Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

Willa Knox and her Greek-American husband, Iano, have worked hard their entire adult lives. Maybe too hard, as their daughter Tig feels like she was slighted and their son Zeke seems to be following in their footsteps, leaving the care of his baby to Willa and Tig after a tragic loss. After Iano lost his tenure and their home its value when his college employer shut down, they've been forced to move into a dilapidated house in Vineland, New Jersey they've inherited. The home was not built right in the first place and the best option is to tear it down and build a new home on the property. But, they simply don't have the money. Desperate to find a way to come up with the money to repair the property, journalist Willa goes to the local historical society in the hope of finding historical occupants who may lead to grant money for preservation of the home.

In the 1880s, science teacher Thatcher Greenwood has recently moved into the home his wife's father built, along with his new wife, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and their two dogs. While tracking down the dogs one day, he discovers that his next-door neighbor is a botanist of some reknown who corresponds with Charles Darwin and Asa Gray. As he gets to know his neighbor, Thatcher discovers they share a belief in the same scientific framework proposed by Darwin. But Thatcher is frustrated by his inability to use his understanding in his classroom. The town was built to be utopian but based on strict biblical interpretation. Darwin's theory of evolution offends those in charge. While the poorly-built house is falling apart around them, Thatcher feels the pressure of trying to keep the home together, satisfy his wife's yearning for a better life, and figure out how to work around the principal's strict teaching requirements. But, then a murder forces him to put his beliefs on display and risks his job prospects.

I'm not sure I did an adequate job of describing the parallel plots in Unsheltered but you can look up the publisher's description somewhere else if you desire to learn more about the book. The bottom line is that both stories take place within the same house, a structure so poorly built that even the first family that lived in it had to deal with the fact that it was basically crashing down around them and had to constantly be patched up. Both the Greenwoods and Willa's family are in dire straits financially and have challenges within the family -- clashing personalities, slightly overwhelming responsibilities. The contemporary story is told from Willa's perspective and the historical from Thatcher's, both being the people who have the most responsibility to balance.

Unsheltered is atypical for this type of story. Most of those that I've read contain more of a connecting thread that a single, physical object (the house) and they tend to be a bit lighter, stylistically. Kingsolver's books have a laudable depth. But, in her search for a meaningful historical connection to find money for home repairs, Willa glimpses the unique friendship and the surprising historical tale that take place in the second storyline, so there is some crossover. It's just a little more tentative than most I've read. While I was intrigued by the science end of the story, I think I spent more time wondering how on earth both families were going to deal with the disastrous house and the family issues. The science conversations felt like a bit of a reprieve from the rest.

Through the tale of their collapsing house, Kingsolver touches on all sorts of topics like American healthcare, scientific methodology, the balance of work and home life in parenting, climate change, politics. She never uses the name of our current president but the contemporary story takes place during the election season and it's clear who she's referring to when she speaks of the Bullhorn. Willa's irascible father-in-law, Nick, has similar traits to the candidate.

Recommended - Both engrossing and educational (much of the historical portions are based on real-life characters and events), I really enjoyed Unsheltered. My only complaint would have to be the occasional philosophical arguments between Tig (whose name I correctly guessed is short for Antigone) and Willa. I found them a bit of a yawn. Some may find the book a bit on the preachy side but Kingsolver's books usually bring up environmental issues so that's nothing new. If you're offended by people nattering on about saving the planet, you might find it frustrating. I'm a closet environmentalist so I did not. The writing style is lovely and sharp. I'm always impressed by Kingsolver's writing.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Fiona Friday and 2 mini reviews: When the Cypress Whispers by Y. M. Corporon & Pigs in Heaven by B. Kingsolver

This is what happens when you try to cover a box to keep one cat from gnawing on it and the other cat just happens to be a burrower:

Just seconds after I snapped this photo, Isabel scrambled out backwards and plopped down onto the floor looking ruffled and a little bit insane. She had me in stitches.

On to books!

When the Cypress Whispers was released in April and I read the ARC (which I received from HarperCollins) before the release date but I was so far behind on my reviews that it's taken me a month to get around to reviewing. On the plus side, this week's reading slump has help me get closer to catching up!

Brief synopsis: 

Daphne is widowed and has worked very hard to make a life for herself and her daughter in New York. The child of Greek immigrants, she spent her summers with her Yia-yia (grandmother) on the island of Erikousa and now that she's about to marry again, she has a yearning to return, to marry in a place dear to her heart. She has always wished the mythical cypress whispers would call out to her but although they speak to her Yia-yia, Daphne is convinced the cypress whispers are a myth.  As she and her daughter settle in and are reminded of the ancient ways, she meets a fisherman who helps Daphne learn the depth of her grandmother's heart and the way to her own.

My feelings about When the Cypress Whispers are mixed. I loved the Greek setting for the armchair travel experience and I liked the WWII story about her grandmother but I thought there was something slightly uncomfortable about the writing style. I never did entirely get a grip on what it was that I disliked (apart from the fact that some parts were predictable) but I chose to ignore it and just enjoy the sense of place, which was almost visceral, as much about sensation as it was about tradition and beauty, history and one little island's fierce determination to cling to its identity. There's a feminist undercurrent which I was okay with till the end. I didn't think the ending fit the beginning and middle, primarily because I just couldn't reconcile what became of one character to the way that person was described throughout the novel. In other words, When the Cypress Whispers was lacking a crucial sense of balance.

Recommended - I liked the setting enough to give When the Cypress Whispers a 3.5/5 rating. I loved Daphne's daughter, her Yia-yia, the descriptions of island life, the fisherman, some of the other crazy characters. But, I disliked the ending and didn't really like the protagonist. I did sense a slight feminist agenda and, for the most part, I liked it. But, the way it came to the forefront in the ending felt awkward and wrong. Best to read for the sense of place and the characters.

Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver was this month's F2F read and, once again, I missed the group discussion. But, this time it was because I was about 2/3 of the way into the book and loving it enough that I didn't want the ending spoiled. Copyrighted in 1993, my copy of Pigs in Heaven was purchased secondhand and has been sitting around for years. I'm glad the F2F group gave me that nudge I needed to actually open the book.

I don't know if Pigs in Heaven is the only follow-up to The Bean Trees (which I have not read) or there's another book but quick synopsis: Taylor adopted Turtle, a Cherokee who was abused and thrown into Taylor's car by a desperate woman. On a road trip, Turtle witnesses a man's fall into a hole at Hoover Dam and ends up on an Oprah episode dedicated to child heroes. A Cherokee lawyer sees Oprah and recognizes the Cherokee features on the little girl. She's convinced the adoption cannot possibly be legal and investigates. When Taylor finds out that lawyer Annawake wants to bring Turtle back to the tribe, she grabs Turtle and runs. But, as she becomes increasingly desperate and begins to miss her network of friends, she realizes that what's best for Turtle and herself may be the same thing from which she's running.

I've had one of those horrid reading weeks when you pick up a book, set it aside, pick up another and read a bit, drift off, try another book . . .  on and on. Nothing was clicking for me and that included Pigs in Heaven. I found the country accents (which didn't jibe with anything I've ever heard in Oklahoma or Mississippi) particularly annoying. But, then the story and its theme became apparent and I ended up absolutely loving Pigs in Heaven. I've read or heard a little about tribal law and the story was definitely plausible, from what I know. I also recognized imagery, for once. There are two flocks of birds -- pigeons and Canada geese -- that are considered unwelcome at different times and places in the books. The pigeons are killed, the geese relocated. Clearly, they represented the American Indian tribes who were murdered and relocated when the incoming whites decided they wanted the natives' land.

Highly recommended - A terrific story about the importance of family and identity as well as the painful history of Native Americans.  I acquired a copy of The Bean Trees secondhand, at the same time I bought Pigs in Heaven and I'm anxious to read that, as well.  I got a big kick when my hometown was mentioned, even if though it was brief and not descriptive. I miss home. I always will, I suppose.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

I am so embarrassed to admit that Flight Behavior is my first Barbara Kingsolver book after all the praise I've heard lavished upon Kingsolver by people I trust for so many years!  What was I thinking?

Flight Behavior is about a woman with a really bizarre name who is on the verge of having an affair.  Married young in the "shotgun" way, Dellarobia has two children and a devoted husband.  She loves them but she's not happily married because she's not fulfilled.  When she heads up into the mountains above her home to meet up with a man with whom she's had a flirtation going, she is shocked to find what appears to be a living valley of flame.

It's not flames that she sees but millions of monarch butterflies wintering in the wrong place.  What has caused the butterflies to migrate to the wrong place?  Is it an ominous sign or a miracle?  Will they survive winter in a place far north of their usual wintering spot?

--WARNING, POSSIBLE SPOILER--

I don't think this next comment is a spoiler at all, but if you're worried you may skip this bit because sometimes people disagree with what I consider spoilery:

Well, really quickly, it's a global warming thing.  And, since Kingsolver was a biologist before she became a writer, the science is sound (from what I've read).  Flight Behavior is fiction but similar things have been happening for years.  Yes, yes, I know there are plenty of people who don't believe in climate change.  She actually even explains why she believes that the idea of climate change-slash-global warming is something that people reject because it threatens deeply-held beliefs.

--END POTENTIAL SPOILER--

But, back to the story.  Barbara Kingsolver's writing is . . . it's just . . . I was blown away.  It is freaking beautiful.  Every single sentence is a work of art.  I'd say, "Why didn't you guys tell me?" but the truth is you did.  Thank goodness, I have at least two other Barbara Kingsolver books on my shelves because I did listen in a vague, detached way.  I just didn't bother to read them.

I will now throw the Kingsolver gushiness back at you.  People, you have got to read Flight Behavior.  Marvelous craftmanship, excellent storytelling, amazing characterization, and believable dialogue don't come together in such a mind-blowing manner very often.  Highly, highly recommended.

Flight Behavior can be a bit distressing if you are a lover of nature.  At times, I felt a little heartbroken at the thought of all those beautiful creatures dying.  I'm glad the story itself is fiction, if not the general concept.

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.