Book description
Margaret Drabble is one of the major literary figures of her generation. In this collection of her complete short fiction from across four decades, she examines the intense private worlds and passions of everyday people.
From one man's honeymooning epiphany in 'Hassan's Tower' to the journeying fantasies of 'A Voyage…
Why read it?
1 author picked A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
The one and only collection by this great novelist [and the sister of A.S. Byatt] is one of my most favorite. These short tales explore all sorts of relationships, not only marriage and friendship, but our relationships with personal identity, politics, and the culture which defines us. The writing is absolutely divine – images pop from the page and characters stay with us as if we’ve actually known them. And between the lines there is a lot of philosophical musing, which I love – just enough to make us think but never wear us down. These stories are for women…
From Randy's list on short stories for smart women.
If you love A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman...
Performance Anxiety
Lerner's memoir of approaching adulthood in the mid-sixties is deliciously readable, but deceptively breezy. His family is affluent, his school engaging, his friends smart and fun. He has his first car, and drives with abandon. The American moment promises unlimited possibility. But political and cultural upheavals are emerging, and irresistible.…
Want books like A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 97 books like A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman.
Share your top 3 reads of 2025!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,343
readers submitted
so far, will you?
