Animal Dreams
"Animals dream about the things they do in the day time just like people do. If you want sweet dreams, you've got to live a sweet life." So says Loyd Peregrina, a handsome Apache trainman and latter-day philosopher. But when Codi Noline returns to her hometown, Loyd's advice is painfully out of her reach. Dreamless and at the end of her rope, Codi comes back to G
...morePaperback, 342 pages
Published
June 21st 1991
by Harper Perennial
(first published 1990)
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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, eve...more
And yet... having read it when I did, I was able to identify with some elements of the what the character was experiencing, eve...more
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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
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 p...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 p...more
"Animals dream about the things they do in the day time just like people do. If you want sweet dreams, you've got to live a sweet life." So says Loyd Peregrina, a handsome Apache trainman and latter-day philosopher. But when Codi Noline returns to her hometown, Loyd's advice is painfully out of her reach. Dreamless and at the end of her rope, Codi comes back to Grace, Arizona to confront her past and face her ailing, distant father. What the finds is a town threatened by a silent envir...more
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
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
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
I stayed up late tonight finishing this book. I just bought the book 2 days ago at a used bookstore. This was an uncharacteristically fast read for me. I read like I eat - slowly and often distracted. I've been sobbing (not crying, SOBBING) through the last half of the book. I'm just getting over a nasty cold and it definitely wasn't pretty.
Kingsolver writing is so earthy, playful and gorgeous at the same time. She weaves in these metaphors about globalism and environmentalism (in t...more
Kingsolver writing is so earthy, playful and gorgeous at the same time. She weaves in these metaphors about globalism and environmentalism (in t...more
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
This is the seoncd book I've read by Barbara Kingsolver. I find her a very good writer, and enjoy her work.
This is the story of a young woman plagued by indecision and self doubt, coming back to her small Arizona mountain town to take care of her ailing, but nevertheless aloof, father. She has always sought his approval, yet he seems never to give it. A retiring doctor, he seems not to share her concerns with her life. As the father of a twenty-one year old young woman, I underst...more
This is the story of a young woman plagued by indecision and self doubt, coming back to her small Arizona mountain town to take care of her ailing, but nevertheless aloof, father. She has always sought his approval, yet he seems never to give it. A retiring doctor, he seems not to share her concerns with her life. As the father of a twenty-one year old young woman, I underst...more
Picked this one up for next to nothing at a garage sale in September along with Sol Yurik's "The Warriors" and S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders".
The pretty woman in her early 40's refused to sell it to me, instead wanting me to take it for free. I insisted and gave her a buck for all three. She lives in a tiny little pink and turquoise casita around the corner and up the street from my flat which I have always lovingly admired. Now having read the book I feel like th...more
The pretty woman in her early 40's refused to sell it to me, instead wanting me to take it for free. I insisted and gave her a buck for all three. She lives in a tiny little pink and turquoise casita around the corner and up the street from my flat which I have always lovingly admired. Now having read the book I feel like th...more
(http://www.nothingisheavy.com/2009/09/sc...)
I can rifle the pages of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Dreams and easily find my favorite part. I have many. It's unfair to pick one favorite part of a book the same way it's unfair to pick one favorite child. This book touches me on a level I struggle to even describe. I feel a bit like it's a cop-out, choosing a book that I teach as my favorite book. It's a bit like saying your favorite outfit is your work uniform. Does it help that hours of...more
I can rifle the pages of Barbara Kingsolver's Animal Dreams and easily find my favorite part. I have many. It's unfair to pick one favorite part of a book the same way it's unfair to pick one favorite child. This book touches me on a level I struggle to even describe. I feel a bit like it's a cop-out, choosing a book that I teach as my favorite book. It's a bit like saying your favorite outfit is your work uniform. Does it help that hours of...more
Page 61
In high school, Hallie and I were beneath Trish's stratum of normal conversation. I remembered every day of those years, no lapses there. Once in the bathroom I'd heard her call us the bean-pole sisters, and speculate that we wore hand-me-down underwear. I wondered how the rules had changed. Had I come up in the world, or Trish down? Or perhaps growing up meant we put our knives away and feigned ignorance of the damage.
Page 261
If Grace gets poisoned, if all the...more
In high school, Hallie and I were beneath Trish's stratum of normal conversation. I remembered every day of those years, no lapses there. Once in the bathroom I'd heard her call us the bean-pole sisters, and speculate that we wore hand-me-down underwear. I wondered how the rules had changed. Had I come up in the world, or Trish down? Or perhaps growing up meant we put our knives away and feigned ignorance of the damage.
Page 261
If Grace gets poisoned, if all the...more
The book was interesting light reading, easy to read; not very demanding. Overall, however, I found it disappointing.
An essential quality of a novel is its ability to take us into the consciousness of another person. In that respect Kingsolver succeeds. Codi is a feminine, anti-hero. Kingsolver takes us into all of Codi's doubts and misgivings. We experience the broken and the whole moments of her life.
Unfortunately there are unexplored and incomplete elements in C...more
An essential quality of a novel is its ability to take us into the consciousness of another person. In that respect Kingsolver succeeds. Codi is a feminine, anti-hero. Kingsolver takes us into all of Codi's doubts and misgivings. We experience the broken and the whole moments of her life.
Unfortunately there are unexplored and incomplete elements in C...more
Rebecca T Marsh
added it
I really liked this book by Kingsolver. It is interesting how she is expanding out to the romance genre, but hasn't abandoned her message, which seems to be: only through knowledge and kindness can the masses become illuminated and deter the oppression of greedy and corrupt governments or corporations.
She maintains her stance on the press as being blind to the real news of the day. She also remains biased toward the collective power of women as protectors of cultural tradition and...more
She maintains her stance on the press as being blind to the real news of the day. She also remains biased toward the collective power of women as protectors of cultural tradition and...more
As I continue my quest to finally read all of Kingsolver's books, I'm now trying to decide which I loved more, Animal Dreams or The Bean Trees... as if it mattered.
I think I found The Bean Trees to be a bit more magical, and it certainly grabbed me from the very beginning, whereas I actually had to reread the first 20-30 pages of Animal Dreams a few times before I picked up enough momentum to keep going. But I think it's safe to say that Animal Dreams not only hooked me and reeled m...more
I think I found The Bean Trees to be a bit more magical, and it certainly grabbed me from the very beginning, whereas I actually had to reread the first 20-30 pages of Animal Dreams a few times before I picked up enough momentum to keep going. But I think it's safe to say that Animal Dreams not only hooked me and reeled m...more
Ok, I cried. Laughed, too, but books that can actually squeeze a tear out of me are few and far between - especially one's that aren't overtly manipulative.
I waited a long time to read this - 19 years, in fact. I'm like that with some books. I know I'm going to read them, but the time has to be "right." In some cases like The Last Temptation of Christ that I carted around for ten years, "right" meant I had to mature as a reader - and maybe that's what it meant...more
I waited a long time to read this - 19 years, in fact. I'm like that with some books. I know I'm going to read them, but the time has to be "right." In some cases like The Last Temptation of Christ that I carted around for ten years, "right" meant I had to mature as a reader - and maybe that's what it meant...more
Compared to the, well, "epicness" of Prodigal Summer and Poisonwood Bible, Animal Dreams seems much quieter, more personal, smaller in a way. And I really liked it JUST as much.
It takes place, mostly, in the fictional town of Grace, Arizona (and the nearby Indian Pueblo) and in some ways, rather than a novel, it's almost a collection of short stories: the day she moved back home. The day she saved a life, the day they made paper mache peacocks to sell for charity (which, of...more
It takes place, mostly, in the fictional town of Grace, Arizona (and the nearby Indian Pueblo) and in some ways, rather than a novel, it's almost a collection of short stories: the day she moved back home. The day she saved a life, the day they made paper mache peacocks to sell for charity (which, of...more
Caleigh
added it
In this book, they tell it from two different people's perspective. The main character, Codi, is very open about all of her feelings and what she feels should be done. The father, on the other hand, is very mysterious and only really told about through Codi's point of view. However, after hearing everything Codi has to say about her father, you read a little part from her father's view, which is completely different from Codi's. I think you learn more about each character this way, and about how...more
(If I didn't know who the author was, I would have loved this book. Unfortunately, Barbara Kingsolver has blown me away too many times to be able to settle for 'just' a good book. I know -- I'm so unfair in my ratings, but so be it!)
The book was very romantic. It show-cased the many varieties of love -- parental-child, romantic, sisterly bond -- and it was done so, so well. I really sympathized with Codi in all of her relationships, and could literally feel her frustration with life and li...more
The book was very romantic. It show-cased the many varieties of love -- parental-child, romantic, sisterly bond -- and it was done so, so well. I really sympathized with Codi in all of her relationships, and could literally feel her frustration with life and li...more
So, this is now my favorite of all her books that I've read. I just so could relate to the main character and her struggles. Her attempts to leave her past behind only to discover that she can't do it. As with her previous books, Kingsolver manages to add in some political commentary but it never comes off as heavy-handed but instead just feels like a natural part of the story. This book also had a lot to say about siblings and the inherent competition that goes on between them. I think, more th...more
"Animals dream about the things they do in the daytime, just like people do. If you want sweet dreams, you've got to live a sweet life." So says Loyd Peregrina, a handsome Apache trainman and latter-day philosopher. But when Codi Noline returns to her hometown, Loyd's advice is painfully out of her reach. Dreamless and at the end of her rope, Codi comes back to Grace, Arizona, to confront her past and face her ailing, distant father. What she finds is a town threatened by a silt e...more
I found this at Brattleboro Books, the used bookstore in town, and thought that if I actually bought it, maybe I would finally read it. I've checked it out of three different libraries now at least five times, but somehow have always been too distracted to get into it. I have paid enough library fines because of this to have paid for my used copy several times, I'm sure. But ohhh my. This was perfect. My (early-)mid-winter desert escape.
How do these things find us just when we need them? I...more
How do these things find us just when we need them? I...more
Look, I know few people would say this is Kingsolver's best book...all things considered, I don't know if I would call it her "best" either. But it is my FAVOURITE of her books, and always has been...and I've read everything this woman has ever written!
The setting of this story is part of its allure for me...I have always been in love with the desert, and this book has Kingsolver's trademark attention to flora and fauna as well as the setting. I love her turn of phrase, and t...more
The setting of this story is part of its allure for me...I have always been in love with the desert, and this book has Kingsolver's trademark attention to flora and fauna as well as the setting. I love her turn of phrase, and t...more
I am an avid Barbara Kingsolver fan, although I do agree with some reviewers that the themes can seem a bit repetetive. While I truly liked this book, it wasn't as spiritually moving as The Poisonwood Bible or as heartbreakingly poignant as The Bean Trees. Animal Dreams explores the affects of human tradgedy and the dangers of keeping secrets. Kingsolver delves into the unique relationships of single fathers and their daughters, damaged women and their sisters, and distraught, small communities...more
342 pages. Donated 201 May.
Animals dream about the things they do in the day time just like people do. If you want sweet dreams, you've got to live a sweet life." So says Loyd Peregrina, a handsome Apache trainman and latter-day philosopher. But when Codi Noline returns to her hometown, Loyd's advice is painfully out of her reach. Dreamless and at the end of her rope, Codi comes back to Grace, Arizona to confront her past and face her ailing, distant father. What the finds is a ...more
Animals dream about the things they do in the day time just like people do. If you want sweet dreams, you've got to live a sweet life." So says Loyd Peregrina, a handsome Apache trainman and latter-day philosopher. But when Codi Noline returns to her hometown, Loyd's advice is painfully out of her reach. Dreamless and at the end of her rope, Codi comes back to Grace, Arizona to confront her past and face her ailing, distant father. What the finds is a ...more
I contemplated for a while whether I should give this book three or four stars. I liked it, but it has some elements which typically temper down my enthusiasm for a book -- the story centers around a depressed, dissatisfied young American woman is lost in life, cannot see herself, and does not know how to live. I find these sorts of tales can easily stray into boo-hoo, self-pitying, emo territory, and offer not much else beyond a bit of a downer.
However, to me, the book does have mo...more
However, to me, the book does have mo...more
Kingsolver is a master at making characters real, experiencing the same insecurities and struggles that we are familiar with. The plot is well-paced, subtly mirroring the deterioration of her own father with the deterioration of her hometown, Grace. In both cases Kingsolver looks deep for causes, explanations, and meaning, all without every getting heady or losing the story.
It is also beautiful regional literature, most notable in the way that it weaves the Mexican and Native America...more
It is also beautiful regional literature, most notable in the way that it weaves the Mexican and Native America...more
This is classic, if early, Barbara Kingsolver. It is about social injustice and the role of United States in causing and/or perpetuating these injustices in 3rd world countries. It is set in Arizona and peopled with characters of Indian or Mexican descent. It details crimes on the environment in the name of business and commerce, and what that environmental destruction means in the long run.
The details of this particular story involve two sisters, Codi and Hallie, raised by t...more
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Barbara Kingsolver is an American novelist, essayist, and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in Africa in her early childhood. Kingsolver earned degrees in Biology at DePauw University and the University of Arizona and worked as a freelance writer before she began writing novels. Her most famous works include The Poisonwood Bible, the tale of a missionary family in the Congo,...more
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“The very least you can do in your life is 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 roof.”
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“What I want is so simple I almost can't say it: elementary kindness.”
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