"I'll never be happy again," muses Dana in the backseat of the family car, regardless of how she thinks out loud. Hearing this, Dave, her husband, feels that they are both about to lose everything they want. they once wished for: their years of peaceful marriage, three daughters, the thriving dental clinic they share Now Dave is convinced that Dana has fallen in love with another man and unexpectedly decides that the best way to save their relationship is to avoid let his wife find out that he knows it.

  In The Age of Grief, Jane Smiley narrates with amazing authenticity the rhythms of everyday life and how suddenly they are shaken by an unexpected emotion, leading to tragicomic situations and a devastating meditation on life as a couple, loss and unhappiness. Cited by Jonathan Franzen as one of his favorite works, The Age of Grief is an emotional and engrossing novel, as fun as it is sad, a powerful portrait of family intimacy, fear of losing loved ones, and vulnerability to love.