Early Warning

Balance. The middle book in Jane Smiley’s trilogy about the Langdon family is titled, Early Warning. The children are having children, and the paths being chosen represent a wide swath of mid-twentieth century life in America. Smiley’s writing maintains such perfect balance between the drama of the individual life and the turbulence of the era. Her characters are complex and finely drawn, and capture aspects of their time and place with precision. Just as in our lives, these characters are full of joy at one moment and suffering at another over the smaller and everyday elements of living. We live in the context of what’s going on around us, with big events and small events, and exploring that balance is what I think Smiley achieves with great skill in this novel. Readers who enjoy fine writing should like this novel and this trilogy. Rating: Five-star (I love it) Click here to purchase Early Warning from amazon.com.