Ordinary Love and Good Will Book

From Jane Smiley, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres: a pair of novellas chronicling difficult choices that reshape the dynamics of two very different families.

In Ordinary Love, Smiley focuses on a woman's infidelity and the lasting, indelible effects it leaves on her children long after her departure. Good Will describes a father who realizes how his son has been affected by his decision to lead a counterculture life and move his family to a farm. As both stories unfold, Smiley gracefully raises the questions that confront all families with the characteristic style and insight that has marked all of her work.

These two novellas, by the author of The Age of Grief and The Greenlanders reveal the intricate and often heart-breaking inner workings of families. Here a woman recalls the long ago affair that ended her relationship with her husband and changed their lives. And a man discovers that the carefully planned lifestyle he has chosen for his family incorporates unexpected consequences. Nominee for the National Book Critics Circle Award.