Pigs in Heaven

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Summary: "Pigs in Heaven"- what the readers of this special book are.
Review: "Pigs in Heaven" by Barbara Kingsolver is a truly unique venture into a world many of us have never encountered yet immediately take to our hearts. Her characters live so vividly in the story that by the book's end, one feels one has made new friends. The gentle wisdom interspersed with ironic humour caused me to laugh aloud more than once; just as often, tears filled my eyes. Both sides of this heart-tugging tale are so well presented that the conflict seems impossible to resolve. The destiny of the adopted Indian child and her white mother lie in the hands of the Cherokee Nation, and it seems that justice must truly be blind--until fate intervenes, with a little help from human hands. A heartwarming story about real people, with their faults showing --and their humanity glowing, "Pigs in Heaven" is a treat to read.

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Summary: Pigs in Heaven
Review: Throughout her book, Pigs in Heaven, Barbara Kingsolver was successful in amazing me with her ability to teach me while keeping my attention. The book is a historical fiction that focuses on the Cherokee Indians. Kingsolver impressed me with the amount of research that must have been poured into writing Pigs in Heaven. I learned about the culture of the Cherokee Indians through the eyes of tribe members and outsiders to the tribe. As the plot deepened, I learned about Cherokee adoption laws. Once, while I was reading, I felt as though I were a character in the book listening as a Cherokee friend told me stories about the troubles of her people. I learned about The Trail of Tears and The Railroad; horrific numbers of Cherokee Indians died during both. For those of us who do not usually stay awake long enough to study history, Pigs in Heaven gets us involved in the lives of characters that educate us while entertaining us with humor. I recommend this book for anyone over the age of seventeen. Read it and find out the significance of the title "Pigs in Heaven."

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Summary: Not my favorite Kingsolver book
Review: Not my favorite Kingsolver book, but it's a nice story about a white woman's adoption of an Indian child. The purpose seemed to be to explain the Indian Child Welfare Act, but I found much of it hard to understand.

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Summary: Good book if you stick with it
Review: When I first received the assignment in my English class to read Pigs in Heaven, by Barbara Kingsolver, I didn't have great expectations. Judging from the cover and the name of the novel, it did not seem like my type of literature. I usually enjoy reading action novels, and I can't stand reading romance novels. So, I even disliked the novel even worse when it started out with an old woman complaining about her marriage. I thought I was in for a long boring book. But, I continued reading the book, mostly because I had to, and soon found myself enjoying it. Pigs in Heaven is an exciting novel that makes you really feel for the main characters, and gives you a good sense for the Cherokee Indians. Unlike my original fears that Pigs in Heaven was a romance novel, it actually turned out more comparable to an action than a romance. Even though the novel did focus in on a few relationships, they weren't the main focus. Contrarily the main focus of the novel was on a little Cherokee girl Turtle, who was trying to get taken away from her adoptive mother by the Cherokee Nation. Turtle and her mother desperately didn't want to get separated, and were prepared to do anything to remain together. Their love for each other, along with their hardships really make you sympathize for them. At times you feel frustrated about how things unfold for the two. You feel like you want to help these two people out, and let them go back to their normal life. This keeps you very interested and makes you want to read more, to find out if their problems are resolved. But there are also very strong points given by their enemy, The Cherokee Nation, of why the two should not remain together. What I personally enjoyed most was the history and culture of the Cherokee Indians included in their argument. It was definitely fascinating. It was great to learn how Indians today actually live, and how their family life works. It was also neat to read about aspects of their culture, like stomp dances. The way the author described some of these events were extremely vivid, and sent shivers down your spine. It was also very educational to read of some Cherokee history. It really gave you a sense of understanding of the Cherokee peoples view point. Pigs in Heaven definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat with your feelings toward the main characters, and is also a good educational experience. I am glad I stuck with the book after my early opinions of it. I really enjoyed it , even though it isn't the type of book I usually read. I think that says a lot about the quality of Pigs in Heaven.

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Summary: Eloquent sequel to The Bean Trees
Review: Turtle, adopted Cherokee daughter of Taylor Greer, is the metaphorical baby in the King Solomon dilemma, a child wanted by two divisive forces. Kingsolver manages to show compassion and understanding for both sides of the issue: Indian lawyer Annawake Fourkiller, who insists that the child be returned to the Cherokee Nation on one side, pitted against Taylor, who has rescued the child from an abusive situation and wants to integrate her society at large, wrapped securely within her mother-love.

Beautiful prose and superior descriptive abilities heighten one's appreciation of this superbly crafted story.

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Summary: It Could have Been Better-I'm Not Sure about Kingsolver!
Review: After reading this sequel to The Bean Trees, I found it a bit better, but still, it bored me. I just don't think I care for Kingsolver's style of writing.

Taylor's daughter Turtle was adopted illegally and the adversary, a female attorney Annawake, wants to contest the adoption, and put Turtle back with her indian blood kin where she feels she belongs.

The whole story focuses on this issue, and I just found it monotonous to say the least. There are other more worthwhile books to read for sure!!

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Summary: Historically inaccurate
Review: I was disappointed in the book because of its many historical inacuracies and its distortion of current Cherokee life and culture.
Having grown up and lived my whole life (68 years) in Eastern Oklahoma, known many Cherokees, and spent many years studying their history and culture, I found the book full of disappointing stereotypes. I expected better from Kingsolver, especially since the Cherokees are among the most thoroughly researched and written about of the Native Americans.
The story should be regarded as simply a fairy tale with no relationship to real life.
I give it two stars only because Kingsolver tells a good story even when it is just a fairy tale.

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Summary: kudos to pigs in heaven
Review: I still have not read its prequel The Bean Trees,but Pigs in Heaven is a good book all alone.It focuses on Taylor Greer engaged in a tug-of-war with the Cherokee nation to keep her illegally adopted Cherokee daughter Turtle.Great imagery and character description,like with Taylor's boyfriend Jax and Cherokee lawyer Annawake Fourkiller.A beautiful story.

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Summary: The Story of Turtle
Review: PIGS IN HEAVEN by Barbara Kingsolver

PIGS IN HEAVEN is the sequel to Barbara Kingsolver's book THE BEAN TREES. The novel continues the story of the Cherokee child named "Turtle" and her adoptive mother Taylor Greer. In this sequel, we find Turtle and Taylor living together in Tucson along with Taylor's boyfriend, a life that is not quite what would be called the most perfect of environments. They live in poverty, barely making ends meet. Although Taylor does her best, her income is limited, but she gives Turtle a lot of love, and along with her boyfriend, Turtle has a new family. Turtle seems happy, and after years of being mute due to a history of abuse, she's learned to talk, and all seems to be going well.

Unfortunately, Cherokee attorney Annawake Fourkiller accidentally discovers the existence of 6-year-old Turtle, and learns that Taylor had illegally adopted Turtle outside the Cherokee nation. Annawake is ready to rectify this problem. As far as she's concerned, Turtle needs to be raised by the Cherokee. Taylor, however, does not see this, and does what she can to protect her child.

Turtle and Taylor are now on the run, fleeing from their home in Tucson and leaving the boyfriend behind. They live from motel room to motel room, eating what they can afford. It gets to a point where Taylor does not know what to do next, in fear that she and Turtle will be discovered and eventually Turtle will be taken away from her. Yet, she wonders if what she is doing to Turtle is the right thing to do. When Alice Greer, Taylor's mother, gets involved, the story takes a surprising turn, and soon Turtle's biological family gets involved as well. I was glued to the book, wanting to know whether Taylor gets to keep Turtle, or is told to hand over the child to the Cherokee Nation.

Many important issues are brought up in PIGS IN HEAVEN. Should a child of American Indian heritage be allowed to live away from his or her tribe? Should the child be allowed to be raised among the white people, never knowing his true heritage? Turtle was completely happy with Taylor, and she did not know any other mother or life. The issue of whether it was a moral crime to separate the two is a big theme, with a fitting conclusion at the end of the story.

I really enjoyed this book, having already read THE BEAN TREES, which I loved as much as this one. Both stories center on the welfare of Turtle, an endearing little Indian girl that will capture your heart. However, after reading PIGS IN HEAVEN, I doubted that what Taylor did was right. It actually gave me a different perspective on the first book.

The two books should be read in sequence, but reading one or the other will not detract in the enjoyment of either. I highly recommend both books. For those that have read Kingsolver's POISONWOOD BIBLE or PRODIGAL SUMMER, neither book is comparable to these two. The four seem to be written by different authors, simply because the style and tone of these books are very different. I give PIGS IN HEAVEN 4 stars.

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Summary: Good read but a disappointing sequel
Review: After reading the "The Bean Trees", I HAD to know what happened next. I think I might have enjoyed this book a bit more if Barbara Kingsolver had not spoiled me with her previous work. I've become accustomed to her plot twists and turns (and unless I really missed the boat here), this story seemed contrived and obvious. Additionally, the characters didn't seem to behave consistently with how they were portrayed in "The Bean Trees". What happened to all the feisty and resourceful characters from the original? I have a lot of difficulty imagining that the Taylor Greer of "The Bean Trees" wouldn't have fought with her last breath to protect Turtle from the abuse the child suffered at the hands of the Cherokee Nation. No one even seemed all that concerned with identifying the perpetrator(s).

I definitely appreciated all the insight into life as a Cherokee, but as a mother fervently in love with my child, I found the story to be unbelievable. I would recommend the book as a stand-alone novel, but as a sequel to "The Bean Trees" - it was a real let down.