The Secret Lives of Dentists. Poster of the 2002 movie and cover of the 1987 book, The Age of Grief
VS3
The Age of Grief
Jane Smiley, 1987
movie vs book
Alan Rudolph, 2002

Married dentists David and Dana Hurst, parents to three children, find their relationship strained when David suspects Dana of infidelity. Coping with the emotional turmoil, David starts engaging in imagined conversations with a discontented patient. The family’s stress escalates as they all fall ill with the flu.


A Thousand Acres. Poster of the 1997 movie and cover of the 1991 book
VS3
A Thousand Acres
Jane Smiley, 1991
movie vs book
Jocelyn Moorhouse, 1997

Upon the retirement of an aging father, he bequeaths the prosperous family farm to his three daughters. However, this seemingly generous gesture sets off a chain reaction of explosive events that loom over the family, posing a threat to their unity and potentially tearing them apart forever.