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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It takes a speciali gift to write about small things in a way that's engaging, enthralling, and almost poetic. There's no big story here, just two women from different walks of life, coming to terms with their choices and overcoming challenges: a lone ranger living in the woods and a young widow on a farm. Oh, there's also Garnett, a sanctimonious old man, whose chapters made me smile. There's nature and hope and grief, and a whole lot of wisdom.
hopeful
informative
relaxing
medium-paced
Gorgeous depiction of mid-southern Appalachia and the variety of life - both human and non-human - in that part of the country. Sometimes sad, sometimes sexy, all times beautiful.
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was beautiful in its storytelling and depictions of the natural world.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was conflicted whilst reading this book - I thoroughly enjoyed Lusa’s story and was looking forward to her story progressing.
Deanna’s story was disappointing, it took its time to get going and never really delivered for me in the end. I felt the conclusion of her story was underwhelming.
Overall, it’s an interesting read but felt it could’ve been 100 pages shorter. It’s a slow burner for sure and at times REALLY boring, but Lusa’s story makes it a 3 star for me.
Deanna’s story was disappointing, it took its time to get going and never really delivered for me in the end. I felt the conclusion of her story was underwhelming.
Overall, it’s an interesting read but felt it could’ve been 100 pages shorter. It’s a slow burner for sure and at times REALLY boring, but Lusa’s story makes it a 3 star for me.
There’s nothing I can point to that I disliked about this book, but it never really gripped me, either. I love the way Kingsolver writes about nature and enjoyed each section on its own merits, but there’s not a particularly strong or cohesive narrative. Even though the 3 main storylines are tangentially connected, they feel self-contained. I was hoping we would see more connection between the characters by the end, but, just as the threads are coming together, the book ends as abruptly as the changing of the seasons. An intentional move, I’m sure, but not a satisfying one.
It turns out I have read most of Kingsolver's novels, starting back in the 1990s, but somehow I had missed this one. It's excellent. There are two things I particularly like about her stories: Her characters have a lot of interesting thoughts and make sometimes startling associations in their minds. In the course of the story, each of the main characters grows a lot.
Nature and the natural balance of plants and animals (and insects!) play a big role in this book. One character is up on a mountain, in the forest. Three others live at the base of the mountain, where most people make a living from farming. (If you don't know anything about life on a small family farm, you'll learn some new things here.) All these people are very different from me, but I enjoyed spending time with them and absorbing their lives and their routines. I really liked the process of Lusa (not a farmer) slowly finding out how to fit in with her husband's farming family. She has made a lot of assumptions about what they think about her, and slowly she comes to see that on many counts, she was mistaken.
It's a good story. By moving among the three storylines (Deanna, Lusa, and Garnett), Kingsolver binds us to the land and the processes of growth and decline. I liked the pacing and the ending, even though it does not neatly wrap up all these lives. The people and the mountain will go on living after we leave them.
Nature and the natural balance of plants and animals (and insects!) play a big role in this book. One character is up on a mountain, in the forest. Three others live at the base of the mountain, where most people make a living from farming. (If you don't know anything about life on a small family farm, you'll learn some new things here.) All these people are very different from me, but I enjoyed spending time with them and absorbing their lives and their routines. I really liked the process of Lusa (not a farmer) slowly finding out how to fit in with her husband's farming family. She has made a lot of assumptions about what they think about her, and slowly she comes to see that on many counts, she was mistaken.
It's a good story. By moving among the three storylines (Deanna, Lusa, and Garnett), Kingsolver binds us to the land and the processes of growth and decline. I liked the pacing and the ending, even though it does not neatly wrap up all these lives. The people and the mountain will go on living after we leave them.