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Title details for Private Life by Jane Smiley - Available

Private Life

by Jane Smiley
Kate Reading
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
A riveting new novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winner that traverses the intimate landscape of one woman’s life, from the 1880s to World War II.
Margaret Mayfield is nearly an old maid at twenty-seven in post–Civil War Missouri when she marries Captain Andrew Jackson Jefferson Early. He’s the most famous man their small town has ever produced: a naval officer and a brilliant astronomer—a genius who, according to the local paper, has changed the universe. Margaret’s mother calls the match “a piece of luck.”
Margaret is a good girl who has been raised to marry, yet Andrew confounds her expectations from the moment their train leaves for his naval base in faraway California. Soon she comes to understand that his devotion to science leaves precious little room for anything, or anyone, else. When personal tragedies strike and when national crises envelop the country, Margaret stands by her husband. But as World War II approaches, Andrew’s obsessions take a different, darker turn, and Margaret is forced to reconsider the life she has so carefully constructed.

Private Life is a beautiful evocation of a woman’s inner world: of the little girl within the hopeful bride, of the young woman filled with yearning, and of the faithful wife who comes to harbor a dangerous secret. But it is also a heartbreaking portrait of marriage and the mysteries that endure even in lives lived side by side; a wondrously evocative historical panorama; and, above all, a masterly, unforgettable novel from one of our finest storytellers.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 4, 2010

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780307715340
      • File size: 394323 KB
      • Duration: 13:41:30

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      When Margaret narrowly escapes spinster status and weds Andrew, her mother reminds her she must obey her husband for only the first year of marriage. If only Margaret had heeded her mother's advice and not yielded to her self-centered husband for so long--her life might have inspired a livelier novel. Kate Reading does her best with this laborious story, which spans the turn of the twentieth century. At times, she herself seems worn down by the slow pace and voices Margaret in dull tones. Smiley, who is usually unparalleled, seems unable to light the spark that would drive this narrative. Rather than a riveting audiobook, PRIVATE LIFE is a mildly diverting listen. L.B.F. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      January 25, 2010
      The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of A Thousand Acres
      delivers a slow-moving historical antiromance in her bleak 13th novel. In the early 1880s, Margaret Mayfield is rescued from old maid status by Andrew Jackson Jefferson Early, an astronomer whose questionable discoveries have taken him from the scientific elite to a position as a glorified timekeeper at a remote California naval base. Margaret’s world is made ever smaller as the novel progresses, with no children to distract her and Andrew more excited by his telescope than his wife. Isolation and boredom being two dominant themes, the book is a slow burn, punctuated by detours into the larger world: the Wobblies, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, and both world wars. The old-fashioned language can be off-putting, though it does make the reader feel like a reluctant second wife to Andrew as his failed scientific theories are revealed in tedious detail and the gruesome monotony of marriage is portrayed in a repellant but fascinating fashion. Thus, when Margaret finally realizes her marriage is “relentless, and terrifying,” it feels wonderfully satisfying, but the proceeding 100 pages offer a trickle of disappointment and a slackening of suspense that saps hard-earned goodwill.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 28, 2010
      Raised in post–Civil War Missouri, Margaret Mayfield Early has witnessed vast changes in the U.S. and around the world in her 60 years, and her observations and recollections make for a captivating listen. Kate Reading is well cast; her rich voice and difficult to place accents are perfect for characters that grew up in the Midwest but have lived all over the country. The audio production is flawless, and the narration is suffused with mood, heavy introspection, and wistfulness. A Knopf hardcover (Reviews, Jan. 25).

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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