‘Golden Age’: Closing chapters of trilogy secures authors achievement

'Golden Age,' the final book in Jane Smiley's Last Hundred Years Trilogy, pays off the promise of the first two volumes, 'Some Luck' and 'Early Warning.'

Each chapter in the trilogy represents a single year, beginning in 1920 and ending in 2019. The new book covers the years from 1987 to 2019, taking Smiley's fictional family, the Langdons, into the near future. That glimpse into the future is an intriguing decision and might be fraught with narrative dangers, but because Smiley's focus is on character rather than incident, the closing chapters feel of a piece with all that has come before.

As must be expected, many central characters — including Frank Langdon, who might be considered the protagonist of the entire tale — pass away over the course of 'Golden Age.' Their deaths come in a variety of ways, some quiet, some shocking, some at the intersection of historical events. Smiley handles each with care, and highlights the ways in which a person's influence might linger far after his or her passing.

She also brings her younger generations — driven by new opportunities, dangers, and ideas — vividly to life. As the years pass by, children become adults and take their idiosyncratic place in the detailed and diverse canvas Smiley is painting.

Smiley's reputation as a major author was secure long before the publication of the Last Hundred Years Trilogy. Nevertheless, this exceptional work — broad in scope, crystalline in detail, moving in execution — is a brilliant achievement even for someone of Smiley's literary stature.

Book readings

Jane Smiley reads from 'Golden Age'

Coralville: Coralville Public Library, 1401 Fifth St., 5 p.m. Sunday.

Iowa City: 7 p.m. Monday at Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn St.