A Thousand Acres is a novel by Jane Smiley telling a modern version of Shakespeare's King Lear, set on a thousand-acre farm in Iowa. In his old age, Larry Cook decides to hand over control of the family farm to his three daughters, Rose, Caroline and Ginny. However, when one daughter objects, she is cut out of the inheritance and a feud ensues that brings out suppressed truths, among them, Larry's sexual abuse of two of the daughters. The novel deals with themes of family, insanity and gender roles.
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