Rating: 
Summary: No smiles from Smiley
Review: I bought this book based on an enthusiastic review in the Wall Street Journal, a paper I trust, and because I had heard of Smiley's previous well known works. But Good Faith was a huge disappointment. It dragged along for literally hundreds of pages before she brought us to the true dramatic crisis; what led up to that crisis was B-O-R-I-N-G. Even when we finally get to the "crisis," it seems like no big deal, and is resolved undramatically and quickly. The main character, Joe, also has little depth and spends no time contemplating the morality (or lack thereof) of his affair with a married woman. This book only deserves two stars because Smiley's writing ( as opposed to story-telling) is so good. I may try "Moo," but I'll get it from the library this time.
Rating: 
Summary: Faith or Stupidity?
Review: I can't say that I've enjoyed all of Jane Smiley's books, but I like them enough to always look forward to her newest. I had no idea what GOOD FAITH was about, but when I started reading it at the bookstore it was something I thought I could sink my teeth into. I wasn't wrong, but I have to admit, it took some doing. I also have to admit that there were a few pages that got turned without me reading them just so I could get to the next part. Not many, but a few. Jane Smiley does build some momentum and it got to the point where I wanted to find out what was going to happen next and how. The main character, Joe, was likable (something that's important to most readers, I believe) and realistic. A simple man with a simple life. Like Smiley's other books, this is well done and although I found the story a bit unusual, I liked it in the end.
Rating: 
Summary: Most BORING book ever
Review: I decided to read this book because of Jane Smiley's reputation. After an entire book of weakly drawn characters and a plot that is so transparent I wanted to scream - absolutely nothing of any significance happens. I kept reading because of her reputation. I wish I hadn't wasted my time on what I would consider one of the most BORING books ever written. Some of my children's beginning chapter books are more interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Mildly interesting
Review: I expected big things from this book after reading a glowing
review in the San Jose Mercury News. It was supposed to be a
cautionary tale on 80's greed, about how a good guy gets caught
up in financial roulette. It didn't read that way to me. The
business transactions seemed pretty routine for your average
entrepreneur. I'm not sure the main character is really all that good of a guy.
And the ending felt anti-climatic to me. I was like:
"Is that it?" The author does build up some interesting characters
and some interesting situations, and she can write some vivid
scenes, but I felt generally disappointed when I finished reading
it.
Rating: 
Summary: disappointed
Review: I finish 99 percent of the books I read if only out of vanity. This one I didn't even skim to the end to see if it got better. The excerpt I read on Amazon was promising enough for me to buy the book. I am also a Smiley fan and have read and enjoyed most of her books. And I don't mind reading a novel about real estate in the 80's, although I was quite young then. I would read a book by Smiley about filing tax returns, at least I would give it a decent chance before puttting it aside. This book was just - dull. It made no impression on me, except that I could think of half a dozen things I'd rather be doing. I didn't even care enough to hate it or get angry that it had wasted my time. The three stars are because Smiley on a bad day still writes better than most writers on a good day. It's well-written just not interesting.
Rating:
Summary: A Beautifully written Disappointment
Review: I have been an unabashed Jane Smiley fan for many years. I thought that "Moo" and "Horse Heaven" were two of the best novels of the past ten years. I am sorry I can't say that about "Good Faith." Jane Smiley is one of our best writers so it came as no surprise that this novel was well observed and crisply written. But it seemed to me that Ms. Smiley didn't have much to say. The '80s were a time in which many small time business people got in over their heads and when the bubble burst -- as bubbles inevitably must - failed, as a lot of banks and savings and loans who ill-advisedly lent them money did as well. Joe Stratford, the easygoing protagonist, is a real estate broker who goes into business with a charismatic and, as it turns out, crooked ex IRS agent, Marcus Burns. Most of the book is spent describing the details of the purchase of a large estate for development, the development itself and, finally, the crash and its aftermath. Beyond that, there was not much in "Good Faith." To me the 400 plus pages that Smiley spent on the dreary details of a business failure were hardly more interesting than the foregoing short description - that is not very interesting at all.
Rating:
Summary: Details, lessons, danger
Review: I love Jane Smiley's books. Each one is memorable and beautifully crafted. Again, her attention to detail, the inner voice of the characters and the sense of danger (as in 1000 acres and this one). Either it all falls apart or it all comes together (1000 and moo, repectively).
What makes this one interesting is that it is written from the male character's point of view so completely; day to day life, his habits, his business dealings, his sex life (wow!), his family are all captured. Again the range of characters are all so interesting, and even though there are quite a few of them, I never felt confused by this.
I wonder, what is the lesson in the book? Was it the 7 deadly sins? Was it about the idea of relationships vs. contracts and the danger of confusing the two? Maybe the Greek Tragedy where Joey's downfall was as a result of his own greed? On a practical note, I was left with the notion that the book was unrealistic in order to bring about the final calamity. Where is their skeptism? Why did they trust Marcus? Why not investigate him? Didn't their incorporation protect them from all their losses? Wouldn't the banks chase him? Why didn't Joey get a private eye to follow him? Wouldn't they have a lawer actively involved in all their real estate transactions who would want to build in more safegaurds? These questions kept bothering me .(Sounds like another book in another section of the book store perhaps.)
I also found the S & L story confusing. I know this was pivotal to the house of cards that was built, but I felt like I was not quite understanding how that all worked. It is hard to explain a situation that exists better in graphs and diagrams and spreadsheets. Maybe words are not enough here. (Throw in some archtectural renderings, permit applications and geologists reprorts too!).
I liked "Greek chorus" around Joey such as Gordon saying to "keep your distance" and Jane saying "he's a crackpot" and Felicity saying that she was "affectionate but not kind" and George using the card game approach of limiting how much you gamble with.
By the way, I am reminded a little of a wonderful novel by Richard Ford titiled "Independence Day."
In the end, was Joey at peace or was he about to go down another dangerous slope with someone we all knew he shouldn't trust...Had he learned or was he still too open to tempation? We are left hanging, but this isn't all bad or unexpected.
Rating: 
Summary: good faith
Review: I LOVED THIS BOOK. I ESPECIALLY RELATED TO MY YEARS INTHE 80'S.JANE SMILEY CAN DO NO WRONG.
Rating:
Summary: A seductive novel, about sex and capitalism
Review: I read Smiley's A Thousand Acres several years ago, and just loved it. I also enjoyed the movie starring Jessica Lange, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Colin Firth. I haven't, however, "gotten into" any of her other novels since then, but I really liked Good Faith. What a lusty, sexy novel about money and seduction! I think that a number of reviewers have been somewhat misguided in their review of this novel. Yes, it IS long and on first appearances appears to be convoluted, but it really is an amazing story of an era is capitalist American history. Also as a character study of different personalities and the lengths they go to for greed, this story is unsurpassed. Joe is an amazingly complex character: he has some bad moments, but he's basically a good businessman and a good person. I think it's his small town naivete that is his ultimate downfall. Generally, Good Faith, is an excellent novel about greed, lust, and self-delusion set in the economic boom of the early 1980s,. Joe is an amiable, divorced real estate agent in an unspoiled small town called Rollins Hills. He takes it in stride when a married female friend pursues a love affair with him; he is more suspicious when a high-rolling newcomer named Marcus Burns begins to influence the business affairs of the men closest to Joe. Marcus Burns is an archetypal, sociopathic personality - and the tension of this novel is really in the web he gradually weaves over Joe's life. You know his proposed real estate deal is doomed to failure, and you just want to shake and scream at Joe and his way of thinking. Read this and stay with it; you'll be really pleased! Michael
Rating:
Summary: Old Story, Nothing New
Review: I was rather disappointed in this tale of NYC exurbanites caught up in a small-town version of the go-go 1980s. Considering that authors ranging in quality from Tom Wolfe to John Grisham have tackled this theme, you'd think that Smiley would either offer a new take on the subject or devise irresistible characters. She doesn't. The book is well-written, at least.
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