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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
This was a very interesting book of essays that gave a lot of insight into Kingsolver's life and experiences. She wrote about biology - sex and diversity and the way life works. She wrote about global warming and other human effects on the planet. She wrote about the US post 9-11. The tragedy, the fear, the hate, the way she wishes we could all react and change and the way things are actually happening. She wrote about her experiences growing up, raising her kids, living in Kentucky vs. Arizona, reading and writing, vacations, etc...
Themes: biology, the American dream and American values, peace and war, global change, personal life and values
A lot of this I had gleaned from her other books (especially "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle") but it was interesting to see her perspective on a few other things besides food/biology. I agree with her on nearly everything, and I like that she has chosen to use her writing as a pedestal in some ways. Unfortunately, her convictions are so personal in her writing that I don't think it gets read by anyone beyond "the choir".
Themes: biology, the American dream and American values, peace and war, global change, personal life and values
A lot of this I had gleaned from her other books (especially "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle") but it was interesting to see her perspective on a few other things besides food/biology. I agree with her on nearly everything, and I like that she has chosen to use her writing as a pedestal in some ways. Unfortunately, her convictions are so personal in her writing that I don't think it gets read by anyone beyond "the choir".
This is one of the books I frequently turn to for sermon illustrations. It's fabulous. I love it.
Barbara Kingsolver never disappoints! I've read almost all of her books now. I would like her as a friend.
I felt every sentence of these essays so deeply. Each is as interesting and relevant as the next. Kingsolver offers her perspectives with such clarity and kindness, I cried.. many times.. from joy, sorrow, and a strong feeling of mutual understanding.
This wonderful collection of essays addresses the world as Kingsolver sees it. She pulls no punches about this time in history. The essays range from personal ones about her own family and environmental concerns to larger issues politically. Her writing is excellent and you can tell she is passionate about all the subjects she writes on. I found myself moved and inspired by these writings and left with hope for the future despite the obstacles currently facing humanity.
7/27/2004: Collection of essays written (mostly) after Sept 11. Combination of personal and political that had me crying and wanting to underline or read aloud more than once. About democracy, the horrors of war, the bullying of Republican flag-mongerers--also a letter to her 13-year-old daughter, one to her mother, an essay on her daughter raising chickens, and on energy conservation through eating locally raised food. Great ideas and writing.
I listened to the audiobook which Barbara Kingsolver narrates. I borrowed it from the library, but this book is so good that I am buying the ebook to have on hand to read again and even use for reference. I feel I cannot do justice with a review, so I offer a review by someone else who I feel has expressed my own view of the book pretty well. I will add that I am very strongly impressed with Kingsolver's views and her so beautiful way of articulating them. She feels deeply, but she is gentle in her expression. The book is not only thought provoking. It is also very entertaining.
The link to the review I mentioned is: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41504591
The link to the review I mentioned is: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/41504591
Barbara Kingsolver, novelist
and naturalist, writes in
Small Wonder her thoughts
on the raising chickens,
motherhood, television,
and war. She is at her best
when she writes about what
she knows, birds and crabs,
daughters and deserts.
and naturalist, writes in
Small Wonder her thoughts
on the raising chickens,
motherhood, television,
and war. She is at her best
when she writes about what
she knows, birds and crabs,
daughters and deserts.
Many of these pieces were written in response to 9/11 and so her politics are a little more clear here than they were in her previous collection of essays. I don't agree with a lot of her viewpoints, but Kingsolver writes so well that I always enjoy reading her work. She writes equally well about crab shells, her homes in Appalachia and Tucson, the Grand Canyon, her garden, motherhood and genetic engineering. Great stuff.