
Golden Age
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Lorelei King
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By:
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Jane Smiley
About this listen
From the winner of the Pulitzer Prize: the much-anticipated final volume, following Some Luck and Early Warning, of her acclaimed American trilogy—a richly absorbing new novel that brings the remarkable Langdon family into our present times and beyond
A lot can happen in one hundred years, as Jane Smiley shows to dazzling effect in her Last Hundred Years trilogy. But as Golden Age, its final installment, opens in 1987, the next generation of Langdons face economic, social, political—and personal—challenges unlike anything their ancestors have encountered before.
Michael and Richie, the rivalrous twin sons of World War II hero Frank, work in the high-stakes world of government and finance in Washington and New York, but they soon realize that one’s fiercest enemies can be closest to home; Charlie, the charming, recently found scion, struggles with whether he wishes to make a mark on the world; and Guthrie, once poised to take over the Langdons’ Iowa farm, is instead deployed to Iraq, leaving the land—ever the heart of this compelling saga—in the capable hands of his younger sister.
Determined to evade disaster, for the planet and her family, Felicity worries that the farm’s once-bountiful soil may be permanently imperiled, by more than the extremes of climate change. And as they enter deeper into the twenty-first century, all the Langdon women—wives, mothers, daughters—find themselves charged with carrying their storied past into an uncertain future.
Combining intimate drama, emotional suspense, and a full command of history, Golden Age brings to a magnificent conclusion the century-spanning portrait of this unforgettable family—and the dynamic times in which they’ve loved, lived, and died: a crowning literary achievement from a beloved master of American storytelling.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2015 Jane Smiley (P)2015 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“The thought of writing a series that spans a century with each chapter representing a year might sound daunting to some authors. Jane Smiley, however, is not just any author . . . Golden Age takes readers from 1987 up to 2020, lending a prophetic eye to the world beyond the pages. There’s much to admire: Smiley’s attention to detail in each and every year; her knowledge of politics, environmentalism, and genetics; her humor; her stripped back prose. On the farm, descriptions of the land put you right in the heart of a place that is rapidly disappearing . . . Smiley chronicles 20th-century life like few have, with the same scope and fastidiousness of Phillip Roth, Saul Bellow, and John Updike. After reading about five generations of a family, wars, financial crises, global warming, and the rise of the technological age, it makes you stop and think about how much has changed—and yet how little has changed at the same time [in] this place we call the US.” —Dana De Greff, Miami New Times
“[In] Smiley’s ambitious project of covering 100 years in the life of an Iowa family, the Langdon offspring travel across the country, across the world, even. Members of three different generations find themselves fighting in wars overseas. There are marriages that last and unions that fail. There are sublime moments of peace and contentment and sudden tragedies that knock the survivors (and readers) back a step. But death in a family is inevitable, especially over the lifetimes of many characters . . . The power of memory and nostalgia fuels the trilogy.” —Connie Ogle, Miami Herald
“Jane Smiley has such a clear, strong, American voice, there is no mistaking her work for any other. She’s my favorite kind of writer, mingling vivid plots with ingenious characters with subtle, nuanced interiority. She writes with such generous heaps of humor and grief, you feel a little richer and keener for reading her books.” —Diana Abu-Jaber [as quoted in the Miami Herald]
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- By: Jane Smiley
- Narrated by: Stina Nielsen
- Length: 14 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Before Jodie Rattler became a star, she was a girl growing up in St. Louis. One day in 1955, when she was just six years old, her uncle Drew took her to the racetrack, where she got lucky—and the roll of two-dollar bills she won has never since left her side. Jodie thrived in the warmth of her extended family, and then—through a combination of hard work and serendipity—she started a singing career, which catapulted her from St. Louis to New York City, from the English countryside to the tropical beaches of St. Thomas, from Cleveland to Los Angeles and back again.
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Jane, you can do better.
- By Bryn on 05-29-24
By: Jane Smiley
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A Thousand Acres
- By: Jane Smiley
- Narrated by: C. J. Critt
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Three daughters and their husbands are pulled into a tangle of love, jealousy, and fear when their father, Larry Cook, grows too old to manage the family's fertile thousand-acre farm. As each couple struggles with their own tragedies and challenges, they know their father is judging them in light of the weighty inheritance that hovers within their reach.
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good book bad reader
- By C. Carlson on 08-07-08
By: Jane Smiley
brilliant and moving masterpiece
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excellent read
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Where does Golden Age rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
I would rank it near the middle 50%. Perhaps if I had listened to the earlier works, it would have been easier to follow.Would you recommend Golden Age to your friends? Why or why not?
I would recommend reading the book, rather than just listening to it. There are so many characters, I needed to draw up my own family chart.Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No, this is a really long saga. I listened to it over about 10 days.Little hard to follow all the characters.
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Epic storytelling.
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What disappointed you about Golden Age?
I really did try to like this book because I did like the first two in the series. However, after listening to it for over 2 hours, I could take it no more. The story was disjointed, boring, tedious.What could Jane Smiley have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?
Written a more entertaining story.How could the performance have been better?
Learn how to pronounce cities (Peshtigo), names (Alicia) etc. Stop reading the book and give some life to the performance. Be spontaneous. Add some life to your voice.You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
No.Any additional comments?
Would like my money back. Very disappointing. I've only returned 1 book in many years of listenership. This is the 2nd one.Borin
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