Animal Dreams
by Barbara Kingsolver
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I was a bit disturbed that I could appreciate this book. While I have liked a lot of Kingsolver's other work, this particular book is centered around the sort of seriously damaged character that usually turns me off to a book. And had I read this in high school, or college, or maybe even grad school, I'm fairly certain I would have disliked it tremendously.
And yet... having read it when I did, I was able to identify with some elements of the what the character was experiencing, even if I d...more
And yet... having read it when I did, I was able to identify with some elements of the what the character was experiencing, even if I d...more
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Read in June, 2008
I've only just started this book (I'm midway through chapter 3), but I can already say I LOVE it. The last book I read was annoyingly light and coming from that to read Ms. Kingsolver's amazing prose has been like drinking that first glass of cool water when you are thirsty. I've never read any of her other books, but I picked this one up b/c I saw an interesting interview with her on PBS. So glad I did! The characters feel like real people in an equally real world. Her descriptions and analogie...more
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Read in May, 2008
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Read in September, 2007
I loved this book. Kingslover manages to write redemption stories that are both gentle and poignant. Probably my favorite theme in stories is the ever elusive journey home. She does this brilliantly. some Quotes, both from letters from Hallie to her sister Codi:
"What keeps you going isn't some find destination but just the road you're on, and the fact that you know how to drive. You keep your eyes open, you see this damned-to-hell world you got born into, and you ask yourself, 'What li...more
"What keeps you going isn't some find destination but just the road you're on, and the fact that you know how to drive. You keep your eyes open, you see this damned-to-hell world you got born into, and you ask yourself, 'What li...more
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Read in April, 2008
This is only the second book that I've read by Barbara Kingsolver, and I'm very interested in learning about her writing process. She has this infectious, cultural curiosity that drives her to learn anything and everything about a place and its people...even if they only exist in her mind. She creates an entire world of history, geography, lineage and folklore.
And every character is filled with so much wisdom and humor that I feel like I was given a sneak peak into Kingsolver's personali...more
And every character is filled with so much wisdom and humor that I feel like I was given a sneak peak into Kingsolver's personali...more
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Read in May, 2006
In a letter to Codi, Hallie writes, "'What keeps you going isn't some fine destination but just the road you're on, and the fact that you know how to drive.'" This is not a love story as the back of the book may have you believe. Sure, people fall in and out of love within its pages, but this book is really about understanding oneself amid a lifetime of memories and secrets...the risks we take not only when we cheat ourselves, but when we find ourselves, too. I read this for the fir...more
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Read in January, 1999
recommends it for:
anyone who gives a rats ass about anything
This was from my senior English class. In fact, I think that every senior has to read this book at the high school I went to. However, the AP English students read it over three days and discuss it for a week and then write a paper and the normal senior english classes spend the entire semester on this book. I kid you not!
As for the story itself, I find it pretty enjoyable, but some of the plot seems kind of unplausible...mainly the whole relationship between Cody, the main character, and h...more
As for the story itself, I find it pretty enjoyable, but some of the plot seems kind of unplausible...mainly the whole relationship between Cody, the main character, and h...more
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Read in October, 2007
I probably would not have read this book if it had not been a reading group choice for the month.
The foreshadowing seems a bit heavy-handed.
It is, however, well-crafted. One character, the out-of-country sister, seems like a vital part of the story, despite only being known through flashbacks and her letters. Some of this character's immediacy is due to the fact that her letters were often reactions to what the protagonist is doing (and writing to her about). These letters may include ...more
The foreshadowing seems a bit heavy-handed.
It is, however, well-crafted. One character, the out-of-country sister, seems like a vital part of the story, despite only being known through flashbacks and her letters. Some of this character's immediacy is due to the fact that her letters were often reactions to what the protagonist is doing (and writing to her about). These letters may include ...more
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An incredible story about finding yourself, all in a place where you least expected you would ever be.
Also, you just can't go wrong with Barbara Kingsolver. She creates such excellent stories.
It also has one of my absolutely favorite quotes of all time and we all know I'm a big fan of quotes, "The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you HOPE for. And the most you can do is LIVE inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roo...more
Also, you just can't go wrong with Barbara Kingsolver. She creates such excellent stories.
It also has one of my absolutely favorite quotes of all time and we all know I'm a big fan of quotes, "The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you HOPE for. And the most you can do is LIVE inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roo...more
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Read in October, 2007
Good thing you have to come back from a trans-Atlantic trip too, so there's a chance to immediately make up for the crap book you read on the way there. It's the third time I've read this novel and I still really like it. It's definitely worth sticking with the narrator through the first 50 or so pages, while she's a bit annoying, because the book picks up and gets much better. It tells the story of Codi, who has never felt at home in her hometown and has forgotten half her childhood. The st...more
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Read in August, 2006
recommended to Eva by:
it semed to say "pick me! pick me!" to me....recommends it for: you!
i happened upon this book in nicaragua at the place i was volunteering (travelers like to lighten their load and leave books behind...thus, a wonderful library of books from interesting travelers was created!!!). it was the first barbara kingsolver book i read straight thru the first time... It draws you in immediately. and it was the fastest, i think, that i had ever read a novel in my life! i don't know what to say about it, you have to read it. . . sooooo good. part of the plot related to the...more
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Read in July, 2008
The main character is one of those who is hung up on feeling sorry for herself thus keeps failing. This is the type of character that I do not care for. However, her second boyfriend, an Apache railroad worker, is outstanding as is the prose regarding the town, its heritage, and the Native American teachings, practices, traditions, and spirtual beliefs. The main reason for a high rating is the politics (the governments ineptness in business versus the envioronment and insidious involvement in ot...more
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Read in January, 2008
This was a pleasant, "chick lit" kind of read and I can't, for the life of me," figure out why the community where I live chose it as a community read. The most I got out of this tale is a desire to visit Arizona. It's a nice story and I liked the central character and her boyfriend, but I fail to see any deep meanings which would resonate with the whole Midwestern county where I live. There's an environmental subplot that is amusingly and deftly handled, but it's not central to t...more
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Thank you, Laura, for putting this book on your good reads. I loved it! Kingsolver is an AMAZING storyteller. I kept thinking what I was reading was a autobiography because it was insanely realistic and was disappointed when I had to realize it was a novel! I also cried at the end which isn't a very common experience for me when reading. She told a wonderful, deep story! (PS it is about a young woman's life when she decides to move back to her insanely small hometown in Grace, AZ. It is a...more
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I love stories about sisters cause I have a few myself and Barbara Kingsolver knows how to write about sister relationships. What I like about this book is how it portrays the bond between sisters. The sisters in this story are never best friends but never enemies. Kingsolver shows how the relationship between sisters is a tight rope walk between giving advice to being too honest and creating distance. Kingsolver also knows how to write about revolutions and social change and all that stuff with...more
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This is the Kalamazoo Public Library's Reading Together 2008 book, and I would highly recommend it. It deals with family issues, Alzheimer's, environmental issues, political issues (specifically Nicaragua in the 1980's), and Native American issues, yet it is not an "issue book." It is a captivating story of a 30-something woman who returns to her small hometown and struggles with opening herself up to life. That may make it sound sappy, but it's not, because Cosima, our protagonist ...more
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This is my favorite Kingsolver novel, and I've re-read it several times, not because it's the best "literature" but because I loved several the characters and some of the imagery... I even named my cat after the main character's sister. Sort of. Anyway, it's readable in a day or two; it's a little preachy and the plot is contrived, but of great sentimental value to me. And the scene of Cody's aging father developing black and white photographs meant to resemble completely unrelated...more
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I remember this book as being wonderfully readable and profound. Kingsolver's literary command is simply magical, and her examination of what makes one belong to a place and how one can seek out happiness alone is incredibly moving. It was especially poignant for me because I read it in Paris, where I was alone studying abroad and figuring out how to make myself feel at home...I loved this line: "It's one thing to carry your life wherever you go. Another thing to always go looking for i...more
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Read in July, 2007
This is a pretty good novel from the author of The Poisonwood Bible. It has some really beautiful writing, and quirky characters, but it a little bit slow moving. A lot on sisterhood, the American southwest, nature, changing and growing. The narrator (Codi) isn't as much of a risk-taker as her sister Hallie (just off to Nicaragua), but still has some interesting changes and issues to work out. Not too serious, there are definitely subtly humorous and light-hearted thoughts and scenes in this...more
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Read in March, 2000
recommends it for:
everyone
This was the first book I read by this author, and I was blown away. It makes you want to up and move to the desert, maybe even ditch civilization entirely, and just walk around and see if Kingsolver was right about the whole experience of being there.
She lives in Tucson and writes about life in the desert very well. I don't remember the plot much at all, but I remember that there's some family drama and deep-seated resentment that comes unglued...but I don't remember more. Female heroine....more
She lives in Tucson and writes about life in the desert very well. I don't remember the plot much at all, but I remember that there's some family drama and deep-seated resentment that comes unglued...but I don't remember more. Female heroine....more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.96 (6391 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.98 (5688 ratings) number of reviews: 373popular shelves
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"Perhaps growing up meant we put our knives away and feigned ignorance of the damage."
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