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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
I absolutely loved this book, and will be recommending it to everyone I talk to for at least 2 months. Definitely came at a time when I was already thinking about re-thinking life habits, but I think it would’ve put me by itself if I hadn’t already been there
4.5 stars
I was inclined to think I would like Kingsolver's fiction much better than her essays. Happily, I was wrong. This is a collection of beautifully written essays covering everything from raising chickens to raising children, from global war to birdwatching. There are so many perfectly expressed ideas and sentiments in these essays that I know I'll be reading it again. I laughed with her as she shared her young daughter's pronouncements, cried with her as she briefly shared her rape experience at age nineteen, and continually marveled at her ongoing hopefulness and idealism about the future of the world in general. I've very much enjoyed most of her novels, and now with these essays I've gained a great new respect for her as a person and a writer.
Her husband is an ornithologist, and there are some wonderful pieces the two of them wrote together about their birding experiences south of the border and closer to their own backyard. Nature-loving bird freak that I am, I really got into these essays.
I grew up without television and long ago chose to continue living without it, so the essay about why she keeps "the one-eyed monster" out of her home had special resonance for me. She articulated so well all the things I think and feel about the topic and am not able to put clearly into words. I feel like making photocopies for all my friends so we can understand each other about this.
Much food for thought and warmth and humor in this collection.
I was inclined to think I would like Kingsolver's fiction much better than her essays. Happily, I was wrong. This is a collection of beautifully written essays covering everything from raising chickens to raising children, from global war to birdwatching. There are so many perfectly expressed ideas and sentiments in these essays that I know I'll be reading it again. I laughed with her as she shared her young daughter's pronouncements, cried with her as she briefly shared her rape experience at age nineteen, and continually marveled at her ongoing hopefulness and idealism about the future of the world in general. I've very much enjoyed most of her novels, and now with these essays I've gained a great new respect for her as a person and a writer.
Her husband is an ornithologist, and there are some wonderful pieces the two of them wrote together about their birding experiences south of the border and closer to their own backyard. Nature-loving bird freak that I am, I really got into these essays.
I grew up without television and long ago chose to continue living without it, so the essay about why she keeps "the one-eyed monster" out of her home had special resonance for me. She articulated so well all the things I think and feel about the topic and am not able to put clearly into words. I feel like making photocopies for all my friends so we can understand each other about this.
Much food for thought and warmth and humor in this collection.
This is one of those wonderful books that fit a time and feeling so perfectly - I remember being transported by it the first time I read it, and some of these essays did much the same again.
These essays were all written in the year or so surrounding the attacks on September 11th. They eloquently wrestle with a lot of same things I do, from anxiety around climate change to anger and frustration at being labeled un-American simply for questioning the government's actions. Kingsolver is without a doubt a wonderful writer, and I really enjoy her blend of family/personal stories and outward focus.
That being said, reading this 20 years after it was published was an interesting experience. So much of it is still so relevant to today, but there are lines and pieces that are jarring, particularly in today's world. The examples I can think of are almost all throwaway references to female oppression in Muslim countries - it is sort of incredible to see how rhetoric can influence everyone, even the woman who is writing a BOOK about resisting it.
Overall, this is a really solid book, especially if you are passionate about living small and local.
These essays were all written in the year or so surrounding the attacks on September 11th. They eloquently wrestle with a lot of same things I do, from anxiety around climate change to anger and frustration at being labeled un-American simply for questioning the government's actions. Kingsolver is without a doubt a wonderful writer, and I really enjoy her blend of family/personal stories and outward focus.
That being said, reading this 20 years after it was published was an interesting experience. So much of it is still so relevant to today, but there are lines and pieces that are jarring, particularly in today's world. The examples I can think of are almost all throwaway references to female oppression in Muslim countries - it is sort of incredible to see how rhetoric can influence everyone, even the woman who is writing a BOOK about resisting it.
Overall, this is a really solid book, especially if you are passionate about living small and local.
I love Barbara Kinsolver's elegant writing on very tough emotional, political, and environmental issues. I especially loved the more personal essays on her mother, her daughters, and writing literature about sex and bring taken seriously (which happens to be my favorite fiction of hers, Prodigal Summer). This is a good precursor to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which still stands as my favorite non-fiction book.
This book was a little darker than her other collection of essays, High Tide in Tucson, but if you need to get motivated to save the planet, this is a great kick start. It also serves as a nice preface to her most recent publication, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.
I am taking a break from this book...it's too cerebral for me right now
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
This is a collection of essays about a lot of things. A lot of them end up being political in nature, but I think that is because she wrote them closely following the attacks on the world trade centers. Some of them I liked a lot, and some of them I thought were boring or preachy.
I felt like I wanted to highlight certain parts, or make them part of my creed, how I live. I just think that myself and Barbara Kingsolver see a lot of things through the same lens.
Good stuff.
I felt like I wanted to highlight certain parts, or make them part of my creed, how I live. I just think that myself and Barbara Kingsolver see a lot of things through the same lens.
Good stuff.
An excellent collection of essays by a very talented writer. Many of these were written soon after 9/11 and yet 20 years later in the midst of the COVID crisis, they seem written for the current times as well. Kingsolver has a kind and thoughtful soul and this may be exactly what you need to read right now. Side effect: I am going back to read a couple novels of hers I hadn't gotten to yet.
I quite liked these essays, but there were few moments that I expect to stick with me. Partly I think that's because some of the major themes are pet topics of my own (local food, living sustainably) and while I completely agreed with what was written here none of it felt particularly fresh. A couple of the essays did stand out, particularly a letter to her daughter and to her mother. I waffled between 2-3 stars here, but the storyteller's magic I find in her other books was lacking.