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A Thousand Acres

By Jane Smiley

(22)

| Paperback | 9780006544821

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Book Description

Larry Cook's farm is the largest in Zebulon County, Iowa, and a tribute to his hard work and single-mindedness. Proud and possessive, his sudden decision to retire and hand over the farm to his three daughters is disarmingly uncharacteristic. Ginny and Rose, the two eldest, are startled yet eager toContinue

Larry Cook's farm is the largest in Zebulon County, Iowa, and a tribute to his hard work and single-mindedness. Proud and possessive, his sudden decision to retire and hand over the farm to his three daughters is disarmingly uncharacteristic. Ginny and Rose, the two eldest, are startled yet eager to accept, but Caroline, the youngest daughter, has misgivings. Immediately, her father cuts her out.
In A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley transposes the King Lear story to the modern day, and in so doing at once illuminates Shakespeare's original and subtly transforms it. This astonishing novel won both America's highest literary awards, the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Critics' Circle Award.

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  • American dream gone bad

    Larry Cook is a hardened nose-to-the-grindstone farmer in Iowa. His wife dies leaving three young girls. Superimpose a little King Lear and you have A Thousand Acres. One of my favorite quotations:"It was imperative that the growing discord in our family be made to appear minor...the paramount value ... (continue)

    Larry Cook is a hardened nose-to-the-grindstone farmer in Iowa. His wife dies leaving three young girls. Superimpose a little King Lear and you have A Thousand Acres. One of my favorite quotations:"It was imperative that the growing discord in our family be made to appear minor...the paramount value of looking right is not something you walk away from after a single night...it is something you embrace, the broken plank you are left with after the ship has gone down." Survivors of dysfunction find a little bit of healing in reading about a worse situation. God bless all the Ginny Cooks in the world.

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    Marion the librarian said on Feb 22, 2010 | Add your feedback

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