Ordinary Love

Jane Smiley writes with such perception about the emotional perversities that assail the human heart that she manages to convince us utterly of her characters' actions. With this volume she ratifies her claim as one of her generations most eloquent chroniclers of ordinary familial love, its pleasures and its frightening hazardsNew York Times

Smiley demonstrates a considerable sensitivity in her treatment of love and friendships. Her vision is as clear and unswerving as the writingTimes Literary Supplement

It's difficult to find a cliche or a wasted word in Smiley's proseThe Listener

Wise, powerful and resonantly memorable, these stories are sure to be classicsPublishers Weekly