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

One of California's leading writers, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in fiction, presents her first nonfiction volume on writing since 2005's best-selling Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel. n nSmiley gives educators, readers, and writers much to discuss. Highly recommended. -Library Journal, starred review n nLine for line, Smiley delivers such clear, vibrant, precise prose-handed forth as calmly and equitably as an ice cream cone, even when she's incensed-that a reader feels smarter just taking it in. -The Boston Globe n nLong 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 Most this 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. n nAs 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, Halldr 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. n nEditorial Reviews n n04/03/2023 n nIn this sharp compendium, Pulitzer Prize winner Smiley (A Dangerous Business) brings together her literary criticism, which brims with the same keen observations, inquisitiveness, and humor as her novels. The selections contemplate canonical works of English and American literature, as in I Am Your 'Prudent Amy,'  where Smiley suggests that though readers often find Little Women's Amy March to be vain and spoiled, she actually possesses the self-awareness and reflectiveness that will help her navigate her world. Lamenting that Charles Dickens's journalism is unjustly overlooked, she contends that it's full of the same transcendent mastery of all the richnesses of the English language that distinguishes his novels. She's less laudatory about some of her other subjects, eviscerating The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for failing to square youthful adventure with the serious moral themes surrounding Jim's quest for freedom. Smiley even sneaks in some fiction, imagining a happy ending for the protagonist of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and what advice Princess Marguerite de Navarre of France might have given Othello's Desdemona (I read with alarm that you are accompanying your husband on his campaign. Please have a care in this). Smiley makes for great company, and her unpretentious style will appeal even to those whose eyes glaze over at the thought of revisiting these high school classics. Fleet-footed and smart, this delights. (June) n- Publishers Weekly n nPraise for 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel (2006): n nEngaging. ... Down-to-earth. ... Smiley's unmediated voice-blunt, uncompromising and witty-rings from every page. ... She inspires wicked delight.-Los Angeles Times Book Review n nA massive victory. ... Awfully smart. ... Always a pleasure.-The Atlanta Journal-Constitution n nProvocative. ... Wise and humane. ... It reminds readers of the novel why they love their avocation. ... I most heartily recommend it.-Marjorie Kehe, The Christian Science Monitor n nThorough, insightful. ... Sure to inspire delicious debate and excite interest in undiscovered works. ... Her critiques are shrewd, artful and unflinching. ...Thirteen Ways continues to whisper its profundities long after the last page is turned.-Rocky Mountain News n- From the Publisher n n*02/01/2023 n nThe habit of looking around and capturing the influence of a sense of place are prominent themes in this collection of 17 of Smiley's previously published essays and one short story, Marguerite, Queen of Navarre, Gives Desdemona Some Advice. Smiley explains most of the pieces are a response to assignments she accepted from numerous publications. The question that matters most, according to her, is: What does it mean to know? She stresses the importance of reading the difficult books to form opinions and connections, whether it is as a middle school or high school student or as an adult. History vs. Historical Fiction is a powerful essay based on Smiley's experience in a late-1990s interview on BBC Radio, where an author dismissed the value of her research in historical fiction. Can Mothers Think? comments on the historical divide between male authors who earn their living as writers, and female authors who raise children and often write as a hobby. References are made throughout the collection to the works of Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, Willa Cather, and others. VERDICT In this slim yet valuable book, Smiley gives educators, readers, and writers much to discuss. Highly recommended.--Joyce Sparrow n- Library Journal n nPrimarily known as one of our finest novelists, Jane Smiley is also an essayist of considerable style and grace. This audiobook combines autobiography, travel, literary criticism, and history, often in the same essay. Although her phrasing is sometimes a little stilted, especially in the more academic passages, she is writing and narrating about subjects of personal importance to her. She loves St. Louis, where she grew up, and in talking about it, she connects many ideas--just as she does when considering Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Anthony Trollope. Smiley's enthusiasm comes through, and her essays prove to be as gripping as her novels. D.M.H. AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine n- July 2023 - AudioFile n nPrimarily known as one of our finest novelists, Jane Smiley is also an essayist of considerable style and grace. This audiobook combines autobiography, travel, literary criticism, and history, often in the same essay. Although her phrasing is sometimes a little stilted, especially in the more academic passages, she is writing and narrating about subjects of personal importance to her. She loves St. Louis, where she grew up, and in talking about it, she connects many ideas--just as she does when considering Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickens, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Anthony Trollope. Smiley's enthusiasm comes through, and her essays prove to be as gripping as her novels. D.M.H. AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine n- AudioFile - JULY 2023