Daughters of Iowa

The King Lear story rewritten – well, not exactly, but the echoes ae there – the three daughters, the maddened King sent out into a storm. I don’t think it really mattered though if you knew nothing of the original Shakespeare – a story about daughters and inheritance, Alzheimer’s and sibling rivalry, marriage and motherhood will probably always have resonance.
There were many things I enjoyed: the slow revelation of the central character’s hidden (eve to herself) dark secret, the interplay of sisters and their husbands and lovers, and the horrible limitations of living within a patriarchy which seems reinforced by the demands of running a farm. All that cooking and scrubbing, without any thanks or value attributed to it or you as a human being. That said, it’s hard not to get frustrated with Ginny. I have been doing a course on How To Read A Mind with FutureLearn, looking at fictional minds and characters, and how we create them in our own heads and love or hate them as if they were real. So many things come into play – my own family background, my position in the world, my likes and dislikes. In this case, just felt a big cheer when G left home but wondered why she wanted to be a waitress – more serving and being nice to people. Sigh. 
Anyway! Looking forward to the discussion. We are also planning a relaunch of the book club, and a publicity drive to get some new members in so bring ideas along.