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A review by gwalt118
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
5.0
A Thousand Acres is the story of a wealthy farm family in Iowa with deep secrets, hidden drama, and unspoken truths that are brought to light when the patriarch retires and seeks to divide his farm between his three daughters.
Smiley reimagines themes of Shakespeare’s King Lear in this novel. Most notable for me were themes of justice, authority, reconciliation, and self-knowledge. Different characters in this novel, like in King Lear, have different notions of morality and what is “right,” and I loved witnessing internal and external struggles of that question among the family dynamics of the novel.
Smiley’s writing in this novel is nothing short of outstanding. The sense of place is incredibly strong – and as a Midwesterner who lives in a rural area, I can also attest that it is incredibly accurate! – and captivated me right away. It is immensely clear why this novel won a Pulitzer. Sometimes that sticker intimidates people, though, and I would also attest that this novel is not dense. It was easy to sit down and devour 50+ pages at one time.
The characters in this novel are deeply complicated, both individually and as a collective unit. Complicated characters meant I could feel empathy for characters that I also despised at other times, which is a challenge in and of itself. I found myself thinking the same questions as the characters – what is right and just and moral, and who is really in charge.
Strong sense of place, themes of morality and justice, magnificent writing, and complicated characters – these are the things that make this a five-star book for me.
Trigger warnings for all kinds of abuse – domestic, child, and sexual. They are not scenes you can skip over because they are integral to the plot, the development of characters, and the themes of the novel. Additional trigger warnings for death and suicide.
Smiley reimagines themes of Shakespeare’s King Lear in this novel. Most notable for me were themes of justice, authority, reconciliation, and self-knowledge. Different characters in this novel, like in King Lear, have different notions of morality and what is “right,” and I loved witnessing internal and external struggles of that question among the family dynamics of the novel.
Smiley’s writing in this novel is nothing short of outstanding. The sense of place is incredibly strong – and as a Midwesterner who lives in a rural area, I can also attest that it is incredibly accurate! – and captivated me right away. It is immensely clear why this novel won a Pulitzer. Sometimes that sticker intimidates people, though, and I would also attest that this novel is not dense. It was easy to sit down and devour 50+ pages at one time.
The characters in this novel are deeply complicated, both individually and as a collective unit. Complicated characters meant I could feel empathy for characters that I also despised at other times, which is a challenge in and of itself. I found myself thinking the same questions as the characters – what is right and just and moral, and who is really in charge.
Strong sense of place, themes of morality and justice, magnificent writing, and complicated characters – these are the things that make this a five-star book for me.
Trigger warnings for all kinds of abuse – domestic, child, and sexual. They are not scenes you can skip over because they are integral to the plot, the development of characters, and the themes of the novel. Additional trigger warnings for death and suicide.