A Thousand Acres
A Thousand Acres
Author: Jane Smiley
Desc: Aging Larry Cook announces his intention to turn over his 1 000-acre farm--one of the largest in Zebulon County Iowa--to his three daughters Caroline Ginny and Rose. A man of harsh sensibilities he carves Caroline out of the deal because she has the nerve to be less than enthusiastic about her father's generosity. While Larry Cook deteriorates into a pathetic drunk his daughters are left to cope with the often grim realities of life on a family farm--from battering husbands to cutthroat lenders. In this winner of the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction Smiley captures the essence of such a life with stark painful detail.