Lots of insights and interesting ideas here. I really liked your reflections on why we have retellings and what we can get from reading a retelling. I imagine that people who retell a story must have mixed feelings about the original story, and their retelling is a way of responding to those mixed feelings.
A short and little-known Pulitzer Prize winner is Now in November. I read somewhere that this was also an inspiration for A Thousand Acres. I would say it's more depressing and tragic than A Thousand Acres. Now in November deals with a mortgage and the destruction of the land and the environment. Smiley weaves through her novel the role of pesticides in 1970s farm life.
i'm Greg, the viewer who recommened A Thousand Acres. I come from a farm background in the Midwest which is what originally attracted me to this novel. Smiley nails Midwestern far life down to the most minute details, like when she desribes the interior of the barn at the end of the novel. Ginny's failed attempt at murdering Rose made sense to me as I looked at it through the prism of farm life and sexual abuse. The sexual abuse caused resentment between the sisters. Also, Rose had the children Ginny never had. Farm life is stifling and monotonous. What I saw in Ginny's attempt to kill Rose was her asserting power and control over her life. She was able to research, plan, and execute on her own with no interference or second-guessing from the men or her sisters.
Thanks Greg for the comment and the excellent recommendation! That makes a lot of sense what you say here ... it's definitely a significant development for Ginny that she finally attempts to take control of her life towards the end, though with mixed results.
Superb detailed review. Impressive how much time and trouble you have taken! Always look forward to your appearances. Interesting that there is also a fairy tale about a king and his three daughters - asking them to say how much each loves him and turning against the youngest who lives him most etc. Was it in the Brothers Grimm or Charles Perrault?
Interesting! Some quick searching brought up "The Goose-Girl at the Well" from Brothers Grimm which has some common points. Apparently there are a whole lot of variants of it though: fairy-folk-tale.fandom.com/wiki/ATU_923:_Love_Like_Salt
@@mikegseclecticreads Amazing that Lear should be such a source of inspiration. See also Edward St Aubyn’s 2017 novel Dunbar which is another modern retelling! Hope you have finished reading Curtain?
@@58christiansful Yes. To be honest I've been putting it off for a while now, I guess because I just didn't want it to end, but your comment here made me realize it was time, so thanks! I'll won't give away my overall impression before the eventual video, but I'll at least say, I finished the entire thing this weekend, in two afternoons of reading. I believe it's the fastest I've ever completed a Poirot novel.
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Lots of insights and interesting ideas here. I really liked your reflections on why we have retellings and what we can get from reading a retelling. I imagine that people who retell a story must have mixed feelings about the original story, and their retelling is a way of responding to those mixed feelings.
A short and little-known Pulitzer Prize winner is Now in November. I read somewhere that this was also an inspiration for A Thousand Acres. I would say it's more depressing and tragic than A Thousand Acres. Now in November deals with a mortgage and the destruction of the land and the environment. Smiley weaves through her novel the role of pesticides in 1970s farm life.
i so agree with your point that the poison rose plot felt so off for Ginneys character!
i'm Greg, the viewer who recommened A Thousand Acres. I come from a farm background in the Midwest which is what originally attracted me to this novel. Smiley nails Midwestern far life down to the most minute details, like when she desribes the interior of the barn at the end of the novel. Ginny's failed attempt at murdering Rose made sense to me as I looked at it through the prism of farm life and sexual abuse. The sexual abuse caused resentment between the sisters. Also, Rose had the children Ginny never had. Farm life is stifling and monotonous. What I saw in Ginny's attempt to kill Rose was her asserting power and control over her life. She was able to research, plan, and execute on her own with no interference or second-guessing from the men or her sisters.
Thanks Greg for the comment and the excellent recommendation! That makes a lot of sense what you say here ... it's definitely a significant development for Ginny that she finally attempts to take control of her life towards the end, though with mixed results.
Superb detailed review. Impressive how much time and trouble you have taken! Always look forward to your appearances.
Interesting that there is also a fairy tale about a king and his three daughters - asking them to say how much each loves him and turning against the youngest who lives him most etc. Was it in the Brothers Grimm or Charles Perrault?
Interesting! Some quick searching brought up "The Goose-Girl at the Well" from Brothers Grimm which has some common points. Apparently there are a whole lot of variants of it though: fairy-folk-tale.fandom.com/wiki/ATU_923:_Love_Like_Salt
@@mikegseclecticreads Amazing that Lear should be such a source of inspiration. See also Edward St Aubyn’s 2017 novel Dunbar which is another modern retelling! Hope you have finished reading Curtain?
@@58christiansful Yes. To be honest I've been putting it off for a while now, I guess because I just didn't want it to end, but your comment here made me realize it was time, so thanks! I'll won't give away my overall impression before the eventual video, but I'll at least say, I finished the entire thing this weekend, in two afternoons of reading. I believe it's the fastest I've ever completed a Poirot novel.
@@mikegseclecticreads Your speed probably reflects Curtain’s page-turning quality? Hope you review it soon.