From the publisher: "Some Luck delivers on everything we look for in a work of fiction. Taking us through cycles of births and deaths, passions and betrayals, among characters we come to know inside and out, it is a tour de force that stands wholly on its own. But it is also the first part of a dazzling epic trilogy—a literary adventure that will span a century in America: an astonishing feat of storytelling by a beloved writer at the height of her powers."

Take King Lear, a sweeping epic about father-daughter relationships, cutthroat competition, and politics. Set it in modern day Iowa farmland. Win the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Jane Smiley’s stark yet beautiful retelling begins with aging farmer Larry Cook bequeathing the family farm to this three daughters. When Caroline appears less-than-thrilled, her unsentimental father cuts her out of the will, exposing long-buried truths and repressed emotions. As Larry’s health declines, his daughters are tasked with running the farm in a harsh patriarchal world. Stunningly written, this complicated family drama is great on the page or via audiobook.

From the publisher: "From classics such as the thousand-year-old Tale of Genji to fiction by Zadie Smith, Jane Smiley explores the power of the form, looking at its history and variety, its cultural impact, and just how it works its magic. She invites us behind the scenes of novel-writing, sharing her own habits and spilling the secrets of her craft, and offering priceless advice to aspiring authors. Every page infects us anew with the passion for reading that is the governing spirit of this gift to book lovers everywhere."