cu un pedigree cel puțin la fel de lustruit ca al lui Paras, sau cuplul gălăgios de rațe Sid și Nancy –, plină de nerv și isteață, ar eticheta-o antrenorii. Poate că toate acestea laolaltă au făcut-o să părăsească hipodromul și să pornească într-o aventură prin Paris, o aventură care celebrează curiozitatea, ingenuitatea și dorința oricărei făpturi de a trăi în libertate și în armonie cu lumea.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling author: a captivating, brilliantly imaginative story of three extraordinary animals—and a young boy—whose lives intersect in Paris in this "feel-good escape” (The New York Times). Paras, short for "Perestroika," is a spirited racehorse at a racetrack west of Paris. One afternoon at dusk, she finds the door of her stall open and—she''s a curious filly—wanders all the way to the City of Light. She''s dazzled and often mystified by the sights, sounds, and smells around her, but she isn''t afraid. Soon she meets an elegant dog, a German shorthaired pointer named Frida, who knows how to get by without attracting the attention of suspicious Parisians. Paras and Frida coexist for a time in the city''s lush green spaces, nourished by Frida''s strategic trips to the vegetable market. They keep company with two irrepressible ducks and an opinionated raven. But then Paras meets a human boy, Etienne, and discovers a new, otherworldly part of Paris: the ivy-walled house where the boy and his nearly-one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother live in seclusion. As the cold weather nears, the unlikeliest of friendships bloom. But how long can a runaway horse stay undiscovered in Paris? How long can a boy keep her hidden and all to himself? Jane Smiley''s beguiling new novel is itself an adventure that celebrates curiosity, ingenuity, and the desire of all creatures for true love and freedom.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley, The Strays of Paris is a captivating story of three extraordinary animals – and one little boy – whose lives cross paths in Paris. Paras is a spirited young racehorse living in a stable in the French countryside. That is until one afternoon, when she pushes open the gate of her stall and, travelling through the night, arrives quite by chance in the dazzling streets of Paris. She soon meets a German shorthaired pointer named Frida, two irrepressible ducks and an opinionated crow, and life amongst the animals in the city’s lush green spaces is enjoyable for a time. But everything changes when Paras meets a human boy, Étienne, and discovers a new, otherworldly part of Paris: the secluded, ivy-walled house where the boy and his nearly-one-hundred-year-old great grandmother live quietly and unto themselves. As the cold weather of Christmas nears, the unlikeliest of friendships bloom among humans and animals alike. But how long can a runaway horse live undiscovered in Paris? And how long can one boy keep her all to himself? Charming and beguiling in equal measure, Jane Smiley’s novel celebrates the intrinsic need for friendship, love, and freedom, whomever you may be . . .

Ellen is a spirited - and occasionally misbehaving - young horseback-riding student. Ellen is only allowed to go to riding lessons when she behaves at school and at home. Ellen has a knack for speaking out of turn in class, and with a new sibling on the way, she can''t resist taking advantage of her parents'' distraction...

A young rider encounters well-known horses and new friends in the final installment of the Ellen & Ned trilogy by Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley. Ellen''s family has moved to a new town...but some things, like her love for horses, remain the same. Ellen is now the proud owner of her own horse, Tater. She''s learning new skills and challenging herself as a rider...but she still can''t stop thinking about Ned, the feisty former racehorse she sees on the ranch during her lessons. In the meantime, Ellen''s making new friends and encountering old ones. Most exciting of all is Da, a boy from a riding family who is possessed of a spirit of mischief and daring and knows his own mind. Ellen still has a lot to learn...about horses, friendship, and herself. And will she ever be able to get Ned off her mind?

A young rider gets to know a new pony, adjusts to a new sibling, and learns a lot about secrets in this charming follow-up to Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley''s Riding Lessons. Ellen can''t stop thinking about the racehorse Ned--and the secret she shares with him. There seem to be a lot of secrets in Ellen''s life these days. Secrets between friends. Secrets within families. Secrets that are all her own. And secrets her parents are keeping from her that could change everything about her life. One thing that''s not a secret is how much Ellen wants to jump--to feel herself on a horse as it soars through the air, smooth and fast. The horse she''s riding these days is Hot Potato--a pony she can trust, a pony she can practice jumping with. But he can''t possibly be as interesting as Ned, can he? And will her parents'' secret take her away from the stable forever?

Cuando Dave escucha a su esposa Dana musitar "Nunca ms̀ volver ̌a ser feliz", quiz ̀sin haberse dado cuenta siquiera de que lo deca̕ en voz alta, siente que ambos estǹ a punto de perder todo aquello que una vez desearon: sus aǫs de apacible matrimonio, tres hijas, la prs̤pera cln̕ica dental que comparten. Ahora Dave est ̀convencido de que Dana se ha enamorado de otro hombre y, de manera inesperada, decide que la mejor manera de salvar su relacin̤ es evitar que su esposa descubra que ľ lo sabe.

When Ellen meets Ned, a beautiful colt who hurt his leg on his way to becoming a racehorse, she becomes determined to behave at school and at home so she can have more time at the ranch.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres comes the much-anticipated final volume in the acclaimed The Last Hundred Years Trilogy, following Some Luck and Early Warning. A richly absorbing new novel that is “a monumental portrait of an American family and an American century…. Smiley’s plot is a marvel of intricacy that’s full of surprises.” —Los Angeles Times It’s 1987, and the next generation of Langdons is facing economic, social, and political challenges unlike anything their ancestors have encountered. Michael and Richie, twin sons of World War II hero Frank, work in the high-stakes worlds of government and finance—but their fiercest enemies may be closer to home. Charlie, the charmer, struggles to find his way; Guthrie is deployed to Iraq, leaving the Iowa family farm in the hands of his younger sister, Felicity—who, as always, has her own ideas. Determined to help preserve the planet, she worries that her family farm’s land is imperiled, and not only by the extremes of climate change. Moving seamlessly from the power-brokered 1980s and the scandal-ridden ‘90s to our own present moment and beyond, Golden Age combines intimate drama, emotional suspense, and an intricate view of history, bringing to a magnificent conclusion the epic trilogy of one unforgettable family.

As her mom reads a bedtime story, Lucy drifts off. But later, she awakens in a dark, still room, and everything looks mysterious. How will she ever get back to sleep?

Family patriarch Walter Langdon has died, and his children have fanned out across the country. The narrative moves year by year from 1953 to 1986, encompassing Cold War blinkeredness, Sixties rebellion, and escalating wealth into the Eighties.

More than 20 well-known writers and celebrities share the travel experiences that shaped their personalities and changed their lives. Contributors include Dave Eggers, Richard Ford, Pico Iyer, John Berendt, Alexander McCall Smith and Jane Smiley. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world’s number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveler since 1973. Over the past four decades, we’ve printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travelers. You’ll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, nine international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, ebooks, and more. Important Notice: The digital edition of this book may not contain all of the images found in the physical edition.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres comes the first volume of an epic trilogy that takes us on a literary adventure through cycles of birth and death, passion and betrayal that will span a century in America. “Intimate.... Miraculous.... Staggering.... A masterpiece in the making.” —USA Today 1920, Denby, Iowa: Rosanna and Walter Langdon have just welcomed their firstborn son, Frank, into their family farm. He will be the oldest of five. Each chapter in this extraordinary novel covers a single year, encompassing the sweep of history as the Langdons abide by time-honored values and pass them on to their children. With the country on the cusp of enormous social and economic change through the early 1950s, we watch as the personal and the historical merge seamlessly: one moment electricity is just beginning to power the farm, and the next a son is volunteering to fight the Nazis. Later still, a girl we’d seen growing up now has a little girl of her own.

From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley comes the first instalment in a landmark trilogy spanning the last hundred years. "Intimate . . . Miraculous . . . Staggering . . . A masterpiece in the making." USA Today Life can change in an instant, and as those changes amass over the course of one hundred years, something extraordinary happens - history is made. In this masterful novel, Jane Smiley explores the triumphs and tragedies of one family, while casting a panoramic eye on the first half of the twentieth century, a time of monumental change. Some Luck opens on the humble, heavily indebted Langdon family farm in 1920. We meet Rosanna and Walter, their curious, brilliant newborn Frank. Soon the family grows to five children, all wildly different yet remarkable, with such potential to mark history in their own ways. Yet as time passes, as it must, some thrive as others fall victim to flaws and fate. Who will persevere? Who will simply, sadly, be forgotten? With shared joys and hushed secrets, through times of economic and political volatility, Some Luck examines the nature of family, character, and how we are all changed by circumstances unforeseen. National Book Award Nominee 2014 A Best Book of the Year 2014: The Washington Post, NPR, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Financial Times, The Seattle Times, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, BookPage

Gee Whiz is a striking horse, and only part of that is because of his size. He is tall, but also graceful, yet his strides big but precise. At the same time, he keeps his eye on things, not as if he''s suspicious, but as if he''s curious. When Abby is confronted with an onslaught of reminders of just how little of the world she has seen, she finds herself connecting with Gee Whiz''s calm and curious nature, and his desire to know more. Her brother receives a draft notice to Vietnam, her friends return for the holidays with stories from their boarding school in Southern California, and the wise, lovable Brother Abner opens her eyes with tales of his many years spent traveling. At the same time, her beloved Jack and True Blue are both faced with opportunites to broaden their horizons away from the ranch. Will she let them go, with hopes that she might one day do the same?

Abby Lovitt doesn''t realize how unprepared she is when she takes her beloved horse, True Blue, to a clinic led by the most famous equestrian anyone knows. The biggest surprise, though, is that Sophia, the girl who never makes a mistake, suddenly makes so many that she stops riding. Who will ride her horse? Abby''s dad seems to think it will be Abby. Pie in the Sky is the most expensive horse Abby has ever ridden. But he is proud and irritable, and he takes Abby''s attention away from the continuing mystery that is True Blue. And then there''s high school—Abby finds new friends, but also new challenges, and a larger world that sometimes seems strange and intimidating. She begins to wonder if there is another way to look at horses, people, and life itself. Accompanied by the beautiful imagery of 1960s Northern California, Abby''s charming mix of innocence and wisdom guide us through Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley''s latest middle-grade horse novel.

When Abby Lovitt gets to work at her family''s ranch, she can hardly believe her luck. True Blue is a beauty, a dapple grey, and he needs a new home - his owner was tragically killed in a car crash, and no one has claimed him. Her father is wary, as always. But Abby is smitten. True Blue is a sweetheart, and whenever Abby calls out, "Blue, Blue, how are you?" he whinnies back. But sometimes True Blue seems, well . . . spooked. He paces, and always seems to be looking for something. Or someone. Abby starts to wonder about True Blue''s owner. What was she like? What did she look like? And what are the strange whispers Abby sometimes hears when she''s with him?

True Blue is a beauty, a dappled gray, and when Abby gets to take him to her family''s ranch, she can hardly believe her luck. The horse needs a home: his owner—a woman brand new to the riding stable--was tragically killed in a car crash and no one has claimed him. Daddy is wary, as always. But Abby is smitten. True Blue is a sweetheart, and whenever Abby calls out, "Blue, Blue, how are you?" he whinnies back. But sometimes True Blue seems...spooked. He paces, and always seems to be looking for something. Or someone. Abby starts to wonder about True Blue''s owner. What was she like? What did she look like? One moonlit night, Abby could swear she hears a whisper in her ear: "He''s still my horse." Filled with riding scenes and horse details, this newest middle-grade novel from a Pulitzer Prize-winner offers a mysterious and suspenseful almost-ghost story.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres—and "a diverse and masterly writer” (The New York Times Book Review)—comes an enthralling epic tale, written in the tradition of the old Norse sagas, that takes us to fourteenth-century Greenland and tells the story of a proud landowner and his unforgettable family. Jane Smiley brings us to a farflung place of glittering fjords, blasting winds, sun-warmed meadows, and high, dark mountains. This is the story of one family: proud landowner Asgeir Gunnarsson; his daughter Margret, whose willful independence leads her into passionate adultery and exile; and his son Gunnar, whose quest for knowledge is at the compelling center of this unforgettable book. Jane Smiley immerses us in this world of farmers, priests, and lawspeakers, of hunts and feasts and long-standing feuds, and by an act of literary magic, makes a remote time, place, and people not only real but dear to us.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres comes a brilliant literary thriller set in Manhattan that’s “as taut and chilling as anything Hitchcock put on film" (San Francisco Chronicle). “A first-rate cliffhanger.” —The New York Times Book Review Alice Ellis is a Midwestern refugee living in Manhattan. Still recovering from a painful divorce, she depends on the companionship and camaraderie of tightly knit circle of friends. At the center of this circle is a rock band struggling to navigate New York’s erratic music scene, and an apartment/practice space with approximately fifty key-holders. One sunny day, Alice enters the apartment and finds two of the band members shot dead. As the double-murder sends waves of shock through their lives, this group of friends begins to unravel, and dangerous secrets are revealed one by one. When Alice begins to notice things amiss in her own apartment, the tension breaks out as it occurs to her that she is not the only person with a key, and she may not get a chance to change the locks. Jane Smiley applies her distinctive rendering of time, place, and the enigmatic intricacies of personal relationships to the twists and turns of suspense. The result is a thriller that will keep readers guessing up to its final, shocking conclusion.

When eighth grader Abby Lovitt looks out at those pure-gold rolling hills, she knows there’s no place she’d rather be than her family’s ranch—even with all the hard work of tending to nine horses. But some chores are no work at all, like grooming young Jack. At eight months, his rough foal coat has shed out, leaving a smooth, rich silk, like chocolate. As for Black George, such a good horse, it turns out he’s a natural jumper. When he and Abby clear four feet easy as pie, heads start to turn at the ring—buyers’ heads—and Abby knows Daddy won’t turn down a good offer. Then a letter arrives from a private investigator, and suddenly Abby stands to lose not one horse but two. The letter states that Jack’s mare may have been sold to the Lovitts as stolen goods. A mystery unfolds, more surprising than Abby could ever expect. Will she lose her beloved Jack to his rightful owners? Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley raises horses of her own, and her affection and expertise shine through in this inviting horse novel for young readers, set in 1960s California horse country and featuring characters from The Georges and the Jewels.

From one of our most acclaimed novelists, a David-and-Goliath biography for the digital age. One night in the late 1930s, in a bar on the Illinois–Iowa border, John Vincent Atanasoff, a professor of physics at Iowa State University, after a frustrating day performing tedious mathematical calculations in his lab, hit on the idea that the binary number system and electronic switches, comu00adbined with an array of capacitors on a moving drum to serve as memory, could yield a computing machine that would make his life and the lives of other similarly burdened scientists easier. Then he went back and built the machine. It worked. The whole world changed. Why don’t we know the name of John Atanasoff as well as we know those of Alan Turing and John von Neumann? Because he never patented the device, and because the developers of the far-better-known ENIAC almost certainly stole critical ideas from him. But in 1973 a court declared that the patent on that Sperry Rand device was invalid, opening the intellectual property gates to the computer revolution. Jane Smiley tells the quintessentially American story of the child of immigrants John Atanasoff with technical clarity and narrative drive, making the race to develop digital computing as gripping as a real-life techno-thriller.