
Amazon Prime Free Trial
FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button and confirm your Prime free trial.
Amazon Prime members enjoy:- Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
- Unlimited FREE Prime delivery
- Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
- A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
- Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
Important: Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.
Buy new:
-45% $9.90$9.90
Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com
Save with Used - Acceptable
$6.59$6.59
Ships from: Amazon Sold by: Tranquility Trading Company
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
A Thousand Acres: A Novel Paperback – December 2, 2003
Purchase options and add-ons
When the youngest daughter 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. Ambitiously conceived and stunningly written, A Thousand Acres reveals the beautiful yet treacherous topography of humanity.
“A family portrait that is also a near-epic investigation into the broad landscape, the thousand dark acres of the human heart.... The book has all the stark brutality of a Shakespearean tragedy.” —The Washington Post Book World
- Print length384 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherVintage
- Publication dateDecember 2, 2003
- Dimensions5.14 x 0.76 x 7.95 inches
- ISBN-101400033837
- ISBN-13978-1400033836
- Lexile measureHL930L
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now
Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Rose left me a riddle I haven’t solved, of how we judge those who have hurt us when they have shown no remorse or even understanding.Highlighted by 536 Kindle readers
The view along the Scenic, I thought, taught me a lesson about what is below the level of the visible.Highlighted by 308 Kindle readers
But after the girls were sent away, I had a hint, again, for the first time since Linda was born, of how it was in those families, how generations of silence could flow from a single choice.Highlighted by 264 Kindle readers
Editorial Reviews
Review
“A family portrait that is also a near-epic investigation into the broad landscape, the thousand dark acres of the human heart.... The book has all the stark brutality of a Shakespearean tragedy.” —The Washington Post Book World
“Powerful and poignant.” —The New York Times Book Review
“Superb.... There seems to be nothing Smiley can’t write about fabulously well.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“It has been a long time since a novel so surprised me with its power to haunt.... A Thousand Acres [has] the prismatic quality of the greatest art.” —Chicago Tribune
“Absorbing.... Exhilarating.... An engrossing piece of fiction.” —Time
“A full, commanding novel.... A story bound and tethered to a lonely road in the Midwest, but drawn from a universal source.... Profoundly American.” —The Boston Globe
From the Back Cover
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
From that bump, the earth was unquestionably flat, the sky unquestionably domed, and it seemed to me when I was a child in school, learning about Columbus, that in spite of what my teacher said, ancient cultures might have been onto something. No globe or map fully convinced me that Zebulon County was not the center of the universe. Certainly, Zebulon County, where the earth was flat, was one spot where a sphere (a seed, a rubber ball, a ballbearing) must come to perfect rest and once at rest must send a taproot downward into the ten-foot-thick topsoil.
Because the intersection was on this tiny rise, you could see our buildings, a mile distant, at the southern edge of the farm. A mile to the east, you could see three silos that marked the northeastern corner, and if you raked your gaze from the silos to the house and barn, then back again, you would take in the immensity of the piece of land my father owned, six hundred forty acres, a whole section, paid for, no encumbrances, as flat and fertile, black, friable, and exposed as any piece of land on the face of the earth.
If you looked west from the intersection, you saw no sign of anything remotely scenic in the distance. That was because the Zebulon River had cut down through topsoil and limestone, and made its pretty course a valley below the level of the surrounding farmlands. Nor, except at night, did you see any sign of Cabot. You saw only this, two sets of farm buildings surrounded by fields. In the nearer set lived the Ericsons, who had daughters the ages of my sister Rose and myself, and in the farther set lived the Clarks, whose sons, Loren and Jess, were in grammar school when we were in junior high. Harold Clark was my father's best friend. He had five hundred acres and no mortgage. The Ericsons had three hundred seventy acres and a mortgage.
Acreage and financing were facts as basic as the name and gender in Zebulon County. Harold Clark and my father used to argue at our kitchen table about who should get the Ericson land when they finally lost their mortgage. I was aware of this whenever I played with Ruthie Ericson, whenever my mother, my sister Rose, and I went over to help can garden produce, whenever Mrs. Ericson brought over some pies or doughnuts, whenever my father loaned Mr. Ericson a tool, whenever we ate Sunday dinner in the Ericson's kitchen. I recognized the justice of Harold Clark's opinion that the Ericson' land was on his side of the road, but even so, I thought it should be us. For one thing, Dinah Ericson's bedroom had a window seat in the closet that I coveted. For another, I thought it appropriate and desirable that the great circle of the flat earth spreading out from the T intersection of County Road 686 and Cabot Street be ours. A thousand acres. It was that simple.
It was 1951 and I was eight when I saw the farm and the future in this way. That was the year my father bought his first car, a Buick sedan with prickly gray velvet seats, so rounded and slick that it was easy to slide off the backseat into the footwell when we went over a stiff bump or around a sharp corner. That was also the year my sister Caroline was born, which was undoubtedly the reason my father bought the car. The Ericson Children and the Clark children continued to ride in the back of the farm pickup, but the Cook children kicked their toes against a front seat and stared out the back windows, nicely protected from the dust. The car was the exact measure of six hundred forty acres compared to three hundred or five hundred.
In spite of the price of gasoline, we took a lot of rides that year, something farmers rarely do, and my father never again did after Caroline was born. For me, it was a pleasure like a secret hoard of coins--Rose, whom I adored, sitting against me in the hot musty velvet luxury of the car's interior, the click of the gravel on its undercarriage, the sensation of the car swimming in the rutted road, the farms passing every minute, reduced from vastness to insignificance by our speed; the unaccustomed sense of leisure; most important, though, the reassuring note of my father's and mother's voices commenting on what they saw--he on the progress of the yearly work and the condition of the animals in the pastures, she on the look and size of the house and garden, the colors of the buildings. Their tones of voice were unhurried and self-confident, complacent with the knowledge that the work at our place was farther along, the buildings at our place more imposing and better cared for. When I think of them now, I think how they had probably seen nearly as little of the world as I had by that time. But when I listened to their duet then, I nestled into the certainty of the way, through the repeated comparisons, our farm and our lives seemed secure and good.
Product details
- Publisher : Vintage; Reprint edition (December 2, 2003)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 384 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1400033837
- ISBN-13 : 978-1400033836
- Lexile measure : HL930L
- Item Weight : 10.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.14 x 0.76 x 7.95 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #56,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,910 in American Literature (Books)
- #4,485 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Jane Smiley (born September 26, 1949) is an American novelist. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1992 for her novel A Thousand Acres (1991). Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and graduated from Community School and from John Burroughs School. She obtained a BA in literature at Vassar College (1971), then earned an MA (1975), MFA (1976), and PhD (1978) from the University of Iowa. While working towards her doctorate, she also spent a year studying in Iceland as a Fulbright Scholar. From 1981 to 1996 she was a Professor of English at Iowa State University, teaching undergraduate and graduate creative writing workshops, and continuing to teach there even after relocating to California.
Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers praise the writing quality and find the book easy to read. They appreciate the intriguing plot that provides a new perspective on the classic tale. Many find the story thought-provoking and instructive about daily rituals of an American way of farm life. However, some readers feel the content is depressing and boring. There are mixed opinions on the character development, with some finding them well-developed and likable, while others find them unlikable or poorly formed.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers praise the writing quality of the book. They find it well-written and enjoyable, with a sharp eye for social details. The language is rich yet succinct, and the narration by Ginny/Goneril adds an extra perspective. Overall, readers describe the book as a quick read that keeps them engaged.
"...There are well written summations as well including the epilogue." Read more
"...The book was praised for its quality of writing and its amazing, intellectual, and fresh examination of one of Shakespeare's lesser-known works...." Read more
"...However, it is also simple and honest. I say simple not as an insult, but indeed a compliment...." Read more
"...doesn't bring anything unique or unusal - not to say that it is bad writing, on the contrary it is a textbook example of how to write fiction... but..." Read more
Customers enjoy the book's readability. They find the prose captivating and recommend it for literary fiction readers. The plot is intriguing and moves at a reasonable pace. The book captures their attention from the first page, making it enjoyable to see King Lear turned upside down.
"...that serve as motivation for the next course of action and deserve to be read carefully...." Read more
"...The book was praised for its quality of writing and its amazing, intellectual, and fresh examination of one of Shakespeare's lesser-known works...." Read more
"...stresses on family farms and those running them are palpable and unforgettable...." Read more
"...This book stands on it's own and is a very good read." Read more
Customers enjoy the story's plot twists and turns. They appreciate the descriptive writing and new perspective on the classic tale. However, some find the subject matter too dark and bleak at times. The storytelling is enjoyable, but the subject matter may not be appropriate for all readers.
"...However, it is also simple and honest. I say simple not as an insult, but indeed a compliment...." Read more
"...The book is a quick read and compels one to move forward in order to help resolve the crises. (There is an endless string of these!)..." Read more
"...This novel won the Pulitzer Prize. It is a retelling of the King Lear tragedy with his three daughters and like that play, ends on a tragic note...." Read more
"...However, I was disappointed with how it ended and its nihilist perspectives of life. Ugh!..." Read more
Customers find the book engaging and instructive about daily life on a farm. They appreciate the well-written story that provides insights into the subject matter. The book is described as engrossing with unexpected plot twists and turns.
"...theme (ironically... the potluck itself) as there were lots of mentions of church suppers, country dinners, country kitchens, and of course... the..." Read more
"...Such a well-written book and a very good topic for these times!..." Read more
"...author has the ability to write in a way that draws you in and keeps you interested, I don't believe this was a story that does that...." Read more
"...The book had unexpected twists and hidden deeper meanings. I couldn't put it down once the plot was revealed...." Read more
Customers have mixed views on the family dynamics in the book. Some find it insightful and well-written, providing an eye-opening glimpse of rural agricultural families and communities. They appreciate the detailed descriptions of farm life and insights into how a family functions. However, others find it hard to relate to or like any of the characters, due to unnecessary details and unrealistic drama. While some parts are difficult to understand, overall the book is considered a great read overall.
"...I'm sorry I delayed so long. It has many well crafted features that make it stand out as a literary gem...." Read more
"...there were lots of mentions of church suppers, country dinners, country kitchens, and of course... the cuisine of Midwest Iowa...." Read more
"...The ending is a downer as is most of the book. It was hard to actually relate to or like any of the characters...." Read more
"...Much like Shakespeare's play, Smiley gives us a rich novel full of varying themes. However, it is also simple and honest...." Read more
Customers have different views on the character development. Some find the characters well-developed and their growth a slow reveal, while others find them unlikable, poorly formed, and unlikely. They also mention that there is no empathy for any of the characters and the father's character lacks perspective.
"...The characters are well developed and their growth is a well-paced, slow reveal. There is a good tension and pacing to the pages...." Read more
"...the setting are excellent, in that she (for the most part) makes the characters human (i.e., one can relate to and "know" them), and does Iowa..." Read more
"...the imperfections of a family story told through the distortions of a flawed primary character, lacking both perspective and honest objectivity...." Read more
"...Although this is sited in Iowa, that's close enough. Loved the characters and the story but just can't be totally happy when a life's story ends on..." Read more
Customers have different views on the pacing. Some appreciate the well-paced story and character development, while others find it slow at the beginning and take a long time to read through.
"I found this book to be very slow and boring. I forced myself to finish due to good reviews I had read. I skipped easily half of the pages...." Read more
"...The characters are well developed and their growth is a well-paced, slow reveal. There is a good tension and pacing to the pages...." Read more
"This book started so slowly I wanted to put it down but it gradually grabbed my attention and teased me into wanting to continue...." Read more
"...As a novel it works well; the plot is intriguing, moves at a reasonable pace, and is told with a common vernacular that has moments here and there..." Read more
Customers find the book's content depressing and boring. They find the story too depressing and not very believable. Some readers feel the book is about nothing.
"Not a happy book, Smiley's stark revision of Shakespeare's tragedy, King Lear, is even more disturbing than the Bard's excruciatingly painful story...." Read more
"While this is written to reimagine Shakespeare’s king Lear, it is a tragedy, and the author spends a normal and in Norman and I abnormal amount of..." Read more
"This was no great book by any stylistic, aesthetic, or meaningful way (i.e. it won't "touch" or "move" you as great liturature tends to do)...." Read more
"...The story was decent, at a few times not very believable. The dialogue wasn't written with enough references as to who was speaking...." Read more
Reviews with images
Not in good condition.- underlining throughout. Book should have been sold as acceptable!
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
- Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2019I finally read this Pulitzer Prize winning novel after many years of reading something else instead. I'm sorry I delayed so long. It has many well crafted features that make it stand out as a literary gem. Clearly, the author has spent considerable time around Iowa farm families. She knows that men are occupied by tasks like moisture levels in corn or gauging the best day to sell hogs. Farm women do drive combines and neuter piglets, but are expected to fix early breakfasts and keep up household appearances as well. I read page after page of this 30 something farm wife going on and on about her cooking, her cleaning, her weeding, her bean picking, her canning, her dosing a jar of sauerkraut with poison to kill her sister...What! WTF?
Jane Smiley knows when to unleash her thunderbolts. Just when the American pastoral setting is at dead calm, she summons one of the deadly sins onto the page. They all show up. Some critics have found this exhibition too atypical to be believed, but I think some people who feel cheated by life resort to extremes when outrageousness is tolerated. Old Larry Cook (the stand in for King Lear), acquired a thousand acres, begot three daughters and destroyed it all. When I read his dialog I heard Chuck Grassley's voice in my head. (Sorry Senator.)
Towards the end of the book the author implants sections that serve as motivation for the next course of action and deserve to be read carefully. The conversation between Ginny and Rose in Chapter 38 is crucial. There are well written summations as well including the epilogue.
- Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2017This is a book club review of A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. Our book club had seven women present who read the book in entirety, ages 31 to 42. This was our 52nd read and our fifth Pulitzer. We rate books on their quality and readability, as well as the discussion they prompt. We also play trivia games and enjoy themed potlucks, and that plays into the rating as well. This particular book rated very high, in our top ten reads, with a score of seven out of ten. I won't summarize the book here much, as there are many reviews that serve that purpose, and will stick mostly to an examination of this book as a book club option.
Quality/readability/discussion: This is a very well-written book with lots of depth, wit, word play, and emotion. The characters are well developed and their growth is a well-paced, slow reveal. There is a good tension and pacing to the pages. The subject matter may seem dull (the central female characters live mostly in a farm setting with their family, and the major crisis deals with family trauma) but the story is anything but that. Despite the rural and bucolic background, this book is a page-turning, taunt tale. There are many layers to these characters that unfold slowly and deliciously. The discussion went on for hours. We, of course, discussed the obvious connection to Shakespeare's King Lear - and that particular topic was engrossing. Smiley presents the older two daughters (in the play, they were the one-dimensional villains) in a more sympathetic light... giving depth and reason to their decisions. There were many topics here that we picked apart including family dynamics, feminist angles, money, hierarchy, destiny, history, and Americana. Six out of seven women felt that the book was very readable, with one member siting it as a difficult or challenging read. See below for TRIGGER topics (which present spoilers) if you have any worry about this book as a viable option.
Games/Food/Etc.: This book developed a fun potluck theme (ironically... the potluck itself) as there were lots of mentions of church suppers, country dinners, country kitchens, and of course... the cuisine of Midwest Iowa. The games were lots of fun as well, with a highlight being Shakespeare trivia.
Overall: This book rated high due to readability and great discussion. The book was praised for its quality of writing and its amazing, intellectual, and fresh examination of one of Shakespeare's lesser-known works. Everyone enjoyed the surprising twists and turns found within the narrative. One member found the book a bit dry and boring, but all of the other members found it to be fascinating (which was a bit of a fun surprise, as our favorite genre is thrillers/mysteries).
TRIGGER WARNINGS: DO NOT READ BELOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT SPOILERS. These topics could be considered trigger items for some book club readers. Please note that none of our book club members had any issues with these topics and the way they were explored or presented, but I include them as I get a request often to do so. This book includes feminist topics, adultery, a woman suffering from breast cancer, molestation/sexual abuse, and a graphic injury that occurs "off camera."
- Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2015I first read this when I was around 17, doing a comparative literature course on Shakespeare and contemporary writers. This was my first time reading anything by Jane Smiley, and to be honest, the Pulitizer didn't mean a whole lot to me! Now, I love King Lear - in fact, it is my favourite of Shakespeare's published plays. Reading Shakespeare at 17, especially one of the less "famous" ones, was quite daunting, but reading Smiley's interpretation alongside it, made it not only easier, but it gave me a better appreciation of it.
If you don't know the plot, here is a very simplified version: Smiley presents us with a family that owns a 1000 acre farm in 1970's Iowa. We have Larry, Caroline, Ginny and Rose who are obviously representing Lear, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia. Larry, who is getting on in years, decides to transfer ownership of his farm between his 3 daughters, with Caroline not agreeing. This begins a journey in which none of the characters fare very well.
Much like Shakespeare's play, Smiley gives us a rich novel full of varying themes. However, it is also simple and honest. I say simple not as an insult, but indeed a compliment. Smiley is able portray common tragedies and instances of abhorrence and turn them into a multi-faceted series of events that propel the actions and growth of the characters.
If you haven't read this novel, do yourself a favour and pick up a copy today!
Top reviews from other countries
-
crisReviewed in Spain on June 24, 20235.0 out of 5 stars Me ha gustado
Facil de leer y me ha gustado bastante
YvonneReviewed in Germany on February 5, 20225.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written
This is a family saga, all can benefit from reading.
Amazon CustomerReviewed in Canada on August 18, 20175.0 out of 5 stars Can be compared to The Field
Conservative farming families are the central characters in this novel. Struggles to achieve a successful farm subjugate all other desires. Throw in infidelity and betrayals and you have a riveting novel that will keep you reading long after bedtime.
Tim_HunterValleyReviewed in Australia on May 16, 20205.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Novel
Purchased this as part of my study with University. The novel draws from the Shakespearean King Lear and creates a modern interpretation set in contemporary America. It won the Pulitzer Prize and its hard not to see why. Great read.
Lakshmi Raj SharmaReviewed in India on December 1, 20165.0 out of 5 stars Simply great
A brilliant novel.







