A Thousand Acres

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Summary: A "real" midwestern drama, what Iowa living is...
Review: Jane Smiley knows her stuff. She has put together a painful reality of what family farm life is truly all about. It could be Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota or anywhere in the Midwest...regardless, the same ideals, aspirations and pathetic disfunction exists. She weaves a heartfilled tale. Any reader with significant family ties will feel the pain and joy Jane Smiley portrays in this fabulous read. Give us more Jane!

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Summary: Touching Story of Real People with Real Problems
Review: I purchased this book despite the picture of Michelle Phiffer (sp?) on the cover. My expectation was that it would be sappy and romantic...but this book is gritty and real. It took me a while to get started, but then I could not put the book down. Smiley's description of the farming "culture" is vivid and her main character is alive and complex. I was fascinated by the family dynamics, which although sometimes a little "unreal", had traces of my own family experiences. I particularly enjoyed the ending...it made the book for me. Now - I wonder if seeing the movie will ruin the experience for me!

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Summary: This novel makes me grateful that Jane Smiley exists
Review: Jane Smiley's greatest gift, in my opinion, is her ability to create characters that we've all met. In her short story, "The Pleasure of Her Company," the protagonist is an over-eager and slightly annoying woman who does things that make the reader cringe, not in disgust, but in sympathy. In her novella "Good Will," Smiley carefully describes an idyllic life that the protagonists holds so dear, and does away with it almost thoughtlessly. Smiley gets inside tragedy like nobody I've ever read. At the precise moment when I begin to care about a character or place, she destroys that character or place. A THOUSAND ACRES is no exception. None of her main characters are "character," overly colorful archetypes. They're real, and we don't get to know them in a few glib chapters. It's a slow and almost painful process. This book isn't extraordinary because of Jane Smiley's faultless grasp on incest, or on sisters, or on illness. Those are reasons to read it, but not to love it. This is a brilliant novel because asoon as you realize how much her characters and all of their quirks mean to you, Jane Smiley devastates them. She has the courage to ruin such beauty, and creates a greater beauty in doing so

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Summary: Best Book I Have Read In A Long Time
Review: A Thousand Acres is the typical tale of greed and betrayal. Wonderfully told by a daughter who is set to inherit 1000 acres, it goes through the high time of the recent windfall, to the desperate low that the family goes through at the end of the book. Jane Smiley weaves a twisted tale that should be considered a modern day classic. The use of vocabulary is beautiful to describe the trials and tribulations of this very disfunctional family, and the farm in which they are immersed. I would recommend it to anyone

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Summary: Interesting modern-day look at Shakespeare's King Lear.
Review: This book paralells Shakespeare's work almost perfectly. The two works should be read together to get the most enjoyment out of each. Smiley's treatment of King Lear is well-handled and beautifully done. Smiley helps the reader understand King Lear by bringing the ancient conflict into today's terms by placing the story in Iowa, a setting the reader well understands. The literary symbolism in Acres is well done. For example, Larry Cook, the aging father playing the part of King Lear, leaves his brand-new wood furniture to be ruined in the driveway. This symbolizes Larry's own dementia, as seen from his daughter Ginny's eyes. The reader will enjoy the skillful use of language in Smiley's work and the dedication to the original story. However, I had to rate the book an eight because it does get heavy and cumbersome, particularly towards the end. While still well-written, it gets very depressing and heavy-handed. It is still faithful to Lear, but gets slow. Overall, Lear and Acres ought to read as companions for a good look at some wonderful writing on both the authors' parts

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Summary: And this won a Pulitzer Prize?
Review: The only reason I finished this book was because it won a Pulitzer Price. I kept figuring--it's got to get better. As a fellow midwesterner I found the story and characters believable but not very poignant, entertaining, or inspiring. A lackluster book

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Summary: An eye opening account of a decent mid - western farm family
Review: Smiley takes us vividly into a rural mid western setting, the core of which a wholesome and truly decent upbring of children, far from the social corruptions of urban life, is easily obtained. Where hard work and true moral values are taught and lived every day by families untouched by sinister motives or devient whims the large cities notoriously produce. She takes us there, to a small rural town, a place we have been told is idealistic and as pure as the country air. Then she slowly peels away these myths and we see stark human nature, farm style. Smiley takes you along with her and enables you to feel the story, page by page

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Summary: Surprising, provocative
Review: A Thousand Acres is full of surprises. Jane Smiley shows us how a family, like any other crop, can be corrupted by sins committed on the land. This is the story of a patriarch who sows bad seeds, affecting not only his daughters, but his grandchildren as well. Family secrets, family rivalries, family tragedies are the results. The author skillfully introduces unforseen twists in this plot of land-in-contention. Smiley well deserves the awards that it harvested

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Summary: I Can't Believe I Made it All the Way Through!!!
Review: Mish-mash! No motivation. Whiny, lame characters. The only reason I cared about the characters was in the hopes that their story would be told in a worth-while manner. It gets a two (instead of a one) because I made it to the last 50 pages which held prose of interest. I can't imagine what "Let's Hear it for Girls" was thinking when including this novel in its 375 best works. It's hard to imagine the future of our young women growing up thinking that any of the women in this novel should by their "she-roes." Real She-roes are Franny from Irving's Hotel New Hampshire and Daisy from Shield's Stone Diaries. I'm still not sure what guidelines juriors for the Pulitzer use for making decision - "Acres" can't compare to Stegner's "Angle of Repose," Shields "Stone Diaries," Morrison's "Beloved," or Welty's "Optimist's Daughter;" it shouldn't even be mentioned in the same breath. S. Rea

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Summary: Tangled Web Woven Wonderfully by Jane Smiley
Review: I picked up this novel with no knowledge of the author or the story. However, to my delight, I was immediately swept away and immersed in the storyline. Her characters are believable and I found myself really caring about their outcomes. Some of the twists and turns in the plot really surprised me and kept me interested. I plan on reading more of Ms. Smiley's novels