A Thousand Acres
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| Author | Jane Smiley |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Alfred A. Knopf |
| Released | October 23, 1991 |
| Media Type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0394577736 |
A Thousand Acres is a 1991 novel by American author Jane Smiley. It won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was adapted to a 1997 film of the same name.
Contents |
[edit] Plot introduction
The novel is a reworking of Shakespeare's King Lear, set on a thousand acre (4 km²) farm in Iowa, surrounding a familiy with father as a farmer and his three daughters..
[edit] Explanation of the novel's title
The novel's name is so called because the beginning of the story started with the father's decision to divide his a thousand acre farm.
[edit] Plot summary
Larry Cook is an aging farmer who decides to divide his farm among his three daughters, Ginny, Rose, and Caroline. The novel differs from King Lear in that it focuses more on Ginny's troubled marriage and her difficulties in bearing a child, and the story eventually reveals the long-term sexual abuse by the father of the two oldest daughters (which never took place in Lear). The novel maintains major themes present in Lear, namely: gender roles, appearances vs. reality, generational conflict, hierarchical structures (the Great chain of being), madness, and the powerful force of nature.
[edit] Characters in "A Thousand Acres"
- Larry Cook
- Ginny Cook Smith
- Rose Cook Lewis
- Caroline Cook Rasmussen
- Ty Smith
- Pete Lewis
- Pammy and Linda Lewis
- Jess Clark
- Harold Clark
[edit] Allusions/references to other works
This novel is the reworking of Shakespeare's King Lear.
[edit] Awards and nominations
Won the Pulitzer Prize in 1992
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
It was adapted to a 1997 film of the same name.
[edit] Sources, references, external links, quotations
- Summary on A Thousand Acres. The characters and summary were used as references.
| Preceded by: Rabbit At Rest by John Updike |
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 1992 |
Succeeded by: A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain by Robert Olen Butler |
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