I’m from Iowa. My wife is from Massachusetts. I’m pretty sure she read A Thousand Acres while we lived in Boston, and then she read it again (and taught it to her English class) after we moved back to the rural Midwest. Her experience the second time was very different from the first: living with and around farmers gave her an entirely new perspective on the genius of Jane Smiley’s characterization.

So my wife insisted that I read this, and I eventually did (in April 2023). I have to say, I was blown away by the characterization. Smiley’s insight into the psychology of Iowans is…pretty incredible. And spot-on. If you want to understand the farmers who operated enormous family farms in the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s—i.e., those farmers who preceded the current conglomeration of American agriculture into the corporate behemoths that overwhelm the middle of America today—then you should definitely read this book. The “domestic realism” (a derogatory term for fiction by women that nevertheless applies here) is really top-shelf.

That being said, I have one major complaint: ickiness. This is an icky book. I don’t want to spoil anything for you, except to say that ickiness emerges, ickiness persists, and ickiness doesn’t really resolve itself or arrive at a satisfying, uh, climax.

Gross.

Five stars for characterization, for Smiley’s uncanny ability to capture the uniquely Midwestern neuroses of her rural characters.

Four stars as an interpretation of King Lear; the parallels to Lear are sometimes a little too on-the-nose, but on the whole she does a great job reimagining those characters in this context.

Three stars for plot, which isn’t really the point.

One star for ickiness, which never really feels earned and goes basically unresolved (as, alas, it does in life…oh well).

Ick.