Rating: 
Summary: An Unabsorbing Read
Review: I recommended this book to my book club based on the good reviews on Amazon. The night of our discussion only one person had finished the book. The others could not get through it.
Rating: 
Summary: Now that I've finished the book...
Review: I wrote a review while I was still reading this, and now that I'm done, I've downgraded it to a one star. History is supposed to be a backdrop in historical novels, but in this one, Liddie's monotonous narrative about events and people overwhelms the story. I finally began skipping the long narratives, and don't feel I missed anything. Apparently, it seems that Smiley was more interested in showing off her research than in telling a good story.The second half was really dull. I couldn't really figure out why Liddie pinpointed those certain men as the ones who killed her husband. That was really unclear. Her dressing as a man held promise, but that fizzled out too quickly. Her reasons for not accepting a lift to Independence were entirely unconvincing. Worse yet was the ending. We have Liddie return home finally to Quincy, and then the story suddenly skips ten years to the end of the Civil War. She says that she and Frank spoke of Kansas for the first time--but what was she doing ten years in the future? Where was she living, was she married, or what? All I can say, is I'm glad I bought it used. Better yet, I should've just borrowed it from the library.
Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: I'm still reading this book, but it is not what I expected. I thought this would be a story of an adventurous young woman who travels out west and does something--maybe starts a business, opens a saloon, becomes the first female sheriff...instead, she marries and has a man take her to Kansas, and all they're doing is fighting the pro-slave folks from Missouri. In between, she's cooking corncakes and sewing quilts. What happened to the strong woman from the first few chapters? At any rate, I can't keep track of all of the characters that are thrown in. All of their friends in K.T. are completely indistinguishable from one another. I find that I'm skipping paragraphs and even pages of boring dialog and trying to get back to Liddie's story. The history is interesting, but it's getting tiring because it's the same thing repeated over and over again. So maybe I'll read on, because I would like to see some adventure and travels as the title says. But for now, a two star is all its getting.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much history not enough Lidie.
Review: I've been a fan of Jane Smiley's for a long time. This work reminds me of the Greenlanders- rich in historical detail but lacking the personal touch that made 1,000 Acres so moving. The KT/abolitionist issue is well researched but I found myself skipping entire passages to get back to the story of Lidie and Thomas. I was able to put the book down and, indeed, finished it through sheer will. It's not bad but it's impersonal until the end when the author finally seems more connected to her heroine.
Rating:
Summary: A long plod
Review: I've not read any Jane Smiley books before and was given this by a friend who loves her work, as a birthday present. I almost gave up on it about three times, but perservered. Problem one: too many minor characters. I had to keep skipping back pages to find out the background to people she'd met when she first arrived in KT. Problem two: too many towns, often mentioned briefly, then returned to later in the book. Problem three: the Lidie of the first half of the book just doesn't match up with the second half Lidie who just gives up her goals and becomes everything she has been rebelling against. It's as if Smiley had a publishing deadline to meet and took the easy route out of the story. Characters weren't clearly drawn, and the KT discussions/meetings about anti slavery were protracted and boring. Lastly, my paperback was printed in a tiny font; very hard to read at night (especially if you're camping). This was my Summer read, and unfortunately it was not up to the standard of those authors I usually choose to take on holiday with me, eg Carol Shields or Anne Tyler.
Rating: 
Summary: An Unexpected Treasure
Review: I've read most of Jane Smiley's books, and found this one in hardcover at rock-bottom-remainder prices. I bought it just because I was out of reading material... It was wonderful! I found the archaic prose style to be absolutely appropriate and nothing in this book was too far-fetched or boring. I guess I expected Thomas to bite it; if I may offer any criticism at all, it would be that the character of Thomas seemed to be a little thinly drawn. I wish Lidie would've dwelled on her relationship to him a little more, but I suppose her reluctance to is in keeping with what a nineteenth-century woman would share with the reader. All in all, I found this to be a very good book, and recommend it highly!
Rating:
Summary: Even better the third time . . .
Review: I've read this novel twice and listened to it once on tape and found it to be thoroughly enjoyable each reading. The description of the conflict in Kansas Territory between the abolitionists and the Missourians was rivoting and engaging. Smiley provided an immense amount of detailed history--clearly she did her homework. Some readers find this distracting from the story; personally, I find that it added an originality and realism to the narrative. This is not a conversational piece; rather it is the narrative of Lidie's experiences, not her emotions. Lidie is appealing to me as a heroine because she is portrayed so realistically with a mix of passive and aggressive traits. As a reader I sometimes found her inaction frustrating; however, inaction is a part of life. Other readers have complained that the novel is depressing; I object to that analysis. The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton is not an escapist novel and one should not expect it to be. In my opinion, it is a de-Romanticized retelling of Huck Finn with a woman as the lead character. I highly recommend this book as one of my favorite novels and Smiley as one of my favorite authors.
Rating:
Summary: An overachiever's Huck Finn
Review: I've seen several writers be ruined by fame as they indulge their whims with excessive verbiage; it seems the editors don't mess with prior success. I guess after doing all that research, Smiley couldn't bear to leave any of it out, but it becomes soporific after a while. She as a writing teacher should know the value of dramatizing, showing rather than telling. Too much is narrative summary. Another problem is the narrative style, which while authentically archaic, is is ultimately distancing. The mountain of words drowns feeling and prevents engagement with the characters. There is no sustaining force to carry the reader through: it seems everything is abortive, both figuratively and literally. In idea will come up, only to be dropped a couple of pages later. At least Huck Finn had irreverance, irony, and humor. Mostly, though, the novel (at 450 p.) is underdeveloped! She needed to focus in, develop at least some characters. Thomas is a real nothing and Lidie herself seems to lose personality as the book progresses. The book is exceedingly conventional and adolescent in its appeal. It seems that this story has been done often and better by other writers.
Rating:
Summary: The best thing I've read all summer
Review: Jane Smiley has done her best job ever! I liked A THOUSAND ACRES, but I loved LIDIE NEWTON. I knew very little about pre-Civil War Kansas, and by the time I finished the book, I had a sense of genuine understanding of the period. Lidie Newton is a real person, full of ambiguity, sometimes sure of herself, lost at other times. I was grateful that the author didn't wrap everything up in a neat package at the end. I also enjoyed the book discussion questions and the interview with the author that were included in the paperback version.
Rating:
Summary: I expected better from Ms. Smiley
Review: Jane Smiley is one of my favorite authors (I adored A Thousand Acres). However, this was a huge disappointment. I never could get into the book...it took me almost 2 months to finish. I never got a handle on Thomas: why he married Lidie, was he wise or weak, etc. Despite being written in the 1st person as Lidie, I never understood her either. I came close several times to throwing it aside without finishing, but persevered to the end. Smiley's historical depiction was good, but it didn't seem to flow well with her characterizations.
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