A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley (Alfred Knopf, 1991) ****

This novel won the Pulitzer prize in 1993. The story literally transports you to a small midwestern farm and some families you won't soon forget.  The three daughters in this dysfunctional family come to terms with their past, each other and their father, with varying degrees of success.  A downer at times but the story and the characters seem real.