Reviews
"Smashing. . . . Fascinating. . . . Extremely subtle and nuanced. . . . [It has the] power to beguile and enthrall." -The New York Times Book Review "There seems to be nothing Smiley can't write about fabulously well; her insights startle, dazzle." -San Francisco Chronicle "An irresistible novel of bad manners, a meditation on love and money that Jane Austen might have enjoyed, if she could have handled the sex." -Time "Everything about Good Faith is in perfect move-in condition. . . . [It] displays all the remarkable attention to detail that's the hallmark of Smiley's work. . . . Smiley has invested her best talent in this work, and you can buy it in good faith." -The Christian Science Monitor "A vindication of the traditional American novel. . . . It depicts its disquiet by means of rich, seamless prose, scenic immediacy and tight plotting. It's a true winner." -St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Only a writer of consummate craftsmanship and scope could write a novel about a series of real estate deals in a small town and make it so fully satisfying as to be thrilling. Jane Smiley has done it. . . . [Her] range is broad, her technique masterful. . . . [Good Faith is] a cautionary prequel just right for our times. And great fun, to boot." -Los Angeles Times "Natural, convincing and moving." -Chicago Tribune "I admire this novel in so many ways I hardly know where to start. . . . The suspense Smiley generates is about on a par with a hundred Stephen King creatures coming out of the woods. . . . [Smiley] is one of our most Dickensian novelists, her imagination is prodigious, her observations exact, and the wealth of fascinating people inside her head a national treasure." -Donald E. Westlake, The Washington Post Book World "Striking. . . . Well written, amusing." -The Wall Street Journal "[A] lusty, testosterone-pumped tale, which both revisits Smiley's obsession with infidelity and underlines her remarkable ability to humanize an industry. . . . You're sucked in [by] this story's power." -Elle "A literary property that will only appreciate over time." -Daily News (New York) "Scathing, uproarious. . . . All of Smiley's characters have a sharp vigor that fuels the book's energy. . . . With its surprises and reversals, and its robust realism pushed step-by-step toward comic hyperbole, Good Faith affirms one's faith in the venerable virtues of the satirical novel." -The Seattle Times "Smiley is never less than brilliant, and this is a clever, classy and utterly enthralling look back in I-told-you-so amusement." -Daily Mail "Seductive. . . . Frisky. . . . Hilariously deadpan . . . a beguiling cautionary tale. . . . Like a sturdy, well-planned house, it makes room for everybody, and it ought to last a long, long time." -The Miami Herald "With an arsenal of talents that seem equipped for everything from high drama to uproarious satire, [Smiley's] charm and versatility are outdone only by her narrative confidence." -The Boston Globe "[Smiley] is so expert in the vernacular of real estate sales you feel like giving her a license by the end of the book. . . . [She] has imagined herself so deeply into [her protagonist] that we can almost feel the way the, "Smashing. . . . Fascinating. . . . Extremely subtle and nuanced. . . . [It has the] power to beguile and enthrall." -The New York Times Book Review "There seems to be nothing Smiley can't write about fabulously well; her insights startle, dazzle." -San Francisco Chronicle "An irresistible novel of bad manners, a meditation on love and money that Jane Austen might have enjoyed, if she could have handled the sex." -Time "Everything aboutGood Faithis in perfect move-in condition. . . . [It] displays all the remarkable attention to detail that's the hallmark of Smiley's work. . . . Smiley has invested her best talent in this work, and you can buy it in good faith." -The Christian Science Monitor "A vindication of the traditional American novel. . . . It depicts its disquiet by means of rich, seamless prose, scenic immediacy and tight plotting. It's a true winner." -St. Louis Post-Dispatch "Only a writer of consummate craftsmanship and scope could write a novel about a series of real estate deals in a small town and make it so fully satisfying as to be thrilling. Jane Smiley has done it. . . . [Her] range is broad, her technique masterful. . . . [Good Faithis] a cautionary prequel just right for our times. And great fun, to boot." -Los Angeles Times "Natural, convincing and moving." -Chicago Tribune "I admire this novel in so many ways I hardly know where to start. . . . The suspense Smiley generates is about on a par with a hundred Stephen King creatures coming out of the woods. . . . [Smiley] is one of our most Dickensian novelists, her imagination is prodigious, her observations exact, and the wealth of fascinating people inside her head a national treasure." -Donald E. Westlake,The Washington Post Book World "Striking. . . . Well written, amusing." -The Wall Street Journal "[A] lusty, testosterone-pumped tale, which both revisits Smiley's obsession with infidelity and underlines her remarkable ability to humanize an industry. . . . You're sucked in [by] this story's power." -Elle "A literary property that will only appreciate over time." -Daily News(New York) "Scathing, uproarious. . . . All of Smiley's characters have a sharp vigor that fuels the book's energy. . . . With its surprises and reversals, and its robust realism pushed step-by-step toward comic hyperbole,Good Faithaffirms one's faith in the venerable virtues of the satirical novel." -The Seattle Times "Smiley is never less than brilliant, and this is a clever, classy and utterly enthralling look back in I-told-you-so amusement." -Daily Mail "Seductive. . . . Frisky. . . . Hilariously deadpan . . . a beguiling cautionary tale. . . . Like a sturdy, well-planned house, it makes room for everybody, and it ought to last a long, long time." -The Miami Herald "With an arsenal of talents that seem equipped for everything from high drama to uproarious satire, [Smiley's] charm and versatility are outdone only by her narrative confidence." -The Boston Globe "[Smiley] is so expert in the vernacular of real estate sales you feel like giving her a license by the end of the book. . . . [She] has imagined herself so deeply into [her protagonist] that we can almost feel the way the guy wig
