Comments (19)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 19 of 19 items
Aug 11, 2017ctkvlk rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable book. I always like a rural setting and this one is unique in it's chapter-a-year device. Simple storytelling well done with no unnecessary smut. A welcome change.
May 28, 2017Einer2 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
It is a book that needs to be read over a few days. I put it down about 3/4 of the way through for a vacation and when I returned found it hard to recall all of the various characters. Also thought it was a bit choppy at the end. Not…
Apr 03, 2017
I'm a Jane Smiley fan and I read this trilogy out of order - 2 then 3 and now 1. I have loved them all. They are not fast paced, but they are tender and wise and the characters stay with you for a long time.
Nov 21, 2016multcolib_susannel rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
The soft spoken, hard working story of a Norwegian immigrant family. Each chapter advances the story by a year.
Jul 09, 2016cknightkc rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
For me, reading the episodic SOME LUCK about an ordinary Iowa family (circa 1920-1953) was as compelling as watching paint dry. A family saga told via a chapter for every year in their lives and from their different perspectives are…
Jun 07, 2016Jeanneknits2 rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I should have liked this. A family saga spanning the years from 1920 to 1953 (each year one short chapter.) But as Smiley really focused on just a few of the large Langdon family, every time she mentioned one of the others, I was…
May 04, 2016Margotdavid rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
Didn't like it so stopped reading.
Jan 22, 2016jlspindler rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Great story-telling with compelling, well-wrought characters. The author successfully gets inside the psyches of children --- of all ages! Never seen that in my nearly 60 years of reading great literature. I must fault her, though, for…
Oct 05, 2015EmilyEm rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
'The trilogy begins on a family farm in 1920. A young couple, Walter and Rosanna Langdon, are just setting out on their own. Eventually they will have five children. The oldest, Frank, is what Smiley calls "the trunk of the tree" — smart,…
Sep 14, 2015avratt rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A very "comfortable" and enjoyable read. I thoroughly enjoyed following this family and became emeotionally tied to all the characters. I eagerly await the rest of this proposed trilogy.
May 30, 2015harrissusanc rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Something about the other generation- the life I heard in stories - makes Some Luck feel more romantic than Early Warning, even though it grips with realism. Every character so alive in the "simple life" of the era. Each year has fragments…
ruby69918
Apr 25, 2015
j ai besoin savoir qui a inventer le computer une reponse exate
Feb 24, 2015ownedbydoxies rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Each chapter covers a year in the life of a farming family. Beginning in 1920 and ending in 1953, this book is evidently the first in a planned trilogy. The characters come through in the small but telling details that make up an…
Feb 07, 2015
As a long time Jane Smiley fan, I was long looking forward to reading Some Luck. However, for me, it does not come up to the standard of, say, The Greenlanders or Horse Heaven. Covering (somewhat) 30 plus years and a vast list of…
Jan 14, 2015quagga rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
In Smiley's skillful hands, ordinary people are fascinating. As one of the characters says about children: "Each one is his or her own little universe."
Dec 27, 2014nlrlibrary rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I returned this book last week. Thanks.
Dec 14, 2014BigOrange rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I felt that the characters weren't so fleshed out, as well, but wonder if that was purposefully done in keeping with the pragmatic nature of hard working farmers that this book portrayed. I kept waiting for something more to happen and was…
Nov 24, 2014
The first in a planned trilogy, Some Luck is the story of an Iowa farm family. Like most family sagas the story moves from generation to generation and child to child. Well written though (so far) not a lot of conflict. One of those books…
Nov 07, 2014bibliovore rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
It's fascinating to watch the family in this novel grow and change along with the country. Really looking forward to the next entry in the series!