Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Jun 04, 2010 Nadine in NY Jones rated it did not like it

Shelves: memoir-and-autobiographical-essays, social-issues-social-sciences

I am so sorry I read this book. I used to love Kingsolver, and now I don't. One chapter in and the preachiness was already killing me. She is just so gosh darned pleased with herself for being above the every day riff-raff who (gasp!) BUY their food in a supermarket. I grimly forged ahead and it didn't get much better.

The basic premise is that Kingsolver and her family decide to spend one full year eating only foods that are locally grown, either raised in their own garden or nearby. So they pa I am so sorry I read this book. I used to love Kingsolver, and now I don't. One chapter in and the preachiness was already killing me. She is just so gosh darned pleased with herself for being above the every day riff-raff who (gasp!) BUY their food in a supermarket. I grimly forged ahead and it didn't get much better.

The basic premise is that Kingsolver and her family decide to spend one full year eating only foods that are locally grown, either raised in their own garden or nearby. So they pack up their belongings and move from Tucson to a small farm in Virginia that they owned. What's that you say? You don't already own a small farm in VA, complete with charming authentic farmhouse, large vegetable garden, AND guest cottage? Well, then, we already know that the Kingsolver-Hopp family is better than you.

The passages in which she describes things she learned are okay, and the plain gardening parts are good, but the rest of it ... No. It's just FILLED with proselytizing and ridiculous assumptions of superiority.

One cashier wishes for no rain for one day, and she extrapolates that to mean ALL non-farmers are completely out of touch with the earth.

The family goes on vacation and stops at a diner to eat, and we are immediately informed "A handmade sign let us know the jukebox take is collected at the end of every month and sent to Farm Aid." Oh. So she doesn't stop at just ANY diner. Oh no. She goes to a diner that is just so freakin' awesome and better than the rest of us that they even give their jukebox profits to charity. And not just ANY charity, but a FARM charity. Whoo. Hoo.

She takes a quick cheese-making course while on vacation and comments "Okay, I know. You were with me right up to that last one. ... What kind of weirdo makes CHEESE?" That's just one example of how Kingsolver is constantly, annoyingly, assuming what her reader already knows and thinks. Does she not realize that most people who would read her book WOULD find cheese-making interesting? I'm willing to bet that a significant percentage of her readers already make their own cheese.

I just don't understand why Kingsolver doesn't realize that she's preaching to the choir here. Most people who are motivated to read this book ALREADY know that "potatoes have plant parts" (she met ONE friend who did not know this and she really crowed about it) and which fruits are in season when. Michael Pollan covers this same ground without talking down to the reader.

In one passage, Kingsolver describes the farmers who supply organic produce for Appalachian Harvest: "Red Wing work boots, barbershop haircuts, Levi's with a little mud on the cuffs, men and women who probably go to church on Sunday but keep their religion to themselves as they bring a day's work to this packing house inside a former tobacco barn. If sanctimony is an additive in their product, it gets added elsewhere." It's interesting that she understands that sanctimony is unattractive and downright off-putting, but yet she can't seem to keep herself from being incredibly, insultingly sanctimonious.

Right now, I'm wondering how she feels about her own book, since it's not locally-printed - I mean, think of all the petroleum used to produce and ship all these books! all the trees needlessly chopped down! thank heavens I'm at least reading a library book.

This is one of the longest reviews I've written, because I had such high hopes for this book and I'm so completely disappointed!

***

I did finally finish this book, and I'm glad I did, because the passages about her trip to Italy and her experiences breeding turkeys were enjoyable. But they weren't enough to save it. ...more

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Dec 22, 2007 Kerry rated it really liked it

I really enjoyed Barbara Kingsolver's account of how her family tried to reduce their carbon footprint by eating locally for a year. It definitely raises some good questions about food choices that we make and their impact. We might not be sacrificing price, but what about taste and the environment. You be the judge. I am a huge fan of farmer's markets, so I applaud her reverence for people who work the land. I love the recipes and contributions from her daughter. Camille's down-to-earth section ...more

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Jul 24, 2007 Stephanie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites

I really enjoyed this book; it made me want to move to a farm and have chickens! The recipes were good, and I felt very motivated to seek out locally-grown and raised food near me. (My only frustration is reading about the growing season in Virginia! They were growing months before I could be!)

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Nov 01, 2007 Jessica Haider rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, food, bookclub, 1000_books

I received "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" as a birthday gift this past fall and recently it was selected as a bookclub book for a discussion I am going to attend.

This book had very similar themes to Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemna, which I read several months ago. Both books focus on the societal and environmental impact of industrialized convenience food and how we can benefit from making an effort to eat locally.

It seems that Kingsolver's message got through to me since Animal, Vegetable, ...more

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Jan 16, 2008 Etchison rated it really liked it

I'm pretty obsessed with food books, and this one was great, I thought. Barbara Kingsolver brings her amazing ability for description and writing beautiful passages to a nonfiction work. It made me want to change my eating habits, move to the mountains, and start a garden. ...more

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Feb 19, 2008 Adriel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: food, nonfiction, environment

I can't get enough food politics!! This book was enjoyable to read and had some very good critisism of our agribusiness practices. The Kingslover family lived off of local food for a year, and learned to get in tune with the seasons and the land and their neighbors. ...more

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