Comments (49)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 49 items
Sep 06, 2023grittnerk rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Overall, a sad story of humans repeating history, well told. I enjoyed learning about Mary Treat, the nineteenth-century biologist whose work is/was little known or recognized.
Aug 31, 2023novesky rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
It had a good premise for a story but the preachiness gets old. I don't want to read about your religious and political opinions in a fiction book. There is enough of that on the news.
May 18, 2023MCC55 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Another fine book by Ms Kingsolver.
Jan 18, 2023ZepedaL rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This book cut to the bone. In the present: terrible health insurance, precarious employment, adult children with few prospects, house repairs, and the need to downsize expectations. In the past: a leader who lies, exploits, and murders…
Mar 16, 2022mlhadley1 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The story covered a period around 1868 and then main charactors in the same house in the beginning in 2015. The first part was the beginning of Darwinism at that upheaval. The later begain with the primaries with Trump was just getting…
Feb 01, 2022
The New York TimesUnsheltered is the story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum, as they navigate the challenges of surviving a world in the throes of major cultural shifts. In this mesmerizing story…
Dec 18, 2021KAMorrissey rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is Kingsolver at her best. I especially appreciate the way she weaves historical fact with believable fictional characters. Her biology background informs scientific detail, which also enriches any read for this science lover and…
Dec 10, 2021posie12 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Thought provoking. Why can't you believe in God and Darwin's theories? Do you have to line up with any group, and hate the other side?
Jul 09, 2021
DNF
Apr 17, 2021peacebenow rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A clever, relevant, imaginative story that has clues for living and growth in past and present. Two stories alternate in each chapter both about families in Vineland but a century apart. Some themes are: staying true to oneself, seeing…
Feb 08, 2021maipenrai rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
It is lovely to have Barbara Kingsolver back with a new novel. She speaks with a gentle, wise voice and creates great characters. Highly recommended!! Kristi & Abby Tabby
Nov 03, 2020
Barbara Kingsolver loves to explore science in much detail and this exploration sinks into boredom. Kingsolver jumps into two family sagas which delight but then fall into tedious dribble. Each family encounters the deterioration of the…
Jun 06, 2020gingerseal8 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This book was insightful, beautiful and funny--nothing less than I have come to expect from Kingsolver. It is also one of the most relevant books I have read in recent years.
Mar 10, 2020
I read this for March 2020 book club. It was Susan's choice. I really liked it. The character of Tig spoke for this generation of young people. Their world is totally different than mind was.
Feb 25, 2020
Here's what I identified with: the failing, leaking, crumbling, drafty old, old house, and the impossible expense of repairs. By the time the entire family camps in the parlor to stay warm, I was visualizing them. How clever to build a…
Nov 27, 2019mnack_0 rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Meh. I picked this book up mainly because I had never read any Kingsolver. It seemed like an interesting concept - even though we learn that the two families did NOT live in the same house - just on the same tract of land. (My book group…
Nov 18, 2019
I read and listened to this book. The reader is Barbara Kingsolver and she did a good job. This book started out slowly for me, as I was loathe to find out what trouble the characters were in. But her wonderful phraseology and description…
Oct 13, 2019uncommonreader rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
A novel set in the same house, 150 years apart, draws parallels between Trump's America and the community established by a despotic, creationist leader of a New Jersey town in the late 19th century. There is a non-subtle use of characters…
Aug 02, 2019IndyPL_TomP rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
At one point in the book, Kingsolver has a character say “It just seems like…I don’t know. There’s less money in the world than there used to be. I don’t know how else to put it. Like something’s broken.” Two critics, one writing in the…
Jun 13, 20191_Great_Book rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Have just discovered Kingsolver and absolutely loved the symmetry, the imagery, the social statements, the fluidity of style, the juxtaposed conflict of characters and the thought-provoking single word title. All of these elements are…
Jun 03, 2019SophieAbitbol rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I have loved Barabara Kingsolver's books since the Bean Trees but I found myself having a hard time getting into and sticking with this one. The stories are beautifully told, each in its own prose reflecting the time period of the…
May 30, 2019
Sorry...was utterly bored. Found myself skipping entire paragraphs, sections, chapters just to find the plotline. Guess she is not my style.
May 24, 2019betsymarzoni rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Lots of botany in here.
May 16, 2019xiaojunbpl12 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Two narration plots are interweaving ingeniously (beyond the characters names and chapter titles), though I was more entertained by sections of 19th century. Regardless of all too familiar scenes in modern time, I much prefer Thatcher to…
JCLS_Ashland_Kristin
Apr 23, 2019JCLS_Ashland_Kristin rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Kingsolver's unique environmental voice comes through in this book that uses 1850s and Darwin's "Origin of the Species" to draw parallels to our modern reaction to the climate crisis.