This tales of sisters vying for a piece of their father's land made for a very lively discussion at my book club.

This is first of all a farm novel. Smiley lovingly creates an idyllic world of family farm life in Iowa in 1979: the neat yard, freshly painted house, clean clothes on the line, and fertile, well-tended fields. The owner of these well-managed acres is Larry Cook, who abruptly decides to turn the farm over to his two eldest daughters and their husbands. Ginny and Ty are hard-working farmers who try to placate her ornery father, while sister Rose and hard-drinking Pete try to stand up to him. Dark secrets surface after the property transfer, and the family's careful world unravels.

This is King Lear in Iowa! I love Shakespeare's stories told in current, up-to-date scenerios and with language I can understand. I have never studied Shakespeare so do not know the meaning of old English most of the time, but his stories are wonderful. And, Smiley is the author to read! The only book of hers I haven't cared for is "Moo."

I'm a sucker for books that dare a new perspective on a classic work. Smiley's prose guides through the dysfunction that is family, a world that Shakespeare brought to us with his tragedy "King Lear."