About: Ordinary People (Guest novel)

Ordinary People is Judith Guest's first novel. Published in 1976, it tells the story of a year in the life of the Jarretts, an affluent suburban family trying to cope with the aftermath of two traumatic events. Although it won critical praise and awards upon its release, it is best remembered today as the basis for the 1980 film version, which won four Academy Awards including Best Picture. The novel received the 1976 Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize and is also assigned in many American secondary school English classes.