In A Thousand Acres, Smiley rewrites Shakespeare’s King Lear setting the story on a 1970’s Iowa farm. An aging father decides to pass his farm on to his three daughters, but only the two daughters who live on the farm accept the offer. The novel tells the story of the family’s ensuing rift and the changes in the relationships of all involved. Even though the setting and circumstances are very different than the play from which it was derived, the story remains remarkably similar.
Even though I have finished this book, I can’t really decide how I feel about it. One reason I feel ambiguous towards A Thousand Acres is the fact that I can’t figure out exactly what Smiley wants to say, if anything. The book seems like it could be feminist, environmentalist, progressive and nostalgic; and I agree with many of the things that Smiley talks about. There is an interesting scene in which the narrator, Ginny, talks to the proprietor of the local antiques store and says something along the lines of “why would anyone want to give up such a treasure?” Maybe that is the whole point of the story: letting go of old things, not holding on to old things that you’re supposed to want just for the sake of holding on. When the rest of the book was over, I was really just left with an anticlimactic sense that nothing matters at all and the point of life is just to get it over with as quickly as possible. But I guess King Lear (and any rewrites) wouldn’t be a tragedy if it were uplifting.
