Reviews

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

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jess_mango's review against another edition

4.0

A Thousand Acres is a reworking of Shakespeare's King Lear. Smiley has set her novel on a thousand acre family farm in Iowa. The family patriarch decides to retire and hands his farm over to 2 of his 3 daughters. The book started off slowly. The novel turns into a character-driven story about family and betrayal.

sunbreak's review against another edition

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3.0

I may have given this more stars if I had been a reader when it was first published.. The remembered sex abuse theme is too played out by now. Parts were compelling, and the writing was enjoyable.

emmad861's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Every man in this book should be run over by a train and every woman should be put in intensive therapy. Give this book a read if you want to learn about farms.

anna_w's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5*
Definitely preferred the first half to the second (the ending was a bit unsatisfying), but it was still enjoyable.

sash512's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

blondierocket's review against another edition

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4.0

A modernized King Lear, where a farmer, Larry Cook, decides to divide his farm into three pieces for his three daughters. While two go along with the plan, the youngest daughter, Caroline, voices reservations and is left out in the cold.

The book is told from the perspective of the older daughter, Ginny, as she watches her family change over the course of four-five years.

Made into a motion picture staring Michelle Pfeiffer, Jessica Lange, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Colin Firth the story is all about family struggle, pain, deceit, forgiveness, jealousy, and death.

I’ve seen the movie a few times, but the book is much more than movie could ever be. It helped being able to picture faces to the characters but Smiley’s in depth struggle of this family and their traditions shows greatly through the written word.

Challenges: Book Into Movie, 999 Challenge, 50/100+ Book Challenge, New Authors Challenge, RYOB 2009, Winter Reading Challenge, Book vs. Movie Challenge, EW’s New Classics

pained_creations's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.75

Not familiar with King Lear, so can't say if it is a decent modern retelling, but as a stand-alone book, I thought it was okay, if a bit far-fetched. Touches on many issues of a very dysfunctional farming family, and what happens with jealousy, secrets and pride take over several members of that family.

Content Warnings