A Thousand Acres- Jane Smiley
By: Hannah Johnson
“But now I saw with fresh conviction that it was us, all of us, who were failing, and the hallmark of our failure was the way we ate with our heads down, hungrily, quickly, because there was nothing else to do at the table.”
For those who are tired of seeing the same approach to fiction, over and over again, Jane Smiley presents a unique approach in her novel A Thousand Acres, combining adaptation and American society, to leave readers unable to put her words down.
Larry Cook, growing older, is looking to turn his farm over to his three daughters, Caroline, Ginny and Rose. Caroline is then cut out of the deal for her attitude, and the entire family begins to spiral into a fit of despair, unraveling around violence that threatens to boil over.
One vital detail in Smiley’s novel is that it is an adaptation. Those who are familiar with Shakespeare, particularly King Lear will likely recognize it right away. This novel is a very direct retelling of the story of King Lear, except set on a farm in the American Midwest. It’s clear in the work, however, that the relation to Shakespeare shouldn’t scare any readers away. Where one might think Shakespeare means complicated language that’s hundreds of years old and will surely be a headache, A Thousand Acres is written just like any contemporary novel, with a smooth, easy to follow and engaging narrative. No knowledge or like of Shakespeare is required to enjoy all the novel has to offer, or to feel the emotion it conjures up in readers. Smiley is able to create an engaging and unique work of fiction using both a story that’s been seen before, and something entirely new.
It is neither Shakespeare level confusion nor boring, nor with an approach and a plotline that’s been seen a million times before in contemporary fiction. Smiley uses a different foundation, translating a story from one of the most famous writers to ever live, and putting it within American society, telling this devastating story in a way that today’s readers can understand. It’s a translation from a king’s throne to the La-Z boy chair that “Daddy” sits on, staring out at his modern kingdom. Unlike decoding Shakespeare, there is no hiding from the contemporary and heartbreaking language that Smiley uses in the novel’s most disturbing moments. Readers who find themselves bored easily from plotlines and stories that seem to have no substance to them, can find themselves compelled to read again through Smiley’s intense narrative.
Smiley’s novel isn’t just a regular “slice of life” within the American family, nor is it a romanticized version of an America. Smiley tackles a broken family, and says the ugly, and the horribly disturbing bits out loud. The daughters reach into things that have gone unremembered, or been hidden away in an unreachable, unwilling memory. The family dynamics go out the window from what one might expect- in how one sees a husband, a sister, a father. Death and rage hold the farm in its vice grip, haunting the entire house, a scene no one can escape from, something that sends a chill down the spine. Around the rageful Larry Cook, it becomes a matter of survival. In this novel, the reader can find themselves always on the precipice of disaster, dangling delicately and holding one’s breath. Readers who enjoy a heartbreaking family narrative, will find no shortage of not just that anger, but a slew of complex emotions- jealousy, forgiveness, and trust within this broken family.
