Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

8 reviews

coltonpugh's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is not typically one I would explore. It is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear set on a large farm in Iowa. My background in farming is what brought me to give this a chance and I am glad I did.

The story truly lives up to a Tragedy theme. You follow the events of the eldest girl while her father decides to split up the 3rd generation family farm. While I cannot say I have read the original King Lear, the author does a great job capturing the fall of a farming "empire" and the events that lead to it. The character flaws and poor decisions are all believable based on my experience with generational farming.

Overall I really enjoyed this read. Sometimes I felt it could be slow, but the story kept me reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship

Moderate: Miscarriage and Sexual assault

Minor: Domestic abuse

bookdon's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Child abuse

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Animal death

katieluvs2read's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, and Domestic abuse

bessadams's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, and Infertility

Moderate: Alcoholism, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Rape, Car accident, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness

prettiestwhistles's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Incest, Infidelity, Medical content, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infertility, Murder, Terminal illness, Addiction, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness

Minor: Animal death, Blood, Gun violence, Excrement, and War

syds_shelves's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Incest, and Rape

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Alcoholism

kristin_h_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Incest, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Addiction, Incest, Animal cruelty, and Domestic abuse

chalkletters's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I first read A Thousand Acres as part of an English Literature module on American Literature. If I remember correctly, it was the only book on the course that I could remotely stand, but before rereading it, I had absolutely forgotten quite how dark it gets! I’ve never seen or read King Lear, on which at least the premise of A Thousand Acres is based, so I can’t speak to whether the original play takes the same kind of twist.

On this reread, it took me some time to get into the story. I was reading an old university copy, littered with my notes from the time, and it was hard not to think analytically about everything that was happening. I did, eventually, get caught up in the plot and, as I mentioned, was taken aback by the twist. Once I got past wanting to analyse everything, the prose was compelling, drawing me quickly through the plot as it developed.

The characters and their relationships are definitely the best part of A Thousand Acres. We’re given a great sense of what it is to be Ginny, to have lived in the kind of farming community that Jane Smiley captures on the page. Almost everyone ends up hurting Ginny in some way, and I felt for her every time. The story isn’t a happy one, but I didn’t really need it to be. It felt realistic and every new twist felt earned.

The setting, as well as Ginny’s relationship to her father, reminded me of Salt Creek. There’s just something fascinating to me about that combination of overpowering nature, a challenging rural life and a frightening patriarchal figure. I think, if you enjoyed Salt Creek as much as I did, you should definitely give A Thousand Acres a go.

I can definitely see why I kept hold of A Thousand Acres through at least five moves! I’ve added Jane Smiley to my list of authors to investigate as I’m curious to see what else she might have written.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, and Rape

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Minor: Animal death