#1 NATIONAL BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK

"A WISE, SPIRITED NOVEL . . . [IN WHICH] SMILEY PLUMBS THE WONDROUSLY

STRANGE WORLD OF HORSE RACING." --People

"ONE OF THE PREMIER NOVELISTS OF HER GENERATION, possessed of a mastery

of craft and an uncompromising vision that grow more powerful with each

book . . . Racing's eclectic mix of classes and personalities provides

Smiley with fertile soil . . . Expertly juggling storylines, she

investigates the sexual, social, psychological, and spiritual problems

of wealthy owners, working-class bettors, trainers on the edge of

financial ruin, and, in a typically bold move, horses."

--The Washington Post

"A NOVEL OF PASSION IN EVERY SENSE . . . [SHE DOES] IT ALL WITH APLOMB .

. . WITH A DEMON NARRATIVE INTELLIGENCE."

--The Boston Sunday Globe

"WITTY, ENERGETIC . . . It's deeply satisfying to read a work of fiction

so informed about its subject and so alive to every nuance and detail .

. . [Smiley's] final chapters have a wonderful restorative quality."

--The New York Times Book Review

"RICHLY DETAILED, INGENIOUSLY CONSTRUCTED . . . YOU WILL REVEL IN JANE

SMILEY'S HORSE HEAVEN."

--San Diego Union-Tribune

Chosen by the Los Angeles Times as One of the Best Books of the Year

From the Trade Paperback edition.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "A Thousand Acres" comes the bestselling "New York Times" Notable Book about the world of horse racing.

Jane Smiley is the author of nine previous works of fiction, including The Age of Grief, The Greenlanders, Ordinary Love & Good Will, A Thousand Acres (for which she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize), and Moo. She lives in northern California.

From the Hardcover edition.