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carolineroche's review against another edition
4.0
This is Jane Smileys very interesting take on King Lear. Smiley says she never agreed with the accepted narrative that Goneril and Regan were evil schemers against Lear. So this story attempts to redress the balance. The story is told from the viewpoint of Goneril (Ginny) who alongside her sister Rose (Regan) lives and farms her fathers land in Midwest America. Larry Cook (Lear) is an abusive and stubborn man who decided on a whim to turn the farm over to his two daughters and then can't live with his own decision. The story is a beautiful and carefully observed piece about a family tearing itself apart - whilst sticking to the Lear narrative. A great read - it was a Pulitzer prize winner.
kathrinpassig's review against another edition
3.0
Da es eine King-Lear-Coverversion ist, war von Anfang klar, dass es schlecht für alle Beteiligten ausgehen würde. Ich dachte, damit käme ich klar, weil die Figuren sowieso alle unsympathisch sind. Es war dann aber doch schwer und freudlos. Also, gutes Buch bestimmt, aber ich hätte viel früher aussteigen sollen.
arielamandah's review against another edition
4.0
Ooph. This was a tough one. This is a beautifully-written book. It's masterfully crafted and executed extremely well. It's also super depressing. It's no secret that this book is structured as a retelling fo King Lear. While Lear is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, I found the structure distracting at first. Half of my brain was always looking for the linkages. Once I was able to let that go, I found it reappearing at surprising moments that enriched the story rather than stealing from it. Still, phew, I walked away from this book feeling exceedingly gloomy. The content is TOUGH.
studeronomy's review against another edition
3.0
I’m from Iowa. My wife is from Massachusetts. I’m pretty sure she read A Thousand Acres while we lived in Boston, and then she read it again (and taught it to her English class) after we moved back to the rural Midwest. Her experience the second time was very different from the first: living with and around farmers gave her an entirely new perspective on the genius of Jane Smiley’s characterization.
So my wife insisted that I read this, and I eventually did (in April 2023). I have to say, I was blown away by the characterization. Smiley’s insight into the psychology of Iowans is…pretty incredible. And spot-on. If you want to understand the farmers who operated enormous family farms in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s—i.e., those farmers who preceded the current conglomeration of American agriculture into the corporate behemoths that overwhelm the middle of America today—then you should definitely read this book. The “domestic realism” (a derogatory term for fiction by women that nevertheless applies here) is really top-shelf.
That being said, I have one major complaint: ickiness. This is an icky book. I don’t want to spoil anything for you, except to say that ickiness emerges, ickiness persists, and ickiness doesn’t really resolve itself or arrive at a satisfying, uh, climax.
Gross.
Five stars for characterization, for Smiley’s uncanny ability to capture the uniquely Midwestern neuroses of her rural characters.
Four stars as an interpretation of King Lear; the parallels to Lear are sometimes a little too on-the-nose, but on the whole she does a great job reimagining those characters in this context.
Three stars for plot, which isn’t really the point.
One star for ickiness, which never really feels earned and goes basically unresolved (as, alas, it does in life…oh well).
Ick.
So my wife insisted that I read this, and I eventually did (in April 2023). I have to say, I was blown away by the characterization. Smiley’s insight into the psychology of Iowans is…pretty incredible. And spot-on. If you want to understand the farmers who operated enormous family farms in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s—i.e., those farmers who preceded the current conglomeration of American agriculture into the corporate behemoths that overwhelm the middle of America today—then you should definitely read this book. The “domestic realism” (a derogatory term for fiction by women that nevertheless applies here) is really top-shelf.
That being said, I have one major complaint: ickiness. This is an icky book. I don’t want to spoil anything for you, except to say that ickiness emerges, ickiness persists, and ickiness doesn’t really resolve itself or arrive at a satisfying, uh, climax.
Gross.
Five stars for characterization, for Smiley’s uncanny ability to capture the uniquely Midwestern neuroses of her rural characters.
Four stars as an interpretation of King Lear; the parallels to Lear are sometimes a little too on-the-nose, but on the whole she does a great job reimagining those characters in this context.
Three stars for plot, which isn’t really the point.
One star for ickiness, which never really feels earned and goes basically unresolved (as, alas, it does in life…oh well).
Ick.
maxis's review against another edition
3.0
Up to the middle of the book I was going to give it 5 stars but then it took a strange turn and threw Iowa farmers under the bus.
leahreadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
Character-driven tale about a family hiding their secrets. This one had to grow on me--I didn't love it instantly. I admit that the fact that it won a Pulitzer motivated me a bit.
expatally's review against another edition
5.0
This book is the reason I read from the 1001 Books You Should Read Before You Die list. I would have never heard of it otherwise and am so glad to have found it.
goosemixtapes's review against another edition
5.0
the character work done on every single character... the slow quiet creeping emotion saturating the entire book... the way the plot of the original play is adapted so smoothly to this setting (in a way that’s just distanced enough from the original that it can be judged both As An Adaptation and As A Book Of Its Own Accord)… this book is so fucking good if i am crying In Thee Club no i’m not