Some Luck: A Novel

"Some Luck is the first book in a trilogy that will follow an Iowa farm family over 100 years. The story begins in 1920 when Walter and Rosanna Langdon are just setting out on their own. Eventually, they will have five children. The oldest, Frank, takes center stage early on, but author Jane Smiley gives all the Langdons their moment in the spotlight — so much so that you may wonder at first why she spends so much time on the details of each character’s life. But as members of the family enter adulthood and some of them move away from the farm, you realize that Smiley is creating a rich universe rooted in the intimate details of family life and set against the all-encompassing sweep of history."