A Thousand Acres
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A Thousand Acres
Buy Now for $48.13
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Narrated by:
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C. J. Critt
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Written by:
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Jane Smiley
About this listen
Three daughters and their husbands are pulled into a tangle of love, jealousy, and fear when their father, Larry Cook, grows too old to manage the family's fertile thousand-acre farm. As each couple struggles with their own tragedies and challenges, they know their father is judging them in light of the weighty inheritance that hovers within their reach.
The Cook family, and the farm community around them, are part of a mosaic that is as enduring as the fences and fields of the broad midwestern landscape. But this endurance exacts an immense price from them in return.
You will find that this nationally-acclaimed, breathtaking story, in a stirring narration by C. J. Critt, is an unforgettable listening experience.
©1991 Jane Smiley (P)1996 Recorded BooksWhat the critics say
- Pulitzer Prize winner, Fiction, 1992
- National Book Critics Circle Award, Fiction, 1991
"[A] magnificent, haunting family drama, an American retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear set on a contemporary Iowa farm....a favorite choice of reading groups everywhere (it would be a natural for Oprah)." (Entertainment Weekly)
Great Story
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Having said that, this book largely rises above that basic category. The King Lear angle intrigued me into beginning it, and the narrative almost immediately engaged me. I do think my enjoyment was enhanced by this being an audio book, and the reader, C.J. Critt, being very skilled. Her flat Midwestern accents are perfect, each character having a distinctive voice, so that there was no difficulty in knowing who was speaking at any point.
Over the course of listening to this story, my attention was often caught by the narrator (Ginny, the Goneril character) and her minute attention to detail. She rarely mentioned a meal without relating exactly what was served; her description of a location or a person would invariably include some tiny item noticed in passing. In different hands, I can imagine this might be boring, but in this case, it all serves to make everything jump into sharp focus and to highlight Ginny's internal caution and reserve. She is always noticing, always aware.
Throughout the story, I admit to maintaining a sort of "meta" interest in how Smiley would incorporate various aspects of the Lear tale, which she did, but only to a point. [NB: SPOILERS AHEAD]
The parallels proceed pretty much up to the blinding of Gloucester, but then less and less. I was a bit nervous, approaching the end, as I tried to imagine the modern interpretation of the harrowing events of the play, but Jess does not encompass the death of Caroline, Loren does not kill Jess, Jess does not repent and confess his evil intent. Nor does Ginny kill Rose, though the story has an interesting take on that strand of the plot. I suppose, too, that the tale being told from Ginny/Goneril's point of view explains the fool's much less significant part, and the elimination of the journey of Gloucester and Edgar - both things she would not have observed or taken much interest in. I did find the very last part of the book a bit disappointing, however. The not-with-a-bang-but-a-whimper ending was somewhat deflating, after the intensity of the rest.
Very good
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