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What Members Thought

I loved this book. The story is really several stories told on several levels... the butterflies, the environment, the marriage, the family, the mystery, the science, the culture, the generation gap, life's decisions and non-decisions, the hope. I love Kingsolver's style of writing, it's so intelligent, and she assumes her readers are up to her expectations.
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I really liked this book and enjoyed reading an author that I used to love. I could not get into Kingsolver's last book. But this one had characters that were endearing and real. This book made me miss being in a book club. There were so many things that you could use this book as a springboard to talk about: how economics and class are at play in American life, how education is unequally distributed, environmental issues, the purpose of science versus how we make science sensational and popular
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Kingsolver's latest has the same rich language and collection of characters that I love in all her fiction. Sometimes she is almost sickeningly clever. She can't help but temper her brilliance with a dose of preachiness however...another aspect of her writing that I have come to expect. There are two scenes in the book in particular where I was waiting for a soap box to show up in the text. Still, a marvelous work about global warming, poverty, education, faith, and family ties.
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Jun 17, 2022
Kathleen (itpdx)
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
rws-2022-summer
A young mother faces her season of discontent and finds a forest full of Monarch butterflies. Kinsgsolver weaves together the challenges of a family farm, a poor educational system, climate change activists, a fading small town, scientific experts, a faltering marriage, and religious beliefs with her wonderful prose. She subtly underlines the influences that increase the distrust of the rural population for elites. The biggest disconnect for me was the sudden relocation of the Monarchs’ winterin
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I really liked the science aspects, but other parts didn't resonate as well with me.
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Aug 31, 2012
Barb Novak
marked it as to-read

Nov 01, 2012
Hilary
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Nov 06, 2012
Sandy
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Nov 12, 2012
Anne
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Nov 18, 2012
AmyMK Kuhlman
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Nov 21, 2012
Chelsea
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Jun 06, 2013
Ann
marked it as to-read

Aug 09, 2014
Steph
marked it as to-read


Aug 28, 2015
Judy
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
before-fire-home-shelves

Aug 14, 2022
Allison
marked it as to-read