Private Life Audiobook

" I love Jane Smiley, but this wasn't written in her usual style (from many perspectives surrounding a central theme). Smiley is a beautiful writer, but I think in this case, it was a little too subtle for me, especially at the end. I didn't get it. "

" Unlike her previous books, the characters and story line did not keep my interest. It seemed disjointed. "

" I loved this book. It is about an 'ordinary' woman who lived through the first and second world wars. The characters are so beautifully drawn and real. It's hard to understand why the book is so fascinating, but it is. "

" Amazing book that held my attention. The characters are well thought out and have depth. Very much enjoyed this one. "

" I just don't care for women who suffer fools, and the main character of this book, Margaret, wastes her life with a foolish man. Smiley can get so many things right in her books, but making me want to care about her characters is not one of them. This is the fourth Smiley book I've read; two were terrific ("Moo" and "Thousand Acres"). I was hoping to add this book to that list, but not to be. "

" This book is the story of a marriage, and a very sad one at that. Margaret is married to Andrew, who is, well, nuts. Set in the years around the turn of the century and up to WW2, the novel shows how the national events affect them, their friends and their San Francisco area community. The early part of the book is set in St. Louis, and it was fascinating to learn more about the city's history. "

" I debated if I would rate this book at a 2 star or 3 star--rather depressing prospective of life and marriage, but a nicely developed characters. This is a book that will be interesting to see how I view it in 3 months and 6 months. It may age very well--so I gave it 3 stars. "

" I read this because Greg wanted someone to talk to about it. I felt the same way when I finished it. It's kind of a quiet, gentle story -- engaging, lots of detail -- but also somewhat dark. "

" Readable, absorbing, but sometimes too much detail. "

" Listened to this on CD. It is about a woman's depressing life who is immersed in the world of her husband. She learns more and more about him and finds his world is not realistic maybe even crazy. You are wondering why I listened to this whole book. I have no idea. "

" A great disappointment. In the past I have enjoyed Smiley's writing but this one is very dark and very boring. "

" Not as enjoyable as her others, but still more than worth reading. "

" I love Jane Smiley. This one just wasn't interesting to me. "

" I abandoned this book mid-way through. Decided I didn't care about the characters. "

" This grew on me as I read it. "

" a good story, a bit of a slow start but beautiful in several passages. "

" boring...put it down... "

" I loved her other books. I was dissapointed. By this book. "

" Turn of the century woman marries a crazy man. "

" It is not my favorite Jane Smiley book...It was hard for me to get into "

" Very detailed and slow moving story. The author's style made it difficult to follow. Her style involved long run-on sentences and dialogue without quotes. I very badly wanted to like the characters and the story but I just couldn't. "

" I abandoned this book mid-way through. Decided I didn't care about the characters. "

" I liked the understated tone and the historical references, and the characters seemed pretty realistic, but this was ultimately a downer. "

" I really liked this book. It's painful to read, about a loveless marriage that was more or less an arrangement for companionship...The man devoting his life to steadfastly defending his antiquated scientific work... and how his wife copes (and doesn't cope) with it all. "

" Extremely boring. Libel to put me off reading.. "

" Absorbing tale of a woman married to an eccentric man, had me wondering whether or not he was truly crazy. Smiley did a very good job of conveying Margaret's emotions and tenseness. "

" Elegant writing, sad story, but I never quite cared enough about the characters to love the book. "

" I chose this because it was on the Pulitzer Prize list and got a bunch out of the library but I don't think I would recommend it. It was just OK. "

" did not like it at all did not finish could not get into this book (had really good reviews from others) "