A Thousand Acres

Rating:
Summary: A uniquely moving read.
Review: This is a book I feel that anyone can read and experience. Each character is good. . . bad. . . reprehensible. . . redeemable. . . human. Although some points within the story were predictable, they did not detract from the suspense and horror Smiley has woven; they actually contribute to the interaction between author and reader. I could not put this book down. I cared about the characters, cared about the events, and cared about the setting. Forget "big-city" modern novels; this engrossing story about one rural family is just shocking enough to be true. You could know these people.

Rating:
Summary: Moving book that I could not put down
Review: I started this book not knowing much about it and I could not put it down. The book and it's charactoers angered me so much I would tell family and friends about it. I had such clear mental pictures of all of the characters thoughout the book. The book left many unresolved questions, just like life does at the end and I could respect that. I think that Jane Smiley is a gifted writer because I have never had such a emotional response to a book before

Rating:
Summary: A Thousand Acres is a great novel and a great read.
Review: While I am not sure of the impetus that impelled Jane Smiley, an academician, to write A Thousand Acres, I presume that she intended the book to be a modern commentary on Shakespeare's King Lear. On one level, the book explores issues that the play might raise in modern audiences: what if the king were not heroic; what if the older two daughters had reasons for behaving the way they do towards him; what if the youngest daughter's motivations were misguided. In A Thousand Acres, Smiley puts a wicked spin on the King Lear template by setting it in Iowa farm country and by making the oldest daughter the heroine. It is not necessary to have read King Lear to be a fan of this book, however, as Smiley's prose grips the reader from the first page and does not relinquish its hold until the final page. Smiley's novel, which becomes as much Faulkner as Shakespeare, is a riveting melodrama for fans of the original play and for new readers alike. While this review might make the book appear to be an academic exercise, it most assuredly does not read that way. A Thousand Acres is a great book by a novelist at the top of her form.

Rating:
Summary: Explosive
Review: This is an insightful look into the hearts of Midwesterners. Everything starts placid and calm -- on the surface. As Smiley reveals her characters, we start to see the long-simmering conflicts that have been thoroughly repressed. Eventually, everything explodes. This is the best work of fiction I have read in many years

Rating:
Summary: Fathers and Daughters!
Review: I found this an exceptional portrait of the power a father can have over his daughters. Each woman absorbed his behavior, and in turn, they became three entirely different women. I found the responses and variations in the three woman intricate and detailed - and very believable. It is a raw look at the destructiveness of a family. I would highly recommend this to anyone exploring that relationship

Rating:
Summary: I just don't get it.....
Review: I have 9 sisters and a mother that are better examples of women growing up on the family farm than the three wimpy, whiny women in this book. I bought it because I thought it might be fun to read about growing up on the family farm; which I did. I had trouble finishing the book but, I persevered......and that is what growing up on the farm is about

Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but Shakespeare's version was much better...
Review: If you truly like this book, then do yourself a favor and read King Lear. Same story, much better

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and Poigant
Review: A poignant look at the painful realities that exist beneath the surface of this seemingly typical American family. Jane Smiley paints a beautiful picture of a content, almost happy American farm family. And then she proceeds to destroy it all by picking at the edges bit by bit, while you watch, begging her in your mind to stop before it's too late. Well deserving of the Pulitzer Prize it won.

Rating:
Summary: A "must read" for past, present, and future Iowa farmwives
Review: Jane Smiley has captured, with brilliant detail, the lifestyle of Iowa farmers and their wives. Dull subject, some would say. Not so, as Jane spins the tale with basic human characteristics; love, hatred, greed and jealousy. Each character is well defined through the eyes Ginny, an Iowa farmwife. I was simply amazed by the accurate detail! How true to form! Bravo Jane

Rating:
Summary: Poignant yet brutal look at family rivalries
Review: Thoughtful, well written & a pretty quick read, suitable for plane reading. The characters could be your neighbors...or your own family. The plot has a few twists & turns which captured my interest, yet isn't so complicated that chapters needed to be re-read between landings & take-offs.