Private Life
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Review
'A masterpiece of a novel that stands with the best of Smiley's work.' -- John Burnside, Guardian
'It kept me up all night, long after I'd finished it.' -- Washington Post
'If you're looking for a good saga to get stuck into on your holiday, this is it ... Buy it, read it, pass it on.' -- Image
'An enthralling portrait of the difficult marriage between a diffident woman and an overbearing man.' -- Marie Claire
'Through every scene and revelation, she keeps in mind the moment she's building toward: the completion of Margaret's long-deferred self-recognition.' -- New York Times Book Review
'It kept me up all night, long after I'd finished it.' -- Washington Post
'If you're looking for a good saga to get stuck into on your holiday, this is it ... Buy it, read it, pass it on.' -- Image
'An enthralling portrait of the difficult marriage between a diffident woman and an overbearing man.' -- Marie Claire
'Through every scene and revelation, she keeps in mind the moment she's building toward: the completion of Margaret's long-deferred self-recognition.' -- New York Times Book Review
Book Description
A stunning novel which traverses the intimate landscape of one woman's life from the 1880s to World War II.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Smiley's latest book is a historical novel following one woman's life from her childhood in Missouri after the Civil War to married life in San Francisco, with the action inexorably moving towards the Second World War.
Margaret is a character notable for her ordinariness and apparent passivity; she says of herself 'I was the third sister even though I'm the oldest. There's always a beautiful sister and a smart sister, and then there's a sister that's not beautiful or smart'. Her life is occupied with soothing and reining in her egotistical husband, an astronomer obsessed with disproving Einstein's theory of relativity. When she overhears her acquaintances describing her as a 'saint' she is deeply wounded, realizing how they must pity her situation.
I found this book enjoyable and the time period it covered was interesting. However, there did seem to be something rather flat and unadventurous about its narrative (despite well-drawn minor characters and flashes of sharpness and irony from both Margaret and the third person narrative). The last third of the book, however, became progressively darker and more nightmarish and one realises how Smiley has been building up layer after layer of domestic detail until the reader realises that they are just as much trapped in the marriage as Margaret is.
The ending is very well done, leaving one with a feeling of both resolution and revelation.
Margaret is a character notable for her ordinariness and apparent passivity; she says of herself 'I was the third sister even though I'm the oldest. There's always a beautiful sister and a smart sister, and then there's a sister that's not beautiful or smart'. Her life is occupied with soothing and reining in her egotistical husband, an astronomer obsessed with disproving Einstein's theory of relativity. When she overhears her acquaintances describing her as a 'saint' she is deeply wounded, realizing how they must pity her situation.
I found this book enjoyable and the time period it covered was interesting. However, there did seem to be something rather flat and unadventurous about its narrative (despite well-drawn minor characters and flashes of sharpness and irony from both Margaret and the third person narrative). The last third of the book, however, became progressively darker and more nightmarish and one realises how Smiley has been building up layer after layer of domestic detail until the reader realises that they are just as much trapped in the marriage as Margaret is.
The ending is very well done, leaving one with a feeling of both resolution and revelation.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Unlike some authors, Jane Smiley never seems to write the same book twice, this makes Private Life both interesting and original
The novel tells the story of Margaret from her mid-western childhood to her marriage and later life in San Francisco. Growing up in a time when women's only choices were either enduring long marriage or pitiable spinsterhood, Margaret, as the eldest but last of three daughters to marry, is manoeuvred into marriage with the eccentric Captain Andrew Early.
Despite, being 27 she is innocent when it comes to the physical and emotional aspects of marriage. To the modern reader, the lack of control she exerts over her own destiny may seem frustrating. It's only at the end of the novel, in her old age, that she realises there are things she does not have to endure any longer
If this sounds depressing, it's not, Smiley's writing is lively and Margaret often has a wry take on her situation. Other characters, Margaret's adventurous friend, Dora, and the enigmatic Pete, give the novel some breadth and interest.
I've only recently discovered Smiley but if you like other modern American women writers such as Joyce Carol-Oates and Anne Tyler, it's worth giving her a go.
The novel tells the story of Margaret from her mid-western childhood to her marriage and later life in San Francisco. Growing up in a time when women's only choices were either enduring long marriage or pitiable spinsterhood, Margaret, as the eldest but last of three daughters to marry, is manoeuvred into marriage with the eccentric Captain Andrew Early.
Despite, being 27 she is innocent when it comes to the physical and emotional aspects of marriage. To the modern reader, the lack of control she exerts over her own destiny may seem frustrating. It's only at the end of the novel, in her old age, that she realises there are things she does not have to endure any longer
If this sounds depressing, it's not, Smiley's writing is lively and Margaret often has a wry take on her situation. Other characters, Margaret's adventurous friend, Dora, and the enigmatic Pete, give the novel some breadth and interest.
I've only recently discovered Smiley but if you like other modern American women writers such as Joyce Carol-Oates and Anne Tyler, it's worth giving her a go.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This historical novel set between 1883 and 1942 is a story of an unhappy marriage. It is a slow paced novel of thoughts and feelings, with significant historical events forming the backdrop for Margaret's private life, but I thought it was beautifully written and thoughtful.
Margaret's widowed mother is keen to see her three daughters marry well, and relieved when Margaret, the oldest, finally marries at the old age of 27, to Captain Early, a naval officer and scientific genius. She looks forward to having children, but a miscarriage is followed by a sickly baby who only lives for a few weeks. Meanwhile, she learns how her marriage was engineered by her husband's mother and her own. Andrew is an eccentric with a talent for alienating people - the man once regarded as a scientific genius in their Missouri hometown turns out to be just a mad scientist and not a very good one.
There are many things to like about this novel despite the atmosphere of boredom and frustration, as Margaret is trapped in a stultifying marriage. I enjoyed the California setting as the couple move to Vallejo near San Francisco and the dry wit with which Smiley highlights the contradictions of Margaret's life. Margaret is a warm, caring person and she makes friends outside the home, including the single career woman Dora and the Japanese Kimura family. I liked the way Margaret retained and developed the ability to think for herself and question her husband's prejudices. I was very moved by the account of the birth and short life of Margaret's son and her difficulties breastfeeding him. I loved the detailed portrayal of social attitudes, including those in Margaret's family.
There is lots to think about in the novel - when Margaret was 8, the deaths of two of her brothers, one in an accident, one from illness, were followed by her father's suicide. Yet her mother's response to this tragedy is actually one of being liberated - she has been ill with grief for months, now she is free to move the family back to her father's house and bring them up to marry. Another little comment by Smiley is to have Margaret reading aloud the work of Kate Chopin, since rediscovered by generations of 20th century feminists, to her mother and sisters.
Readers looking for an action packed plot and a fast pace will be disappointed by this book, but I would recommend it if you enjoy more contemplative novels.
Margaret's widowed mother is keen to see her three daughters marry well, and relieved when Margaret, the oldest, finally marries at the old age of 27, to Captain Early, a naval officer and scientific genius. She looks forward to having children, but a miscarriage is followed by a sickly baby who only lives for a few weeks. Meanwhile, she learns how her marriage was engineered by her husband's mother and her own. Andrew is an eccentric with a talent for alienating people - the man once regarded as a scientific genius in their Missouri hometown turns out to be just a mad scientist and not a very good one.
There are many things to like about this novel despite the atmosphere of boredom and frustration, as Margaret is trapped in a stultifying marriage. I enjoyed the California setting as the couple move to Vallejo near San Francisco and the dry wit with which Smiley highlights the contradictions of Margaret's life. Margaret is a warm, caring person and she makes friends outside the home, including the single career woman Dora and the Japanese Kimura family. I liked the way Margaret retained and developed the ability to think for herself and question her husband's prejudices. I was very moved by the account of the birth and short life of Margaret's son and her difficulties breastfeeding him. I loved the detailed portrayal of social attitudes, including those in Margaret's family.
There is lots to think about in the novel - when Margaret was 8, the deaths of two of her brothers, one in an accident, one from illness, were followed by her father's suicide. Yet her mother's response to this tragedy is actually one of being liberated - she has been ill with grief for months, now she is free to move the family back to her father's house and bring them up to marry. Another little comment by Smiley is to have Margaret reading aloud the work of Kate Chopin, since rediscovered by generations of 20th century feminists, to her mother and sisters.
Readers looking for an action packed plot and a fast pace will be disappointed by this book, but I would recommend it if you enjoy more contemplative novels.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
One of the best novels
This wonderful book may at first seem a little too full of detail, but these accumulates in a way that is both gripping, necessary and terrifying, perhaps particularly to those of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by starling
A tragic tale
This is a tragic story about a wife who does what society expects of her and ends up horribly bitter. Read more
Published 9 months ago by June G
Hard to stay interested...
Very slow and dull, despite interesting main characters. I was disappointed and found it hard to slog through this.
Published 10 months ago by J. Poole
Dreary, dreary oh so dreary
This was our summer book club read....oh dear......depressing or what? None of us 8 had anything positive to say about this, some of us didnt even get past half way...... Read more
Published 12 months ago by H. Ramshaw
Private Life
This book was about a dull and unfulfilling marriage, and reading it was equally dull and unfulfilling. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Verity
Sombre novel
This is a sombre and deliberate novel that takes the reader through 60 years from the 1880s to 1942, firstly in Missouri and later in California. Read more
Published 17 months ago by A. J. Kubicki
A long, dull marriage dissected
The outcome of Jane Smiley's curious decision to write a novel about a long and dull marriage is, sadly, a long and dull read. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Poppy Hall
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