A Thousand Acres: A Novel

I finally read this Pulitzer Prize winning novel after many years of reading something else instead. I'm sorry I delayed so long. It has many well crafted features that make it stand out as a literary gem. Clearly, the author has spent considerable time around Iowa farm families. She knows that men are occupied by tasks like moisture levels in corn or gauging the best day to sell hogs. Farm women do drive combines and neuter piglets, but are expected to fix early breakfasts and keep up household appearances as well. I read page after page of this 30 something farm wife going on and on about her cooking, her cleaning, her weeding, her bean picking, her canning, her dosing a jar of sauerkraut with poison to kill her sister...What! WTF? Jane Smiley knows when to unleash her thunderbolts. Just when the American pastoral setting is at dead calm, she summons one of the deadly sins onto the page. They all show up. Some critics have found this exhibition too atypical to be believed, but I think some people who feel cheated by life resort to extremes when outrageousness is tolerated. Old Larry Cook (the stand in for King Lear), acquired a thousand acres, begot three daughters and destroyed it all. When I read his dialog I heard Chuck Grassley's voice in my head. (Sorry Senator.) Towards the end of the book the author implants sections that serve as motivation for the next course of action and deserve to be read carefully. The conversation between Ginny and Rose in Chapter 38 is crucial. There are well written summations as well including the epilogue.

This is a book club review of A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. Our book club had seven women present who read the book in entirety, ages 31 to 42. This was our 52nd read and our fifth Pulitzer. We rate books on their quality and readability, as well as the discussion they prompt. We also play trivia games and enjoy themed potlucks, and that plays into the rating as well. This particular book rated very high, in our top ten reads, with a score of seven out of ten. I won't summarize the book here much, as there are many reviews that serve that purpose, and will stick mostly to an examination of this book as a book club option.Quality/readability/discussion: This is a very well-written book with lots of depth, wit, word play, and emotion. The characters are well developed and their growth is a well-paced, slow reveal. There is a good tension and pacing to the pages. The subject matter may seem dull (the central female characters live mostly in a farm setting with their family, and the major crisis deals with family trauma) but the story is anything but that. Despite the rural and bucolic background, this book is a page-turning, taunt tale. There are many layers to these characters that unfold slowly and deliciously. The discussion went on for hours. We, of course, discussed the obvious connection to Shakespeare's King Lear - and that particular topic was engrossing. Smiley presents the older two daughters (in the play, they were the one-dimensional villains) in a more sympathetic light... giving depth and reason to their decisions. There were many topics here that we picked apart including family dynamics, feminist angles, money, hierarchy, destiny, history, and Americana. Six out of seven women felt that the book was very readable, with one member siting it as a difficult or challenging read. See below for TRIGGER topics (which present spoilers) if you have any worry about this book as a viable option.Games/Food/Etc.: This book developed a fun potluck theme (ironically... the potluck itself) as there were lots of mentions of church suppers, country dinners, country kitchens, and of course... the cuisine of Midwest Iowa. The games were lots of fun as well, with a highlight being Shakespeare trivia.Overall: This book rated high due to readability and great discussion. The book was praised for its quality of writing and its amazing, intellectual, and fresh examination of one of Shakespeare's lesser-known works. Everyone enjoyed the surprising twists and turns found within the narrative. One member found the book a bit dry and boring, but all of the other members found it to be fascinating (which was a bit of a fun surprise, as our favorite genre is thrillers/mysteries).TRIGGER WARNINGS: DO NOT READ BELOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS. These topics could be considered trigger items for some book club readers. Please note that none of our book club members had any issues with these topics and the way they were explored or presented, but I include them as I get a request often to do so. This book includes feminist topics, adultery, a woman suffering from breast cancer, molestation/sexual abuse, and a graphic injury that occurs "off camera."

Not a happy book, Smiley's stark revision of Shakespeare's tragedy, King Lear, is even more disturbing than the Bard's excruciatingly painful story. Told as a first-person experiential narrative by Ginny, the eldest of Larry Clark's daughters, this woeful tale has all the imperfections of a family story told through the distortions of a flawed primary character, lacking both perspective and honest objectivity.Clouded by Ginny's own reality of things, we only know what she tells us, how she feels about others, and her reactions to the facts. As such, her account, distorted by her own troubling experiences, creates an ambiguous and often conflicting description of a dysfunctional and multigenerational farming family in a small Iowan farming community.Smiley's provocative storytelling has two unretractable consequences. The first is how she changes forever how readers will view King Lear again. Although she likely did not intend to corrupt Shakespeare's original text by imposing so many ulterior motives and acts upon the characters; nonetheless, her sharp revisionist projections force prejudicial interpretations upon readers they wished they never had. The second consequence from reading Smiley's work is the overwhelming gloom and sadness thrust upon readers, leaving them to carry the novel's burdens forward and into their own lives. Although many readers might relate to portions of the storyline, the emotional trauma of this read might create lasting scars and distorted perspectives.One of the novel's strengths is its eye-opening glimpse of rural agricultural families and communities, whose livelihoods depend upon favorable weather and economic conditions. The stresses on family farms and those running them are palpable and unforgettable.Smiley's vivid character's are both believable and unforgettable, possibly unforgivable too. I didn't like any of them and hated the living hell they created for each other and especially for themselves.I forced myself to finish the book, feeling disappointed with the overall experience. My motivation to compete the novel was to see how Smiley's interpretations might reshape the ending given its modern context and Iowa setting. However, I was disappointed with how it ended and its nihilist perspectives of life. Ugh!Although the book is well written and Audible's narration well performed, the dearth of hope and complete despair the work created was a tragedy in itself. Ugh!Potentially good for reading groups or college classrooms, this book will likely create lots of questions and discussion but few solutions.

Facil de leer y me ha gustado bastante

This is a family saga, all can benefit from reading.

Conservative farming families are the central characters in this novel. Struggles to achieve a successful farm subjugate all other desires. Throw in infidelity and betrayals and you have a riveting novel that will keep you reading long after bedtime.

Purchased this as part of my study with University. The novel draws from the Shakespearean King Lear and creates a modern interpretation set in contemporary America. It won the Pulitzer Prize and its hard not to see why. Great read.

A brilliant novel.