A Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley
This month, we will be reading A Thousand Acres, by Jane Smiley. This book was written in 1991, and won the Pulitzer Prize. The Pulitzer Prize in fiction is awarded for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life.
The Contra Costa Library gives us this summary: "A successful Iowa farmer decides to divide his farm between his three daughters. When the youngest objects, she is cut out of his will. This sets off a chain of events that brings dark truths to light and explodes long-suppressed emotions. An ambitious reimagining of Shakespeare's King Lear cast upon a typical American community in the late twentieth century, A Thousand Acres takes on themes of truth, justice, love, and pride, and reveals the beautiful yet treacherous topography of humanity."
We will meet on Friday, March 24th, at Fran's house again. Sheila will lead the discussion and Kim will bring the book selections.
See you there!!
1946. World War II has ended and all over the world, young women are beginning to fulfill the promises made to the men they wed in wartime. In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other war brides on an extraordinary voyage to England--aboard HMS Victoria, which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers. Rules are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier's captain down to the lowliest young deckhand. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined despite the Navy's ironclad sanctions. And for Frances Mackenzie, the complicated young woman whose past comes back to haunt her far from home, the journey will change her life in ways she never could have predicted--forever.
