Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
61st out of 86 books
—
49 voters
In the Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country
by
Kim Barnes (Goodreads Author)
Poet Kim Barnes grew up in northern Idaho, in the isolated camps where her father worked as a logger and her mother made a modest but comfortable home for her husband and two children. Their lives were short on material wealth, but long on the riches of family and friendship, and the great sheltering power of the wilderness. But in the mid-1960's, as automation and a decli...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
February 17th 1997
by Anchor
(first published 1992)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
437)
I first read In the Wilderness when I was in high school. I remember being thrilled to be reading a book that was a coming of age story about a girl who grew up in Idaho - just like me! And I was profoundly inspired and for a brief time decided I would be a writer too. That didn't exactly last, but as I re-read Barne's intoxicatingly beautiful prose, a lot of memories flooded back to me. The story about growing up in a logging family that turned to fundamentalism and eventually was wretched away...more
A friend loaned me this book after seeing another book on growing up in the Clearwater forest area. I had spoken of a wonderful experience I had in my youth going to a backwoods church. The participants were varied - all religions, backgrounds, income. Many wore threadbare clothing and some no shoes. There was a woman speaking in tongues!
My friend told be this book would remind me of that experience. Boy was she correct. I really connected with the author because her story, while not my own, wa...more
My friend told be this book would remind me of that experience. Boy was she correct. I really connected with the author because her story, while not my own, wa...more
This is a lovely memoir of family, faith, and place. She captured the nurturing and cruelty of her fundamentalist upbringing, the ways she could know and understand her parents and the ways in which she could not, the beauty of her childhood home and what it gave her. I really loved reading it, especially the parts about growing up in the forest of northern Idaho.
One of my favorite passages: "I think of how long we search to find that place we might call ours, where we might feel we have found a...more
One of my favorite passages: "I think of how long we search to find that place we might call ours, where we might feel we have found a...more
It's not so secret that I'm in love with Idaho, which is why I picked up another book by Idaho writer Kim Barnes. Strong beginning where she tells of her growing up in a logging family; not so strong late middle and ending of her experiences when Idaho logging begins to fade and her family moves to the city. I think my lack of enthusiasm here is due to the limited insight she gave as to why things went so terribly wrong for her and some parts don't blend as seamlessly as they should or elaborate...more
I felt very close to this book. First, it is beautifully written. The events in the forest of Idaho while more intense than mine in camps and on hunting trips as a kid in California. Second, somehow, I don't remember how, we ended up in very fundamentalist churches in Las Vegas. Vegas was a very Mormon and fundamentalist town once. Maybe we ended up in those churches because they were the closest to the house. We went to church all day Sundays and three nights a week or more. Nothing was permitt...more
May 11, 2013
Heather
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Those interested in stories of fundamentalist religion
Recommended to Heather by:
Hilary Grabner
2013: It's an interesting experience to re-read a book like this after a major change in worldview. When I first read this I was a religious college student living in the beautiful landscape described in the book. It haunted me. I couldn't describe why. But I valued Kim's life experience and the book became one of the many I own that I checked for and carefully packed every time I moved. One that I would never loan.
Recently a coworker told me that she had left her Pentecostal home at age 16, no...more
Recently a coworker told me that she had left her Pentecostal home at age 16, no...more
Jul 03, 2010
Nancy
added it
book group, Polly's choice. A good read, Polly. The opening portion of this book confused me with the generational jumble of characters, but the writing got better and better. The fundamentalist religion theme was only minimally interesting, but it stimulated great conversation in our group meeting. My favorite part was the reference to the land and how the main character's personality was somehow reflected in the earth experiences which influenced her. The sensory sensitivity of the author to h...more
This was a book that the library is holding discussions for. Not really into book discussions, but wanted to see what it was all about. Started slow and then got really interesting. Had many of the same thoughts as the main character growing up with religion and then turning away when in middle school. THis is a book that I think all parents should read. It shows what can happen to daughters when we fail to listen to them and just dictate.
The first of Barnes's memoirs, "In the Wilderness" captured the coming-of-age of a young lady in a fundamentalist Pentacostal home - the obedience of youth, the rebellion of early teen years, and the acquiescence of a young adult. It was odd reading these two memoirs in reverse order, knowing what was coming for this young naive girl. I appreciate Kim's thorough attention to detail, descriptive, vivid language, and careful, respectful handling of family and church. Barnes's non-judgmental honest...more
This is the most significant memoir I've ever read. Your mileage may vary, but given my background and baggage, this book just slayed me--then built me back up again.
I've had the privilege of hearing her speak and lecture several times now, and she's articulate and wonderful on the art of the memoir. One thing she's said, that I feel truly informs the work she does here, is that "You should not write a memoir for revenge."
I've had the privilege of hearing her speak and lecture several times now, and she's articulate and wonderful on the art of the memoir. One thing she's said, that I feel truly informs the work she does here, is that "You should not write a memoir for revenge."
Barnes' writing style is poetic in the sense of marvelous accuracy and calm observation, but the narrative of this memoir skips about a little, leaving this reader a bit confused. The insights of life in a fundamentalist family (and the closed society and petty issues within small churches) are interesting...and her descriptions of life in the logging areas are fabulous. All in all, a recommendation for a good read, if not a must-read.
I realize that all the books that I've added to my reviews tonight; I loved. I guess that means I don't read books that don't hold any appeal - duh! Do any of us? Anyway, the memoir of growing up as a the daughter of a logger and a mother who made a home for her family. Truthfully faces the desperate times of family and a way of life when automation and economics change the way generations have lived.
When I first started to read this book I thought "Oh, another coming of age book.." but Kim really has a unique perspective of a very strict almost cult like religious up bringing that not only kept her close to nature it also kept her on of the fringe of society. This was a good read with scenes that still pop into my head every now and then - it's one I want to read again.
Great writing about a woman who spent her childhood in the lumber camps and small towns of Idaho near Lewiston. Living under the control of her Pentecostal father and the dictates of his religion, which considers women inherently sinful and only capable of serving their husbands, she struggles and succeeds in finding her own place and identity in life.
This is the second book I had recently read by Kim Barnes. I'm rather fascinated by her upbringing because it is somewhat reminiscent of my own, mainly the aspect of religion. I have seen many of the scenes she described in her church and they were traumatizing to me. This is her life as a child and teen.
I picked this up at a used bookstore because it was about growing up near Lewiston, Idaho, and I lived in Idaho not far from Lewiston for several years. Barnes tells a nice story of growing up in poor rural conditions and particularly does a nice job of describing life in a fundamentalist Christian family.
I felt that the book needed a better editor - it was sort of like I was reading a draft instead of the final work. For example, a significant chapter on a hunting trip that is supposed to help...more
I felt that the book needed a better editor - it was sort of like I was reading a draft instead of the final work. For example, a significant chapter on a hunting trip that is supposed to help...more
This book brought out so many memories of my childhood growing up in Lewiston since moving there in 1965. Kim was a year older than myself, but I graduated with her cousin, Les, she mentions in her book and we hung out a few times. The rebelliousness and the drugs we all tried during the 70s was a natural occurrence growing up, but unfortunately, because I was not brought up in a religious household, it was hard for me to understand what all Kim had gone through, other than the taste of freedom...more
I enjoyed the first section of this book. There are so many memoirs out there. This one began in a unique voice describing a fresh setting and history. As the book progressed, I felt less connected to the author. I did not sense that she took any responsibility for her reckless choices. Many people in life suffer painful experiences without resorting to self destruction and self-pity. I would have liked to have more information about her healthy life with her husband. The book ends on a blue not...more
Hmm. This book sounded intriguing!
The beginning was a bit of a depressing slog.
I liked parts of Barnes' writing, to the point of reading it aloud just to hear how it sounded.
However, I felt some things were missing. For example, from early in Barnes' life, her grandmother plays an important role. But when Barnes becomes a teen, her grandmother seems to make only anecdotal appearances in the book. What happened in her relationship to her grandmother?
Oddly, I had to push myself to pick up the book...more
The beginning was a bit of a depressing slog.
I liked parts of Barnes' writing, to the point of reading it aloud just to hear how it sounded.
However, I felt some things were missing. For example, from early in Barnes' life, her grandmother plays an important role. But when Barnes becomes a teen, her grandmother seems to make only anecdotal appearances in the book. What happened in her relationship to her grandmother?
Oddly, I had to push myself to pick up the book...more
A donation to my OBCZ that I chose to try to read because I'm curious about people who choose to be fundamentalist Christians. I did get some insight about that. Some of the language, especially after the first third which too much like a recitation of the begats, was lovely.
However, the only reason I finished it was because I was trying to read myself to sleep, and this was boring enough that I thought it would work. Unfortunately, not quite, I did manage to finish in one night. But that's due...more
However, the only reason I finished it was because I was trying to read myself to sleep, and this was boring enough that I thought it would work. Unfortunately, not quite, I did manage to finish in one night. But that's due...more
Kim Barnes' story is so compelling -- her fundmentalist background seemed on the surface so different than what I could relate to, yet the entire time I read, I kept nodding in understanding. Her prose is refreshing and uncluttered, and she is so honest in the telling of her story.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Very interesting book to read. For as different as our lives are/were, and the experiences she had that I never had, I got it and I can say we had many shared feelings, we just got them in different ways!
Very interesting memoir of an Idahoan who grew up in a fundamentalist family about the same time I did. It was her quest to find her own way in life. Beautifully rendered.
A memoir of Paradise Lost. Kim's family moves to Idaho, where her father works as a logger. Mom is beautiful and her parents are very much in love, but Kim's dad has a dark side. He turns to religion and leaves the forest he loves because he thinks that's what God wants. Kim and her mother are forced to confirm to his ideals of Christian womanhood.
This book started slowly, and but it was worth sticking with it. Religion found, lost, rediscovered, lost.. and varying perspectives on why.
Love her writing. This one lacked a little of the poetry of the other I read--maybe due to it being a memoir? Less creative license? Still, a pretty, interesting book.
The most interesting parts, for me, are about Kim's early life in the timber camps. Luminous is the word that comes to mind.
This book is autobiographical. My only fascination with this book stemmed from the fact that the author grew up in the timber country of northern Idaho, an area I know well. I also have ancestral ties to the timber industry so I understood much of what she described. However, her life and family atmosphere were foreign to my experiences (thank God!). I had a hard time comprehending that someone so young could get into so much trouble and how completely she and her parents cut themselves off from...more
This memoir rates at the top of the list, compared to other memoirs I've read. Her story is compelling as she relates growing up in the forests of northern Idaho and living in a extreme fundamentalist Christian family. This was a quick book to read; her prose is beautiful to read. One cannot leave this book without a feeling for the wilderness, family, rebellion, longing, and austerity. I spent part of my childhood in Headquarters, so Kim's writing brought back many fond memories of the logging...more
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
I was born in Lewiston, Idaho, in 1958, and one week later, I returned with my mother to our small line-shack on Orofino Creek, where my father worked as a gyppo logger. The majority of my childhood was spent with my younger brother, Greg, in the isolated settlements and cedar camps along the North Fork of Idaho’s Clearwater River. I was the first member of my family to attend college. I hold a BA...more
More about Kim Barnes...
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“I carry it all with me, in the quiet pools and strong currents of my being. I fill my hands with the black dirt left by the river's birth. I believe that what I hold in my hands is memory: like the river, it takes what it touches, carrying it along until all that remains is the bed over which the water flows.”
—
6 people liked it
More quotes…
Feb 12, 2009 02:52pm