Author / Writer / Book
Lover - which are you?
JR ~ Book lover, writer, and almost author
Title of Fiction book & year published
Animal Dreams 1990
Author name
Barbara Kingsolver
Type of book
Women’s Fiction
What is it about this
book that pulled you in?
JR ~ The protagonist’s sister travels to Nicaragua to help with crop
rejuvenation after (well, during) the civil war in the 1980s. I was living in
Nicaragua when I read this book (in 1995) so that probably had a lot to do with
it. However, it wasn’t the sister that I could relate to, but the protagonist
herself, Codi. I feel so much like Codi and understand her struggle to find her
place in her own life story.
Is there a relationship
in the story that resonated with you?
JR ~ Though we see the complicated
relationship that Codi, the protagonist, has with her sister, her father, and
her boyfriend, it is really the relationship she has with the town she grew up
in that struck a chord with me.
Do you think that
relationship was portrayed realistically?
JR ~ This relationship with the town felt authentic. As Codi grew up in the
small town of Grace, Arizona, there were many factors that made her feel an
outsider. As she returns to this town, she takes those memories with her and
struggles with her own inability to accept that she need not be an outsider
anymore.
Anything else you want
to tell us about the book?
JR ~ Kingsolver, especially in her more
recent works, focuses on themes of nature. This book is probably the birth of
those themes with her stories, as well as mixing in a bit of social justice
(which is also what pulled me in). At times her situational juxtapositions are
a little forced in their metaphorical nature, but even after re-reading again
just recently (for the 3rd or 4th time), I was able to
overlook it. Frankly, I probably only really noticed because since my last
read, I’ve written a couple books of my own. Ha.
A friend of mine uses the “did it make
you laugh, think, and cry” meausure for good storytelling, and this definitely
does all three for me.
Truly, Kingsolver’s prose is beautiful.
If you read only one of her books, this should be the one.
If author or writer,
your social media links:
http://jmarierundquist.com
JHA ~ Thanks so much, Janet, for recommending this book! It sounds great, and I've been meaning to pick up one of Barbara's novels. It sounds like this should be the one!
Attention readers ~ Have YOU read this book? If so, tell us what YOU thought of it!
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This sounds like a wonderful book, Janet! If it makes me laugh, think, and cry, I can't wait to read it! Have you read other books by this author?
ReplyDeleteI have read most, yes. Her themes and style have changed a bit over the course of her novels, but her prose remains consistently beautiful.
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ReplyDeleteI have not read this one by Barbara. She is a campion of nature; all of us in our own way should be too. I wonder if her time in Africa which lead to THE POISONWOOD BIBLE had anything to do with a spark that led her to honor and want to explore nature. Thanks for sharing this book, Janet.
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