A Thousand Acres: A Novel
Jan 2011 · Vintage
3.7star
3 reviewsreport
Ebook
384
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About this ebook
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER • NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A "powerful and poignant" twentieth-century reimagining of Shakespeare’s King Lear (The New York Times Book Review) that takes on themes of truth, justice, love, and pride—and centers on a wealthy Iowa farmer who decides to divide his farm between his three daughters.
When the youngest daughter objects, she is cut out of his will. This sets off a chain of events that brings dark truths to light and explodes long-suppressed emotions. Ambitiously conceived and stunningly written, A Thousand Acres reveals the beautiful yet treacherous topography of humanity.
“A family portrait that is also a near-epic investigation into the broad landscape, the thousand dark acres of the human heart.... The book has all the stark brutality of a Shakespearean tragedy.” —The Washington Post Book World
When the youngest daughter objects, she is cut out of his will. This sets off a chain of events that brings dark truths to light and explodes long-suppressed emotions. Ambitiously conceived and stunningly written, A Thousand Acres reveals the beautiful yet treacherous topography of humanity.
“A family portrait that is also a near-epic investigation into the broad landscape, the thousand dark acres of the human heart.... The book has all the stark brutality of a Shakespearean tragedy.” —The Washington Post Book World
Ratings and reviews
3.7
3 reviews
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January 8, 2019
Sadly, I found this novel to be tedious to read with such slow building of the story line; often confusing in grammar usage with, in particular, too many "it's" and "theys"; as well as, poor character development. The real action, (realizations) only happened in the very latter part of the book and that almost dismissive! So little made sense that I could not develop a real connection or compassion for the characters. Description of weather and scenery was better.
Miuccia Chan
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September 27, 2020
A sophisticated feminist rewriting of King Lear that offers insight on contemporary familial and American value structures. The novel follows the story of the eldest daughter as she emerges from an amnesia in light of her father's own dementia. Concerned with the female voice, experience and memory, A Thousand Acres squares the female need for voice against permeating structures of patriarchy.
About the author
JANE SMILEY is the author of numerous novels, including A Thousand Acres, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and most recently, Golden Age, the concluding volume of The Last Hundred Years trilogy. She is also the author of five works of nonfiction and a series of books for young adults. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she has also received the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. She lives in Northern California.
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