A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

Ginny is entirely caught by surprise when her powerful, workaholic father suddenly springs upon her and her sister, Rose, the idea that he is right now giving his entire farmland to just them, leaving out their younger sister, Caroline. While she understands in her heart that Caroline has never been interested in farming all the while both Rose and Ginny’s husbands have been farming alongside Ginny’s father for years now – Ginny still knows that this is a moment of fracture for the family. Where is this coming from? And how will it play out? She cannot even begin to guess…

I believe this is another example of a good idea not ideally executed. The author has attempted to paint a picture of a tyrant – Ginny’s father – who has wielded his power and influence in their insular, misogynistic, community to his supreme benefit. He has abused his children, tormented everyone around him, and then, when he may actually have to pay for his sins, he presents with dementia, so he evades culpability. But in telling this sordid tale, there is so much detail, so many tiny moments that the thrust of the message becomes fogged over, gets somewhat lost.

Even as the author portrays Ginny’s journey to find her own voice, to grow out of her own fog of misguided content, the message is blurred. After being initially blinded by her own will to stay the course, to not see what has been, she begins to awaken to the reality of her past and her actual present. She begins to stand up to her domineering sister, Rose. We begin to see strength. But, again, there are so many details. There is her relationship with Rose, her relationship with her sister, Caroline – such as it is. There is her flirtation with a neighbor who has come back after being away many years, which serves to distract her from her present situation – and distracts us as well. There are also the details of her life, her cleaning of her home, her cooking, her ironing, the everyday living that perhaps imbue reality but also bog us down in minutiae. It becomes too much.

A Thousand Acres becomes a thousand words that could have, perhaps, been a mere hundred.