Compromised Land: Good Faith, by Jane Smiley
By Bruce Collier June 19, 2003 Issue

If you’re accustomed to thinking of the 1980s as “the greed decade,” the theme of Jane Smiley’s novel Good Faith will be familiar to you. Quick bucks and edgy investment schemes abound. It may seem old ground, but Smiley gives it a human spin, producing an entertaining, occasionally nostalgic story of optimism, cynicism, and misplaced friendship.

The protagonist/narrator is Joe Stratford, a realtor living in a small community in the northeast. Stratford makes a good living selling houses of all kinds and price ranges. Recently divorced, he finds himself drifting into an affair with Felicity Ornquist, the not-so-happily married daughter of his mentor and business partner. This is the side story. The centerpiece of the novel is Stratford’s friendship and business relationship with Marcus Burns, a former IRS agent with big dreams.

Burns and his family move into town from New York, and Burns immediately makes his presence known to the local movers and shakers. Moving on the theory that one man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity, Burns uses the demise of a local millionaire to launch a now familiar plan. He forms a partnership with realtors, builders, and investment bankers to purchase the dead man’s property and develop it into an upscale residential community, Salt Key Farm. Such ventures are commonplace now, but this is 1982, and Burns has his seduction cut out for him.

Good looking, aggressive, and possessed of a great fund of Irish-American charm, Burns is the type of person people either love or hate, and the community takes sides. Fortunately for Burns, his side has the cash and the political influence, and the Salt Key partnership takes off, gathering money and support. Within a relatively short time, the stage is set for everyone to get rich, and quick. “Billions,” says Burns, “billions.”

Not everyone is seduced. “He’s a crackpot,” says his sister, who nevertheless joins the team. Also opposing the developers is Hank Ornquist, Felicity’s in-the-dark husband. While not exactly what has come to be known as a “tree hugger,” Hank is nevertheless attached to the old-fashioned and pristine, cautioning against unchecked development. Money talks—in this case it shouts—and Hank’s misgivings are ignored. One by one Burns pulls his followers along, meeting each setback with the same attitude; fortune favors only the bold. The more the partnership spends, the more there is to spend on, and as the stakes get higher, so do the bets. This is the 1980s, remember, and piles of money are made and lost in minutes and seconds.

Stratford and Burns are likable characters, with few of the now clichéd trappings of the Oliver Stone “greed is good” predator.

Stratford’s affair with Felicity is oddly casual, and seems aimless from the beginning. Midway through the book it just fades away, only to reappear toward the end for little or no good reason.

The story reaches its climax and resolution in short order, leaving as many questions open as answered. What made Good Faith worth reading for me was its evocation of the minutiae of the decade. I found myself stopping and reflecting at the mention of each cultural artifact—gold speculation, savings and loans, gated communities, “upscale” this and that. I laughed out loud at Smiley’s description of a character’s taste for fancy imported coffee. It’s described as an exotic status symbol. In those pre-Starbuck days, it was. Eighties clothing, eighties food fads, big hair, and BMWs are all here, along with our now commonplace passion for building new luxuries out of pieces of the past. Commendably, Smiley avoids preaching and politics, keeping the story on track through character and mostly believable relationships.

The end comes quickly, a little too quickly and predictably. I won’t tell you what becomes of the Salt Key Farm development, but you probably won’t be surprised. You may be surprised at the last few pages, when Smiley attempts to wrap everything up. There is a sense of just getting it over with that seemed a little forced after all the care she took throughout the book. Smiley is an experienced and honored author, and I doubt if she is thinking sequel, but that’s what I thought as I read the last page.

If I’ve made Good Faith seem like a cautionary tale, it isn’t. Or rather, it isn’t just that. It has fully developed characters and a page-turning story. If you’ve ever bought a house, sold a house, or been around real estate developers and brokers, you’ll recognize Joe Stratford and his friends. Or, considering where we live, you may be Joe or one of his friends. Read it and see for yourself. (Top)

Knopf, 417 pp. Available at bookstores and local libraries.

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