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A little about Kingsolver
By MARTHA D. BONE
Last week I wrote about some of the books and movies that make me happy, and I forgot to mention Barbara Kingsolver. Kingsolver is from Carlisle, and she is an internationally known writer. She speaks especially for the people in this area, but her works are universal. Kingsolver and her daughter, Camille, have a new book coming out in the spring of 2007. I know nothing about it, but I’ve pre-ordered it anyway.
The Bean Trees is the first of Kingsolver’s novels. It is the story of Taylor Greer, who left Kentucky because “being barefoot and pregnant wasn’t my style.” Traveling to Arizona in a beaten-up old Volkswagen that would only start on a hill, Taylor ironically ends up with a child. The child, a Cherokee, is given to Taylor at a gas station/restaurant. Taylor soon learns that the child has been abused. Because she doesn’t speak and clings to Taylor, Taylor names her “Turtle.” The adventures of Taylor and Turtle and their friends are a delight. There are also refugees from Central America, and a store called “Jesus is Lord Used Tires.”
A follow-up book is Pigs in Heaven, more or less the continuing saga of Turtle. Taylor discovers that Turtle is lactose intolerant, as are many native Americans, and this problem sets up the conflict between Taylor’s guardianship of Turtle and the rights of her Cherokee tribe. Taylor’s mother appears in Pigs in Heaven, a refugee from her new husband, who thinks that spraying everything with WD-40 is all it takes for a good marriage.
This novel has one of the most unusual and wonderful acts of love that I have ever read — and it has nothing to do with sex.
My favorite of all Kingsolver’s book is Animal Dreams, the story of two sisters, a lover named Loyd, and piñatas in Grace, Ariz. In many ways this is a sad book, and it is political, as are all of Kingsolver’s novels. But it has a wonderful love story, a touching family story, and an optimistic ending. Kingsolver has been criticized for her happy endings, but she says she just gets to a good place and stops there. I have many favorite passages in Animal Dreams, and I am inspired by this book every time I read it. I often use this novel in my English classes, and most of my students love it, too.
Kingsolver’s most commercially successful novel is probably The Poisonwood Bible, which is my least favorite of her books. It is the story of a mad preacher who takes his family to Africa, where he is a missionary. Everything he does is wrong, and he is one literary character I loathe. I know I should feel some sympathy for him, but I can’t. His family has to suffer for his obsession and his arrogance. It’s easy to be anti-missionary after reading The Poisonwood Bible.
Kingsolver has another novel, Prodigal Summer. Kingsolver majored in biology and even did graduate work, and this novel is all about how reproduction works — for spiders and bugs and trees and frogs, as well as the fascinating people in her story.
There are two wonderful essay books by Kingsolver also. But if you haven’t read any of her novels, start there. I don’t think you’ll want to stop until you have read them all. As for me, I can’t wait for the book she has written with her daughter.
The Bean Trees is the first of Kingsolver’s novels. It is the story of Taylor Greer, who left Kentucky because “being barefoot and pregnant wasn’t my style.” Traveling to Arizona in a beaten-up old Volkswagen that would only start on a hill, Taylor ironically ends up with a child. The child, a Cherokee, is given to Taylor at a gas station/restaurant. Taylor soon learns that the child has been abused. Because she doesn’t speak and clings to Taylor, Taylor names her “Turtle.” The adventures of Taylor and Turtle and their friends are a delight. There are also refugees from Central America, and a store called “Jesus is Lord Used Tires.”
A follow-up book is Pigs in Heaven, more or less the continuing saga of Turtle. Taylor discovers that Turtle is lactose intolerant, as are many native Americans, and this problem sets up the conflict between Taylor’s guardianship of Turtle and the rights of her Cherokee tribe. Taylor’s mother appears in Pigs in Heaven, a refugee from her new husband, who thinks that spraying everything with WD-40 is all it takes for a good marriage.
This novel has one of the most unusual and wonderful acts of love that I have ever read — and it has nothing to do with sex.
My favorite of all Kingsolver’s book is Animal Dreams, the story of two sisters, a lover named Loyd, and piñatas in Grace, Ariz. In many ways this is a sad book, and it is political, as are all of Kingsolver’s novels. But it has a wonderful love story, a touching family story, and an optimistic ending. Kingsolver has been criticized for her happy endings, but she says she just gets to a good place and stops there. I have many favorite passages in Animal Dreams, and I am inspired by this book every time I read it. I often use this novel in my English classes, and most of my students love it, too.
Kingsolver’s most commercially successful novel is probably The Poisonwood Bible, which is my least favorite of her books. It is the story of a mad preacher who takes his family to Africa, where he is a missionary. Everything he does is wrong, and he is one literary character I loathe. I know I should feel some sympathy for him, but I can’t. His family has to suffer for his obsession and his arrogance. It’s easy to be anti-missionary after reading The Poisonwood Bible.
Kingsolver has another novel, Prodigal Summer. Kingsolver majored in biology and even did graduate work, and this novel is all about how reproduction works — for spiders and bugs and trees and frogs, as well as the fascinating people in her story.
There are two wonderful essay books by Kingsolver also. But if you haven’t read any of her novels, start there. I don’t think you’ll want to stop until you have read them all. As for me, I can’t wait for the book she has written with her daughter.
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