Jane Smiley

A firsthand perspective on the modern farmer’s struggle against drought, disease, insects, rodents, government bureaucracy, financial overload—and how those challenges promote qualities like independence, stoicism, and resolution.

In this brilliant novel, Pulitzer Prize-winning and bestselling author Jane Smiley delves into the domestic drama of the Robison family. While seventy-seven-year-old Ike Robison is dying in his bedroom upstairs, his wife defends the citadel of their marriage against an ill-considered, albeit lovi...