{"product_id":"the-questions-that-matter-most-reading-writing-and-the-exercise-of-freedom-9781597146050","title":"The Questions That Matter Most: Reading, Writing, and the Exercise of Freedom","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne of California's leading writers, winner of the Pulitzer Prize in fiction, presents her first nonfiction volume on writing since 2005's best-selling \u003ci\u003eThirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLong acclaimed as one of America's preeminent novelists, Jane Smiley is also an unparalleled observer of the craft of writing. In \u003ci\u003eThe Questions That Matter Most\u003c\/i\u003e this Pulitzer Prize-winning writer offers steady and penetrating essays on some of the aesthetic and cultural issues that mark any serious engagement with reading and writing. Beginning with a personal introduction tracing Smiley's migration from Iowa to California, the author reflects on her findings in the varied literature of the Golden State, whose writers have for decades litigated the West's contested legacies of racism, class conflict, and sexual politics through their pens.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs she considers the ambiguity of character and the weight of history, her essays provide new entry points into literature, and we lucky readers can see how Smiley draws inspiration from across the literary spectrum to invigorate her own writing. With enthusiasm and meticulous attention, Smiley dives beneath surface-level interpretations to examine the works of Marguerite de Navarre, Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain, Willa Cather, Franz Kafka, Halldór Laxness, and Jessica Mitford. Throughout, Smiley seeks to think harder and, in her words, with \"more clarity and nuance\" about the questions that matter most.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Heyday Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/06\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781597146050\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.40h x 5.60w x 1.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2023 pg. 76\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/03\/2023\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Jane Smiley","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42835606765749,"sku":"9781597146050","price":23.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_f018850f-8c50-4bf9-8425-e3b92539d027.jpg?v=1681224051","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-questions-that-matter-most-reading-writing-and-the-exercise-of-freedom-9781597146050","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}