After reading Jane Smiley's abysmally bad "Ten Days in the Hills", I vowed never to waste any more time on Ms. Smiley's fiction. In a fit of masochism, I broke that vow to read "Good Faith", her 2003 novel centered on the real estate world, circa 1983 in the vicinity of Portsmouth (NH? The book never specifically says, but it's inferred to be north of Boston, MA), in the Reagan era. What was most surprising was that the book was pretty interesting, and occasionally flashed brilliance. Like many fellow reviews here, I would chime in that Ms. Smiley really needed a better editor; judicious cuts and revisions could've made this sizzle and spark instead of meandering weakly to the finish line. Scoff if you must but "Good Faith"'s core subject is real estate. The title, though (one of the most apt I've encountered) will to the savvy reader imply there shall be questions of faith, of trust and reliance (not to mention the the obvious straightforward definition of a good-faith loan and pre-escrow security deposit) writ larger and extrapolated. Ms. Smiley weaves a lively yarn, with Joe Stafford at the center: a reasonably successful agent primarily focused on selling high-end custom-made houses, who is befriended/enchanted/manipulated by a mystery (um...for lack of a better term) Financial Svengali who convinces Joe to abandon his agency and go into partnership with him selling houses at a planned resort community in the middle of Podunk, and in the process, wheedled Joe into cleaning out his sizable savings stash to fund this endeavor. You pretty much know from the outset things aren't going to go well for Joe...you just don't know to what lows he's going to prostrate himself just to appease the mystery-man. It's a little far-fetched to imagine any self-respecting businessman falling for the Svengali's overly glib schtick, but Ms. Smiley does a real good job with imbuing her characters with sufficient guile/naïveté and infusing the story with seemingly well-researched industry argolt that she compels the reader to make leaps of faith (and logic) to sustain the reader's attention (and enjoyment)... UNTIL....Ms. Smiley, after exhausting a skeezy go-nowhere sub-plot involving an affair with the sister of a former fiancee (about midway through the book), Ms. Smiley gets derailed after introducing the Savings and Loan investors, who end up falling for the Svengali's lies too. Turns out the Svengali has a conniving sister, too, so she's thrown in the mix. For the reader, it seems as if Ms. Smiley's train of thought got derailed and she's just throwing up plot points, hoping something will "stick". What started out a quite original story with real characters and convincing dialog devolved into something a little less than satisfying (read: Boring) and implausible. This is when a better editor (or even AN editor...maybe she was given carte-blanche to self-edit) could've easily reined her in and salvaged the story (and clean up several instances of incidental errata, from misspells/typos to subject/verb disagreements, to paragraphs that forget who the subject of it is and barrel onward oblivious they don't make an iota of sense...errors that are unforgivable from a clearly-gifted Pulitzer Prize winner like Ms. Smiley).
She has been on my list of "Authors I Ought to Know" for a long time, and I was delighted to discover that this was a good old fashioned social novel, which is funny and wise about social aspirations in way that struck me as positively Austenesque.The novel opens in 1981 with Joe Stratford, a straight-shooting small-time real estate agent. He is divorced, but not lonely thanks to the friendship of the Baldwin family; Gordon and Betty are like parents to him, and their children, Bobby, Felicity, Leslie and Norton, like siblings. Gordon and Joe collaborate on various building projects, and bumbling Bobby works for Joe's small company. Bobby is the one who first meets Marcus Burns, former IRS agent and shyster extraordinaire. Marcus buys a house from Joe, and then somehow insinuates himself into a deal that Gordon and Joe have set up to buy Salt Key Farm. Marcus talks the local S&L into backing the Salt Key Corporation's plan to develop the land into 600 luxury townhomes, a golf course and a mini-mall. Meanwhile, Joe has gotten involved with Felicity--the excitement of real estate speculation and sexual adventure unfold alongside each other.Smiley aptly characterizes Joe without turning him into the cliché of the sad-sack divorcé eating Ritz crackers for dinner. I liked Joe, but it was Marcus who delighted me--I cannot imagine how Smiley dreamt up all his pranks and plots, but it's easy to see how Joe got swept up in them. This book reminded me of other "the day everything fell apart" tragicomedies (Wonder Boys, Election), but the ending is more careful about the way it sneaks up on you. Part of it is obvious to anyone who knows what happened to the S&Ls in the 1980's, but part of it is a genuine surprise.And it's the 1980's milieu that provides so much of the pleasure in this. For example, when Marcus is trying to convince Joe that the farm is worth a lot of money, he asks him,"All over the world except America, you know what they drink?""Wine?""Wine is good, but no, bottled water.""Bottled water? Like seltzer?""Some fizzy and some not. It's a holdover from the spa days, when they thought the minerals in the water would cure things. We find a spring on this property--and we easily could, given the geology of this area--and I'm telling you, we've got Blue Valley Mineral Water in greenish bottles shaped like flower vases, and it's another fortune!"I said, "You are so full of shit, Marcus."Marcus may have been wrong about Salt Key Farm, but he's right about how Americans want to live. Lifestyle, that nebulous quality, is the real subject of this book, and this is the perfect time to reflect on the 1980's.
What do You think about Good Faith (2004)?
I have read (I think it was an Amazon review) that this book moves too slow for some readers. For me, the story builds upon the observations and experiences of the main character with the perfect clarity of a well-measured pace. Upon reflection, the plot bears slight resemblance to The Great Gadspy and Goodbye Columbus, but I liked it better than either. Smiley has more than one story to tell so if the 80s savings and loan scandal sounds dull, try one of her other books (Moo or The All-true Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton, for example). She’s a great author.
—Yvonne
I agree with you, Zach, not a great book, and the female characters were disappointing. I feel like Jane gave herself an "assignment" to write a book about real estate speculation, but before the newest wave of mania. I loved "A Thousand Acres". The comparison to King Lear is a bit strained, in my opinion. My husband couldn't finish it tho, he thought is was just too sad. And I thought that "Moo" was a wonderful send up of Iowa State University and its writing program. I heard Smiley interviewed once when she was asked what her favorite was among her books. She said "The Greenlanders." She remarked that she had done some starter novels before that one, and at that time really finally knew what she was doing. I haven't read it yet, tho.
—Zach
Joe Stratford is a likable young man. After his divorce from wife Sherrie, he has returned to the town where he grew up, started a career selling real estate, and seems to have a comfortable life. People trust him; therefore his business is going well. He has a knack for the negotiation.Enter Marcus Burns, friend of a friend—a charismatic outsider—and rather quickly, he becomes a part of several of Joe's deals. Soon Joe and his associates, along with Marcus, are a team. Their plans are big. Huge, even, and the money is rolling in.It is the golden eighties for these men, whose lives seem charmed. Then Marcus begins introducing them to riskier ventures, and while the whirlwind existence seems endlessly profitable, little red flags begin appearing.What events suddenly turn their lives upside down? What, if any, clues warn Joe about the inevitable crash? And what, finally, will be the outcome of this fabulous ride? Finally, what will each man learn from this life lesson?"Good Faith" was a fabulous peek into an era in our history, reminding me of that time—now that we're NOT in such a moment—and granting us the privilege of hindsight as the characters make one wrong turn after the other.Five stars are not enough for this book, which I will never forget. Like Smiley's "A Thousand Acres: A Novel," this tale plumbs the depths and explores the characters, with all their strengths and weaknesses, and shines a spotlight on the human spirit.
—Laurel-Rain
