Reviews for At paradise gate

The average rating for At paradise gate based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2019-07-28 00:00:00 Adam Fox Smiley does here what she excels at, exploring the subtle, complex interactions that create family. It is 1972 and 77 year old Ike is debilitated from coronary illness. His 72 year old wife, Anna, his 3 middle-aged daughters and his 23 year old granddaughter flutter around one another, much as they have done all their lives, but with the added intensity of responding to this medical crisis. In their conversations and in the internal musings of Anna, Smiley peals back the layers of sibling rivalries and spousal tension, of joy and disappointments, of steadfast love and of violent outbursts, of the tectonic shift between generations, of the siren call for independence and the deep longing to be part of family.

Review # 2 was written on 2019-05-04 00:00:00 Charles Poteet I will never stop returning to Jane Smiley's novels when I need an assured good read! One of her earlier works that seemingly sets the stage for her future family sagas. This shorter novel can be seen as test run for the compelling character and plot development that Smiley fans have come to know and love in her novels. This novel pivots on the delicate relationships between the characters, in this case a band of women, where the matriarch is surprisingly powerless in comparison to her strong willed but diverse daughters and grand daughter and her ailing husband. Nevertheless, Anna is s strong woman - demonstrated through passages detailing her inner musings, frustrations, fears, insecurities and regrets. A graceful tale where its strength resides in the depth of the very real characters rather than place, landscape or action.