Reviews - Small Wonder | The StoryGraph

182 reviews for:

This is Kingsolver at what she does best - poking our conscience and challenging our apathy. While these essays were written twenty years ago (maybe more), they speak so clearly to today's issues. This was the second time I'd read this (I read it when it came out also) and it was just as excellent this time - I'm a different reader though and I'm sure it hit me harder than the first time when I was probably too young to appreciate her.

allieta's review against another edition

4.0

Loved the story written to her mother. Very touching.

kylerb's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

ohemgeebooks's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

meadams's review against another edition

3.0

Written in the after-shock of 9/11, Kingsolver describes her emotions regarding humanity, nature and patriotism. Some of the essays were better than others. Barbara Kingsolver is an enjoyable storyteller, but I like her fiction the best

julibluemi's review against another edition

4.0

I loved reading her perspective on things. It’s too bad the ppl who run our country and corporations don’t have/ hear her perspective.

djrelay's review against another edition

4.0

I just finished the essay titled, "And Our Flag Was Still There." Now is a time of terrible unrest within our country. A president has been elected by the electoral college, but not by the people who make up this nation. The vast difference between the popular vote and the electoral vote is causing discouragement in our political process. Acts of civil and uncivil disobedience are being enacted every day to try to express the frustration of our citizens. Ms. Kingsolver's essay has elegantly captured, over 15 years ago, the spirit that I wish I could imbue on many more members of our great union.

"Questioning our government's actions does not violate the principles of liberty, equality, and freedom of speech; it exercises them, and by exercise we grow stronger....And so the founding fathers guaranteed the right of reasoned criticism in our citizenship contract--for 'always.' No emergency shutdowns allowed. However desperate things may get, there are no historical moments when beliefs can be abridged, vegetarians required to praise meat, Christians forced to pray as Muslims, or vice versa....It's easy to speak up for peace in peacetime--anybody can do that. Now is when it gets hard. But our flag is not just a logo for wars; it's the flag of American pacifists, too. It's the flag of all of us who love our country enough to do the hard work of living up to its highest ideals."

I found a lot of inspiration in this, as well as other essays. I am moved to appreciate what I have and who surrounds me. I am moved to see more of our world, to understand its inhabitants, their culture and their beliefs. I am moved to stop, smell the roses and appreciate the small wonders I encounter every day.

pzd1253's review against another edition

4.0

In this second reading, I amended my previous 3 stars to 4 stars. I think it's a book that reads better the second time, wherein I could appreciate how heartfelt Kingsolver's essays are.