Audiobooks by Jane Smiley

The Questions That Matter Most: Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of Freedom

"Long acclaimed as one of America’s preeminent novelists, Jane Smiley is also an unparalleled observer of the craft of writing. In The Questions That Matter Mostthis Pulitzer Prize–winning writer offers steady and penetrating essays on some of the aesthetic and cultural issues that mark any serious engagement with reading and writing. Beginning with a personal introduction tracing Smiley’s migration from Iowa to California, the author reflects on her findings in the varied 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 pens. As she considers the ambiguity of character and the weight of history, her essays provide new entry points into literature, and we lucky readers can see how Smiley draws inspiration from across the literary spectrum to invigorate her own writing. With enthusiasm and meticulous attention, Smiley dives beneath surface-level interpretations to examine the works of 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, in her words, with “more clarity and nuance” about the questions that matter most."

Jane Smiley (Author), Jane Smiley (Narrator)

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[Spanish] - La mejor voluntad

"Bob Miller ha creado el paraíso con el que siempre soñó: una granja en lo alto de un valle, a cinco kilómetros del pueblo más cercano, donde él y su esposa Liz viven y crían a su hijo de siete años, Tommy, cultivando su propia comida, hilando y tejiendo su ropa, fabricando sus propios muebles. Él mismo construyó la casa en la que habitan, sin teléfono ni televisor, sin automóvil, sin más conexión cotidiana con el mundo exterior que los viajes diarios de Tommy a la escuela. Allí viven, piensa Bob, y allí vivirán siempre. Bob y Liz se enorgullecen del estilo de vida autosuficiente que han escogido, pero si de algo se siente verdaderamente orgulloso Bob es de Tommy, ese chico entusiasta, receptivo, obediente y dispuesto a dejarse guiar por su padre. Por eso nunca habría imaginado que un día su hijo fuera capaz de agarrar dos muñecas de una compañera de clase y destrozarlas. Sin embargo, ese día llega y a Bob le recorre un escalofrío. Algo va mal, realmente mal, y él no lo ha visto venir. En La mejor voluntad, un súbito arrebato de violencia es el detonante que removerá los cimientos del aparente edén familiar de los Miller. En una narración que avanza con paso inexorable hasta un final impactante, Jane Smiley, con su distintivo talento para retratar las relaciones familiares, se sumerge en los miedos y las esperanzas que depositamos en nuestros hijos, y una vez más subraya los modos en que, sin darnos cuenta, boicoteamos nuestros propios sueños, incluso cuando actuamos con la mejor de las intenciones. «En La mejor voluntad, Jane Smiley aborda un tema clásico de la literatura, adaptándolo a sus propios intereses, y logra lo que solo los grandes autores consiguen: que sus intereses se vuelvan los nuestros. Esta es la historia de un hombre y su utopía, que, como todas las utopías, alimenta sus propios demonios». Los Angeles Times «Las historias de Jane Smiley exploran con enorme lucidez los laberintos de la vida conyugal y familiar contemporánea. La complejidad emocional y moral que confiere a sus personajes en La mejor voluntad la confirman como una autora de un talento único». The Washington Post"

Jane Smiley (Author), Jordi Navarro (Narrator)

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[Spanish] - Un amor cualquiera

"Hace ahora justo veinte años, los Kinsella eran, en apariencia, una familia idílica y feliz. De un día para otro, el marido de Rachel vendió sin avisarle la casa en la que vivían y se llevó a los cinco niños al extranjero. Ella tardó un año en volver a verlos, y su pánico era tan intenso que se tambaleaba por la acera a medida que se acercaba a su encuentro. Hace ahora justo veinte años de la ruptura, este preciso fin de semana en que tres de los hijos de Rachel –Ellen y los gemelos Joe y Michael–, ya adultos, cada uno de ellos sumido en su particular crisis personal, se han reunido en la casa materna. Desde aquella separación traumática, a los Kinsella no se les dan bien las despedidas, aunque tampoco las reuniones, en las que los ecos del pasado los desbordan. Inevitablemente, con esos recuerdos tan vivos para Rachel, no es de extrañar que una conversación casual, en el porche, después de cenar, derive en una confesión sobre los acontecimientos que propiciaron aquella ruptura; lo que sin duda ella no espera es que sus hijos tengan también algo que contarle… En 'Un amor cualquiera', Jane Smiley retoma el universo de las relaciones familiares, centrándose esta vez en el miedo que sentimos a herir de forma irreparable, con nuestras decisiones más íntimas, a aquellos a quienes más amamos. En una narración que se despliega como una espiral de revelaciones emocionales que Rachel va desgranando a lo largo de un fin de semana, Smiley nos muestra las formas en que se desarrollan los amores comunes y corrientes, aquellos que vivimos todos los días, y con exactitud, paciencia y ternura desmonta el mito de la familia perfecta."

Jane Smiley (Author), Charo Soria (Narrator)

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The Strays of Paris

"'Sunshine in book form' – Daily Mail 'A joyfully escapist celebration of friendship and freedom' – Mail on Sunday 'Delightful, heartwarming . . . An especially welcome reminder of the bright spots even in dark times' – NPR 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 keep to themselves. As the cold weather of Christmas nears, the unlikeliest of friendships blooms between human and animals. 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, whoever you may be . . . From Jane Smiley, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres, The Strays of Paris is a captivating story of a group of extraordinary animals – and one little boy – whose lives cross paths in Paris."

Jane Smiley (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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[Spanish] - La edad del desconsuelo

"'Nunca más volveré a ser feliz', musita Dana en el asiento trasero del coche familiar, sin reparar en que piensa en voz alta. Al oírlo, Dave, su marido, siente que ambos están a punto de perder todo aquello que una vez desearon: sus años de apacible matrimonio, tres hijas, la próspera clínica dental que comparten. Ahora Dave está convencido de que Dana se ha enamorado de otro hombre y, de manera inesperada, decide que la mejor manera de salvar su relación es evitar que su esposa descubra que él lo sabe. En 'La edad del desconsuelo', Jane Smiley narra con asombrosa autenticidad los ritmos de lo cotidiano y cómo de pronto se ven sacudidos por una emoción inesperada, dando lugar a situaciones tragicómicas y a una demoledora meditación sobre la vida en pareja, la pérdida y la infelicidad."

Jane Smiley (Author), Arturo López (Narrator)

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March Sisters: On Life, Death, and Little Women

"For the 150th anniversary of the publication of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Kate Bolick, Jenny Zhang, Carmen Maria Machado, and Jane Smiley explore their strong lifelong personal engagement with Alcott's novel—what it has meant to them and why it still matters. Each takes as her subject one of the four March sisters, reflecting on their stories and what they have to teach us about life. Kate Bolick finds parallels in oldest sister Meg's brush with glamour at the Moffats' ball and her own complicated relationship with clothes. Jenny Zhang confesses to liking Jo least among the sisters when she first read the novel as a girl, uncomfortable in finding so much of herself in a character she feared was too unfeminine. Carmen Maria Machado writes about the real-life tragedy of Lizzie Alcott, the inspiration for third sister Beth, and the horror story that can result from not being the author of your own life's narrative. And Jane Smiley rehabilitates the reputation of youngest sister Amy, whom she sees as a modern feminist role model for those of us who are, well, not like the fiery Jo. These four voices come together to form a deep, funny, far-ranging meditation on the power of great literature to shape our lives."

Carmen Maria Machado, Jane Smiley, Jenny Zhang, Kate Bolick (Author), Cassandra Campbell (Narrator)

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Golden Age

"Golden Age is the third novel in the dazzling Last Hundred Years Trilogy from Jane Smiley, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. 1987. A visit from a long-lost relative brings the Langdons together again on the family farm; a place almost unrecognizable from the remote Iowan farmland Walter and Rosanna once owned. Whilst a few have stayed, most have spread wide across the US, but all are facing social, economic and political challenges unlike anything their ancestors encountered. Richie Langdon, finally out from under his twin brother's shadow, finds himself running for congress almost unintentionally, and completely underprepared for the world-changing decisions he will have to make. Charlie, the charmer, recently found, struggles to find his way. Jesse's son, Guthrie, set to take over the family farm, is deployed to Iraq, leaving it in the hands of his younger sister, Felicity, who must defend the land from more than just the extremes of climate change. Moving through the 1990s, to our own moment and beyond, this last instalment sees the final repercussions of time on the Langdon family. After a hundred years of personal change and US history, filled with words unsaid and moments lost, Golden Age brings to a magnificent conclusion the century-long portrait of one unforgettable family."

Jane Smiley (Author), Lorelei King (Narrator)

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Early Warning

"The second novel in the dazzling Last Hundred Years trilogy, Early Warning follows the Langdon family from the 50s, through to the 1980s, in this stunning family saga from the winner of the Pulitzer Prize 1953. When a funeral brings the Langdon family together once more, they little realize how much, over the coming years, each of their worlds will shift and change. For now Walter and Rosanna's sons and daughters are grown up and have children of their own. Frank, the eldest - restless, unhappy - ignores his troubled wife and instead finds himself distracted by a face from the past. Lillian must watch as her brilliant, eccentric husband Arthur is destroyed by the guilt arising from his secretive government work. Claire, too, finds that marriage is not quite what she expected it to be. In Iowa where the Langdons began, Joe sees that some aspects of life on the farm never change, while others are unrecognizable. And though a few members of the family remain mired in the past, others will attempt to move beyond the lives they have always known; and some will push forward as never before. The dark shadow of the Vietnam War hangs over every one . . . In sickness and health, through their best and darkest times, the Langdon family will live and love and suffer against the broad, merciless sweep of American history. Moving from the 1950s to the 1980s, Early Warning by Jane Smiley is epic storytelling at its most wise and compelling from a writer at the height of her powers."

Jane Smiley (Author), Lorelei King (Narrator)

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Some Luck

"Some Luck is the first novel in the dazzling Last Hundred Years trilogy from the winner of the Pulitzer Prize Jane Smiley; a literary adventure that will spans a century in America. 1920. After his return from the battlefields in France, Walter Langdon and his wife Rosanna begin their life together on a remote farm in Iowa. As time passes, their little family will grow: from Frank, the handsome, wilful first-born, to Joe, whose love of animals and the land sustains him; from Lillian, beloved by her mother, to Henry who craves only the world of his books; and Claire, the surprise baby, who earns a special place in her father's heart. As Walter and Rosanna struggle to keep their family through good years and hard years - to years more desperate than they ever could have imagined, the world around their little farm will turn, and life for their children will be unrecognizable from what came before. Some will fall in love, some will have families of their own, some will go to war and some will not survive. All will mark history in their own way. Tender, compelling and moving from the 1920s to the 1950s, told in multiple voices as rich as the Iowan soil, Some Luck is an astonishing feat of storytelling by a prize-winning author writing at the height of her powers."

Jane Smiley (Author), Lorelei King (Narrator)

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The Man Who Invented the Computer: The Biography of John Atanasoff, Digital Pioneer

"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, combined 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."

Jane Smiley (Author), Kathe Mazur (Narrator)

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At Paradise Gate

"Infused with sharp insight, honesty, and emotion, At Paradise Gate is a treat for both the heart and the intellect. In this poignant story, best-selling author Jane Smiley pens a graceful portrait of an ordinary midwestern family confronting the mysteries of death and regeneration. While her 77-year-old husband lies upstairs, dying, Anna Robison spends her depleting energy defending their home. Their three middle-aged daughters and 23-year-old granddaughter have invaded, radiating vigor and good intentions. But the younger women temper their help with squabbling, ill-considered advice, and an abundant supply of their own problems. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley brilliantly captures the simple pleasures and troubles common to everyday life. With her dramatic performance, narrator Suzanne Toren highlights the satisfying family ties and the underlying domestic tensions. You won't want to miss another spell-binding title by Jane Smiley: A Thousand Acres."

Jane Smiley (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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Barn Blind

"Best-selling author and Pulitzer-Prize winner Jane Smiley crafts compelling novels filled with quiet strength and emotion. In Barn Blind she portrays a middle-aged woman so galvanized with success that she drives a wedge between herself and those who love her most. Kate Karlson's only focus in life is her Midwestern horse farm. Ignoring her husband, she spends long days giving riding lessons and training horses. To showcase her teaching ability, she enters her three sons and daughter in all the equestrian shows. But when her family dares to thwart her interests, the results bring tragedy and devastation. In this spellbinding tale of love, work, and duty, Jane Smiley examines the excesses we sometimes commit in the name of ambition. Narrator Suzanne Toren's dramatic performance highlights the daily rigors and joys of the equestrian life."

Jane Smiley (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

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