The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton (Paperback)

from labwriter

My major problem with Jane Smiley's book was that she wrote it in the first-person point of view, from Lidie Newton's point of view. Smiley had a terrible time putting Lidie into a position of being able to report on everything that was happening in the story. The bungled first-person attempt was...

from BobNolin

This was a disappointment. After 100 pages, I put it back on the shelf. The characters is "A Thousand Acres" lived and breathed. Lidie seems to be barely alive. She tells her life story in a bland, matter-of-fact style that is really quite boring (ironic, considering the bad press she received fo...

from BellaFoxx

These are the adventures of Lidie Newton. She's born, her mother dies, she gets sent to live with her half-sister, her father's daughter not her mother's daughter. Then her father dies, they have a funeral. Her half-sisters discuss what should be done with her. She is married off to an abolitioni...

from Boobalack

Boring. Dry. Too much unnecessary detail. Rather like reading a history book, rather than historical fiction. Good reference material. It was a chore to finish this book. The characters seemed stiff, but I loved Jeremiah, the horse.

from aliciamalia

I've read Jane Smiley's novels in the past, and have liked them for the most part. This book, unfortunately, falls far short of the mark--it's just plain bad.