“She was almost sixty and she had not been to London, or Paris, or Rome, and there was no going there now.… — Jane Smiley Habits Copy Share Image
Sinclair Lewis may be ripe for a revival; his books raise several interesting issues of art and fashion. — Jane Smiley Art Copy Share Image
“Laura's gossip was redeemed by its lack of spite. She was warmly objective about every event, taking endless delight in action and… — Jane Smiley Daily life Copy Share Image
“Well, being a perfectionist seems okay from the outside, but a perfectionist never enjoys anything, no matter how well it goes, because… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
If novels and stories are bulletins from the progressive states of ignorance a writer passes through over the years, observations and opinions… — Jane Smiley Books Copy Share Image
“The novel is, above all, an intense experience of prolonged intimacy with another consciousness.” — Jane Smiley Books Copy Share Image
Combined families often get bad reviews, but the family my children got when they traded away 'the suffocating four-person' nuclear one is… — Jane Smiley Bad Copy Share Image
'Lean on Pete' is the story of a boy and his horse, but it is never heart-warming - it ranges in tone… — Jane Smiley 21st century Copy Share Image
Ignorance is a self-generating state of mind; one of its characteristics is that it doesn't recognize itself as ignorance. — Jane Smiley Characteristics Copy Share Image
“Almonds. Apricots. Avocadoes. Some peaches I don't know. Grapefruit. Lemones. Probably oranges.” — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
My characters never die screaming in rage. They attempt to pull themselves back together and go on. And that's basically a conservative… — Jane Smiley Anger Copy Share Image
Some people do wait their whole lives for something, and it's only when that thing arrives that they find out that they've… — Jane Smiley Aging Copy Share Image
Mom was a smoker. My grandfather was a smoker. My aunts were smokers. My uncles were smokers. I don't know any smokers… — Jane Smiley Aunt Copy Share Image
Whatever you love is beautiful; love comes first, beauty follows. The greater your capacity for love, the more beauty you find in… — Jane Smiley Beautiful Copy Share Image
“She chewed the tender meat and sucked out the juices and felt the sauce coat her tongue and roll down her throat.… — Jane Smiley Copy Share Image
I had spent years thinking about one thing while I was doing another. I had, in fact, prided myself on being able… — Jane Smiley Able Copy Share Image
I discovered that the horse is life itself, a metaphor but also an example of life's mystery and unpredictability, of life's generosity… — Jane Smiley Beauty Copy Share Image
A reader's tastes are peculiar. Choosing books to read is like making your way down a remote and winding path. Your stops… — Jane Smiley Book Copy Share Image
Eavesdrop and write it down from memory - gives you a stronger sense of how people talk and what their concerns are.… — Jane Smiley Concern Copy Share Image
The fact is that the same sequence of days can arrange themselves into a number of different stories. — Jane Smiley Different Copy Share Image
“Two, she thought, was the most ephemeral age, the age of incipient consciousness, when personality was first chinking into place. Felicity was… — Jane Smiley Last chance Copy Share Image
In every society, the artists will be the ones who set themselves up as contrary to whatever the society expects. — Jane Smiley Art Copy Share Image
Like most of the educated, I do harbor a fondness for the sins of my ignorant past. — Jane Smiley Educated Copy Share Image
There are several methods for introducing your children to driving, and all of them are bad. Probably the worst is to put… — Jane Smiley Bad Copy Share Image
