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jocelynh 's review for:
Small Wonder
by Barbara Kingsolver
I get the feeling that Barbara Kingsolver wrote this book mostly for herself. Sure, there are the great environmental, feminist, and pacifist morals, which I must note now that I did often strongly agree with, but they are overshadowed by Kingsolver reveling in her own writing.
At several points, Kingsolver takes on an insultingly self-righteous and condescending tone, and in these sections most of what I got out of the book was "gardens, hope, nature, I'm better than you, peace." She's got it all--the humble brag, the outright boasting, the subtle jab at everyone who isn't her. Halfway through, I thought it would be fun to place sticky notes on sections I found particularly disgusting, and soon ran out of sticky notes.
Mostly, it's the superior tone that puts me off. Kingsolver seems to believe that she does most things better than everyone else and urges everyone to do the same--eat from vegetable gardens, support local growers, don't take many airplane flights--even though 1) a lot of people can't afford those organic or pesticide-free foods, 2) most of us don't have the time or land to plant our own vegetables, and 3) she mentions taking so many flights that she has "enough frequent-flyer miles to go to China."
And anyway, I'm here to read about your ideas and your suggestions and then judge them for myself, not have them shoved down my throat and denounced if I don't agree with them. Admittedly, I do often agree with them, so I'm not as offended as, say, a reader who doesn't have such strong beliefs regarding feminism would be. Even so, at some really low points, I did groan out loud (out of both exasperation and anger).
Kingsolver seems to ignore those not-so-little things that could weaken her case: staunchly supporting global warming without even mentioning scientific evidence (or lack thereof), check; completely disregarding the cost of those "healthier" foods, check. Coupled with her bragging (she has an entire section devoted to telling us how badly she thought of herself in high school, then gleefully telling us that she was actually very pretty and was valedictorian, even though this has nothing to do with her point whatsoever), this book was nearly intolerable.
So, if you agree with every single thing she says, by all means go for the book. It's eye-opening, in an infuriating way. But remember, if you think you'll so much as question one idea she has, you'll probably start to feel irritated by Kingsolver's smug tone before long.
Note: This is the first book that I have ever quite literally thrown down in disgust.
At several points, Kingsolver takes on an insultingly self-righteous and condescending tone, and in these sections most of what I got out of the book was "gardens, hope, nature, I'm better than you, peace." She's got it all--the humble brag, the outright boasting, the subtle jab at everyone who isn't her. Halfway through, I thought it would be fun to place sticky notes on sections I found particularly disgusting, and soon ran out of sticky notes.
Mostly, it's the superior tone that puts me off. Kingsolver seems to believe that she does most things better than everyone else and urges everyone to do the same--eat from vegetable gardens, support local growers, don't take many airplane flights--even though 1) a lot of people can't afford those organic or pesticide-free foods, 2) most of us don't have the time or land to plant our own vegetables, and 3) she mentions taking so many flights that she has "enough frequent-flyer miles to go to China."
And anyway, I'm here to read about your ideas and your suggestions and then judge them for myself, not have them shoved down my throat and denounced if I don't agree with them. Admittedly, I do often agree with them, so I'm not as offended as, say, a reader who doesn't have such strong beliefs regarding feminism would be. Even so, at some really low points, I did groan out loud (out of both exasperation and anger).
Kingsolver seems to ignore those not-so-little things that could weaken her case: staunchly supporting global warming without even mentioning scientific evidence (or lack thereof), check; completely disregarding the cost of those "healthier" foods, check. Coupled with her bragging (she has an entire section devoted to telling us how badly she thought of herself in high school, then gleefully telling us that she was actually very pretty and was valedictorian, even though this has nothing to do with her point whatsoever), this book was nearly intolerable.
So, if you agree with every single thing she says, by all means go for the book. It's eye-opening, in an infuriating way. But remember, if you think you'll so much as question one idea she has, you'll probably start to feel irritated by Kingsolver's smug tone before long.
Note: This is the first book that I have ever quite literally thrown down in disgust.