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Summary: These reviews are very interesting
Review: I've just finished reading all the reviews of this book- yes, all 80 of them. And I've noted a few things:1. Apparently there are tons of teachers out there putting this on their required-reading lists. It seems like a lot of kids are reading this not by choice but because they have to. Someone said that if you have any choice in the matter, you should not spend money on this book. I think it's the other way around... a person who is choosing their reading material will probably enjoy this more than someone who isn't, simply because they must have seen something redeeming in the book in the first place. I would like to know how many students started to read this book with a positive attitude and were disappointed, versus how many students were unhappy about reading it before they even opened the book. 2. You really do have to know something about the Southwest (or at least be interested in the Southwest) to appreciate this book. I grew up in Arizona and the descriptions of settings in this book ring very true to me. It's not so much what the individual words themselves say... it's the mood that all the words together create (I hope that makes sense). 3. Yes, this is probably a "chick" book. It is written from a woman's point of view. The author is a woman. It talks about "feelings". Okay, so some guys do not like this... that's okay. But I truly hope the ones who consider it trash, do so not just because it's told from a female perspective. With all that said, I should say that I've read the book twice. The first time, I thought it was okay, but not up to par with "Bean Trees" or "Pigs in Heaven". A few years later, I read it again and enjoyed it much more. It is a quieter book than most of Kingsolver's works... not as touchy-feely as "Bean Trees", or as political as "Pigs in Heaven", or as sweeping as "Poisonwood Bible". In effect, it is probably the most balanced of her novels, and in my opinion, probably not the best book to start with if you are new to Kingsolver, but one that you should definitely try out if you decide you enjoy her work.
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Summary: Book
Review: This book was assigned for Summer Reading. It is okay, but takes the life out of you to write a report on it. With this idea, it was an awful book. Also, there are some sexual scenes in it which I would not recommend for the younger audiences. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who hates reading romance novels. It makes me shudder to think that I read a romance novel.
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Summary: You Can't Go Home Again -- Or Can You?
Review: It's said that you can't go home again, but this novel is about what happens when you do. Kingsolver's flowing narrative winds like a river through the lives of the citizens of Grace, Arizona, as seen through the eyes of the prodigal daughter, Codi Noline. At a crossroads in her life, circumstances have brought Codi back to the town of her birth, a place where she and her sister had always felt like outsiders. As she becomes reacquainted with her past, she begins to understand the person that she has always been. This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time.
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Summary: bad read
Review: The novel is unsophisticated, vulgar and unenlightening. It follows of the journey of hapless and unappreciative twenty-something where she travels back to her hometown and tries to "find" herself. It is hackneyed material and reading about the way the main character thinks makes you cringe at the sheer perverseness of it all.
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Summary: what's all the hype about?
Review: After a few people told me how much they loved this novel ("Their favorite book", etc.) I gave it a try. There's not much to it. It is not particularly challenging, stimulating or enlightening. It's not that wonderful as a bland romance either. I just don't see it.
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Summary: not worth your time
Review: Unsophisticated, trite, and maudlin. Not a real romance and not a real enlighening read. The story line
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Summary: Not a home run but some beautiful moments
Review: Kingsolver has a knack for taking the ordinary lives of ordinary people and making them come alive. Although I didn't find this novel to have quite the character development or the plotline of The Poisonwood Bible, it's a great story about trying to find the road home. I found the storyline to be extremely realistic and all the more absorbing therefore. This is a novel about sibling connections, the wisdom of the town matriarchs, the struggle of land use in the West, the heritage of Native Americans, and the search for self-esteem in the least likely place. There are some great character sketches in here that anyone from a small town will instantly be able to identify. This is a good introduction to Kingsolver's work.
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Summary: Even better the second time
Review: I was probably too young to appreciate this novel the first time I read it. But I recently picked it up again after a pilgrimage of sorts through the astonishing beauty of the Southwest and its peoples, and found it to be, not only true to the setting, but achingly accurate in its portrayal of the protagonist's despair, struggle, and ultimate redemption. Readers who are tempted to abandon the book early on because they find Codi whiny, self-pitying, and insecure when she first returns to Grace should recognize that epiphany requires the illumination of initial darkness. Kingsolver's exquisite imagery and strong sense of social responsibility only enhance my appreciation of her unlikely heroine's journey to forgiveness, intimacy, and self-reliance.
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Summary: a metaphorical masterpiece
Review: This is by far one of the best books I have read in the past few years. Her descriptive abilities go beyond what I am used to. There was so much insight into the everyday trial of life that I felt like highlighting some of the passages and quoting them to friends. She seems to have a real grip on life and portrays that through insightful dialogue and character development. Her characters start out in a rut and through trial and tribulation come to discover that life isn't as complicated as we make it. We keep searching for answers and miracles and frequently they are right in front of us. The characters learn this and in their own way, come out triumphant.
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Summary: Detailed and touching but a bit preachy
Review: The characters in this book are easy to like - the author makes it feel as if you really know them. The descriptions of the southwestern landscape and culture are fantastic. The ideals behind the story (helping people in need, environmental ethics, finding purpose in life, the value of family, etc.) are wonderful concepts. However, the way in which the philosophy and politics are presented can sometimes seem preachy and a bit incongruous to the fictional format, if you dove into the book expecting a nice, cozy feel-good novel. But if you're looking for a realistic portrayal of actual world problems with fictional characters, Ms. Kingsolver does an excellent job of portraying it! Animal Dreams will force you to think about life and will make you feel some powerful emotions. A great reminder about how we humans should be.
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