Duplicate Keys

literary author Jane Smiley does a murder mystery, which is cause enough for interest. the central character's lack of understanding is fascinating: surprisingly deluded about the events unfolding around her and completely misunderstanding the inner lives of her lifelong friends. this is much more o......more

The spacious Manhattan apartment was like a central meeting place for the group of friends who had all moved to the city around the same time. Within their group were members of a band called Deep Six. The three actual residents of the apartment were Denny Minehart, Craig Shellady, and Susan Gabriel......more

Smiley's style is so readable that I enjoyed the book in spite of the fact that I spent the first half arguing with it. As I turned the pages (and I did keep turning the pages), I kept saying to myself, this is not how real people act. The book begins with a murder, and all the friends spend the day......more

This is probably a 3.5 but rounded down to 3. I don't know why I liked this book: there is something intangible that I found interesting about it. Probably more as a study of a certain kind of novel. I read it because I'm reading Smiley's book about ways of looking at the novel and she writes there......more

I just finished Jane Smiley's Duplicate Keys, a mysterious story of murder, betrayal, and life in 1980 New York City. The story follows a group of friends, a few of them in a band, from the Midwest who come to NYC seeking their piece of the rock n' roll pie. The group has moderate success and receiv......more