Some Luck, the first in a trilogy, chronicles the lives of the Langdon family on their Iowa farm from 1920-1953. Rosanna and Walter Langdon with their five surviving children experiences many tragedies and triumphs during this turbulent period in American history. The children are diverse in personalities and interests, and each is interesting individually and as part of the entire Langdon family. This is a book I hated to put down and couldn't wait to pick up again. It is filled with ordinary every-day events and heartbreaking poignancy. I eagerly await the story of successive years in this memorable family saga.

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I have to admit, I swore off of Jane Smiley years ago after reading A Thousand Acres because I was so mad at the ending. My book club chose Some Luck though, so I read it.

Some Luck is a character study of normal hard working families that takes place in the town of Denby Iowa. While Denby doesn't exist, the other towns mentioned in the book do. I really enjoyed the references to Ames, Iowa City, Muscatine, Davenport, Tipton, Cedar Rapids, Rock Island & Cairo,IL. and so many other cities that I recognized.

Aside from that, It was very interesting to watch these characters grow up on the farm and what it taught them. It was also interesting to watch them grow and make decisions on their lives, loves and careers.

If you are looking for a book with a mystery or a big plot or some dynamic impact, stop looking. It isn't there. It is a book with insight to the differences and the similarities in a family. A book about how times change and how people change with the times. A book about loss, success, frailties and expectation. It is a book about family.

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This book captivated me at first. I loved reading how an infant felt about teething pain and being bundled into a snowsuit. The family becomes enjoyable to read about.
Walter & Rosanna have bought a farm and Walter's whole life is the farm. They have children, and we read about these children growing and becoming their own beings. Some continue to farm, others want to get away from it as fast as possible.

While this was enjoyable to read, I felt there was really no plot to the book. It reads (knowing that there are two more books in a series) like a preface to something more, and that is all. Sad that the book didn't really have a story with an ending.

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I liked pretty much everything about this book. As each chapter encompasses a separate year, it feels as if the author took a yearly snapshot and filled us in on the pertinent details. Such interesting characters and so much history to be told. Can't wait to read the next book in the trilogy.

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