A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

 

Ginny is the oldest daughter of farmer Larry Cook.  Larry is considered a good farmer, one that others look to for advice.  Ginny thought about moving away when she was young, but ended up marrying Ty and staying on the farm where Ty helps Larry.  Rose is the second daughter and also lives on the farm with her husband Pete.  The mother died young and Ginny and Rose raised Caroline the youngest daughter.  Caroline moved away, went to college and is now a lawyer.

As Larry gets older, he starts to think about what will happen to the farm when he is gone.  The local banker is recommending that farmers in his situation turn over the assets before they die, and Larry decides to give the farm to his daughters.  When Caroline disagrees with the plan, he cuts her out and gives everything to Ginny and Rose.

This starts a sequence of events that end tragically.  The family is split apart, Caroline getting married and the sisters only finding out by reading it in the newspaper.  Larry soon regrets his decision and starts drinking and arguing with everything done on the land.  Soon he is at open warfare with his two daughters and takes them to court to try to get his farm back.  In the process of the story, dark secrets are revealed and new decisions lead to tragedies.  

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.  No one escapes the drama and disagreements that tear the family apart.  Readers will learn what farming was like in the 1970's and how local bankers can influence an entire region and affect all that live there.  The reasoning behind each step the sisters take is given from their viewpoints although readers may well disagree with the decisions they ultimately make.  This book is recommended for literary fiction readers.