Pigs in Heaven

Rating:
Summary: Sequel to "The Bean Trees"
Review: At the beginning of this book, Turtle and her mother Taylor are on vacation at the Hoover Dam. Turtle sees a young man being swept into the water and is instrumental in getting him rescued. The story is on t.v. and catches the eye of Annawake Fourkiller, an idealistic young lawyer. She recognizes Turtle as being Cherokee and determines to return her to her tribe. When Taylor meets Annawake and finds out her goal, she runs away, in order to keep Turtle. When Kingsolver writes a book it always goes much deeper than the actual story. With her haunting and beautiful prose, she creates a world where life is not fair, and family is defined in different ways by different people. This book includes a lot of insight into the priorities
of Native Americans and to the injustices which touch all of us.

Rating:
Summary: A brillinat novel about the West
Review: Barbara Kingsolver is my favorite author (just try her essays) and this is her finest book. Although the story is fiction, Kingsolver delves into some very hard questions for those of us in this country: do we leave children in potential poverty with their culture and family, or do we "save" them into a new, white culture? Can there be only one answer?

Rating:
Summary: Recommended Only As A Sequel To The Bean Trees
Review: Pigs In Heaven is a "must read" only if you have already read her novel, The Bean Trees. From a critical aspect, Pigs In Heaven is a rather disappointing piece of work with a predictable story line and contrived ending. However, The Bean Trees was such an enjoyable and original novel about Taylor, the single young woman who "accidently" adopts a Cherokee toddler, Turtle, that the fans of that book will want to wade through this sequel to see how Taylor and Turtle have their happy ending. However, the writing seems rushed, thrown together, and I actually found myself skipping through whole paragraphs to finish up the obvious story line.

By far, not Kingsolver's best work. She is capable of much more. Hopefully, readers will not judge her by Pigs In Heaven, and will read The Bean Trees first. And as an aside, neither of these books come close to her "Poisonwood Bible" in terms of literary excellence.

Rating:
Summary: Predictable But Thought Provoking
Review: _Pigs In Heaven_ by Barbara Kingsolver is a wonderful book, excellent for relaxation and quick reading. Having read several other Kingsolver novels, I would have to say that this would not be listed as my favorite one. While I loved the plot line, as well as the mystery of Turtle's birth, I felt that the reader could figure out the ending early on in the course of the story. Possibly the reason for this predictability lies in the fact that I know how Kingsolver weaves her story lines together (as she does so well in _Prodigal Summer_.) Some of the characters are less developed than others, but the reader can't help but become enraptured with Jax, the musician, Turtle, the Cherokee child found in a car, and her adoptive mother, Taylor Greer. This is a good beach novel, filled with tidbits of Native American facts and myths. I love the title (related to Native American mythology), and I continue to ponder its relationship to the novel as a whole. Enjoy!!!!

Rating:
Summary: It takes a village...
Review: You've probably heard of the African expression about the subject of child-rearing: "It takes a village."

We do not live in an ideal world where all children have mothers and fathers who can devote all of the proper influence to children, so that someday they may grow up to be adults who respect each other and prosper. Sometimes the nuclear American family that includes "Mom" and "Dad" are not enough. The community has a strong influence on the development of any child.

Kingsolver introduces us to one such child, "Turtle" whose Cherokee parents abandoned her as a toddler to a white woman, "Taylor." This unmarried woman, new to motherhood grows attached to her surprise family. Years later, after the publicity of a strange event the twosome encounter while on a vacation, the Cherokee community attempts to take this somewhat illegally-adopted child away from her. Taylor and Turtle are on the run from authorities, trying desperately to keep from being torn apart, but find that this vagabond life seems hopeless.

Albeit the title, "Pigs in Heaven" seems strange, it is the name of a particular constellation of stars and refers to a story devised by the Cherokees, handed down from one generation to the next. This identical constellation has a completely different interpretation by white people, also handed down through generations of story-telling. Kingsolver uses this subtle theme to illustrate to dear reader that every opinion we have is received as the right one to have, based on perspective. Neither perspective is wrong.... Just different. Taylor and her Cherokee opposition find that "what is best for the child" is also subject to the same difference of perspective. And like the stars, both are right... it takes a village.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificent!
Review: This was a required summer assignment for my junior year of high school, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Taylor and Turtle are memorable characters they remind readers what makes a family: not genes and chromosomes, but the willingness to give 110% to shaping a young life. Barbara Kingsolver is an amazing writer and I predict that her name will be among the greatest in the American literary canon. Everyone should themselves a favor and buy one of her books!

Rating:
Summary: This is book is very confusing
Review: While I was reading this book, I noticed that certain characters mysteriously appeared in the book. These characters were not introduced and seemed not to have much relevance to the story or to the main characters Turtle and Taylor. Maybe the author was trying to foreshadow the upcoming events by slipping in new chacracters. This confused me and made me want to stop reading the book. Of course in the end, everything was connected and I understood who all the characters were. I can't say that I really enjoyed the book but I can't say that I hated it either. If Kingsolver didn't do this, maybe I would give this book 5 stars. Overall, the story line is interesting and the characters are very alive and vivid. I suggest that you read Bean Trees before reading Pigs in Heaven.

Rating:
Summary: Nice sequel to "The Bean Trees"
Review: The Bean Trees was the first Barbara Kingsolver book that I read, and I have since picked up most of her other novels. This is a nice sequel to The Bean Trees, picking up Taylor and Turtle Greer's life in Tucson, Arizona. I liked the characterizations of Alice and Jax in this second go-round, they became much more alive and well-rounded than they had been in the previous novel.

The insight into life on the Cherokee Reservation in Oklahoma was enlightening. As a Creek (sister tribe to the Cherokee) tribe member who has never lived on the reservation, it allowed me a glimpse into my culture that I have not been able to experience for myself. The story did tie up with a nice little bow, and the ending became obvious about 2/3 into it, but it was still plausible; as we all know, we do live in a very small world!

I enjoy the way Ms. Kingsolver uses her narrative to bring you into her books' worlds - she has a gift for making you believe her topics, get to know her characters, and see her settings; this is why she remains a favorite author of mine.

Recommended without having read The Bean Trees, but I highly recommend reading them back-to-back! Taylor and Turtle will keep you entertained.

Rating:
Summary: By page 200, I wanted to smack the characters
Review: I did a Major Author project on Barbara Kingsolver, and while I think Kingsolver is a good, sometimes truly great writer, this book feels as if it was thrown together without thought to characterization. Taylor Greer, the practical, funny heroine of The Bean Trees, is now freaked out and flighty, dragging her daughter Turtle from Tuscon to Seattle on the chance that a Cherokee court would find her adoption invalid. The attorney heading the charge against Taylor, Annawake Fourkiller, is attempting to right the wrong done by her twin brother's adoption by a white family by bringing Turtle, who was abandoned by her mother and molested by her father, back to the tribe. I understand the importance of cultural heritage, but here Kingsolver uses heavy-handed symbolism--eg, using a common milk allergy to symbolize Taylor's cluelessness and Turtle's separation from Cherokee culture--in a way that makes you want to gag. There are about a million things that get at me about this novel. Taylor's temporary insanity, Annawake's militarism.... You know, I figured out the solution that Kingsolver came up with around page 150--of course, I'm separated from the situation--but wouldn't Annawake, an attorney, realize these kinds of things? Speaking of attorneys, why didn't Taylor get one? Because Kingsolver was obviously trying to force 350 pages out of something that really deserved only 50.

Rating:
Summary: A rush to the finish; abuse issues ignored
Review: I read _The Bean Trees_ prior to this novel and enjoyed it very much. I looked forward to the follow up and basically I must admit I was entertained well enough to suggest this novel as a good read. However, I did feel the same as many of the other reviewers when they expressed that the ending was abrupt and the story contrived.

It was not difficult to relate to the mother and her frantic attempt to hide the child from authorities in fear that the girl would be taken from her. However, I could not get beyond the fact that the adoption was basically illegal, and surely ramifications would have developed through the federal government. Going from there, the other complex issues involving the Cherokee Nation and child abuse were never explored. I find it highly unlikely that the (sexual/physical/neglect) abuse of the baby would not have been followed up with a formal investigation. This omission disturbs me the most.

I felt that there was a great story developing in the first half of the book, and I really wish the author could have continued with that momentum. The ending felt so rushed and I feel the author missed a unique opportunity to expand on child abuse in a more profound and educational way. Still, I did enjoy the read, and I hope it does spark the reader's awareness of how serious the Cherokee Nation, and child abuse concerns are.