Unsheltered in Around the Year in 52 Books

Dec 12, 2024 Charlotte Burt rated it really liked it

A very interesting book, part historical fiction and part contemporary sent in a Victorian progressive town.

2 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2018 Penny rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018

This confirms Barbara Kingsolver as right up there at the top of my favourite authors list. So often when there are dual plot lines, I love one and just want to race over the other. But in Unsheltered I felt that I got two magnificent novels in one cover, connected by place, feelings, and being, in a word, unsheltered. She creates such amazing characters that I want to be friends with - or to wring their necks, depending on who they are, but whichever, they are real people, flesh and blood peopl ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 31, 2025 Barbara rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2025-aty-in-52, 2025-the-52-book-club

This novel, partly historical fiction and partly a contemporary tale, is set in Vineland, New Jersey in the late 19th century and in the recent past and tackles several socio-political issues: class, economics, conservatism, environmentalism. The setting particularly intrigued me because I recently moved to south New Jersey, a mere 30 miles from Vineland. Kingsolver alternates between the two time periods from chapter to chapter, a device I do not always care for, and investing in it was a bit o This novel, partly historical fiction and partly a contemporary tale, is set in Vineland, New Jersey in the late 19th century and in the recent past and tackles several socio-political issues: class, economics, conservatism, environmentalism. The setting particularly intrigued me because I recently moved to south New Jersey, a mere 30 miles from Vineland. Kingsolver alternates between the two time periods from chapter to chapter, a device I do not always care for, and investing in it was a bit of a slog for the first quarter or so of the book.

In the 19th century we have Thatcher Greenwood, his wife Rose, her sister Polly, and her mother Aurelia, recently moved back to Aurelia’s home after living in Boston with Aurelia’s sister after her husband died. In the 21st century is Willa Knox, a recently unemployed magazine writer; her husband, Iano Tavoularis, a political science professor whose previous tenured position in Virginia vanished when the school closed and who now works at a small college in Philadelphia; their son Zeke, a new father who is reeling from the suicide of his wife when their infant son, Aldus, is only weeks old; their rebellious, unconventional daughter, Tig—short for Antigone—has returned from Cuba nursing a broken heart; and Iano’s sick, aging father, Nick, who is something of a caricatured Archie Bunker.

Vineland was founded as a utopian community by Charles Landis, something of a snake oil salesmen who lures people who were traumatized by the Civil War, with promises of regulated, religious Eden on Earth. Thatcher is an interesting character, at ideological odds with Landis and the principal of the school where Thatcher is hired to teach science, setting up the ongoing science/religion battle. But even more interesting in that timeline is next-door neighbor Mary Treat, a real historical figure who kept up a collegiate correspondence with Charles Darwin and Asa Gray, conducting many experiments with native plants and insects in the unique biosphere of the Pine Barrens.

By the time Willa, Iano, and their family arrive in Vineland at the house Willa inherited, the once-utopia has become a rather stagnant backwater, severely damaged during Superstorm Sandy, particularly the house in which they live. The main conflict in this contemporary part is generational: Willa and Iano’s period appropriate materialism vs., Tig’s preference to live her life “unsheltered” by the illusions of her parent’s materialism and her brother’s capitalistic tendencies (he has a degree in finance from Harvard).

In both timelines, the families are dealing with a collapsing house that ultimately renders them unsheltered. Not my favorite Kingsolver book, but it had its many moments. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Jun 15, 2023 Melanie rated it liked it

I usually love Barbara Kingsolver but this book made me feel like I was watching the evening news and not in a good way. It was too heavy handed for me.

1 like · Like · see review

Jan 07, 2019 Jen K rated it liked it

I love Kingsolver's writing. I also appreciate that she uses her books as a platform to discuss issues society faces today. However I have the dialogue in Unsheltered did go a bit too far toward lecture than conversation. I did still enjoy the book and the reflection on today's problems. ...more

Like · see review

Sep 24, 2018 Awallens marked it as to-read

Like