Flight Behavior - Barbara Kingsolver

69%
29.10.13

Kingsolver is a wise and lyrical writer specialising in razor-sharp characters and a passionate sense of place. Here, she takes the apocalyptic environmental message of Prodigal Summer a step further, and if she hammers it home a little hard, well, at least she cares. Her skilled use of narrative echoes and metaphor, mixed with a surprisingly intriguing (if over-long) story makes this enjoyable on any level you want to take it. And you're guaranteed to find yourself Googling monarch butterflies.

Prodigal Summer - Barbara Kingsolver

 72%
06.02.02




Reading three or four books at once meant that I read this one as perhaps was intended - the language and the hot summer it described are so intense that it's best read in small chunks. Like 'Pigs in Heaven', it was educational too, and was a successful manifesto for encouraging humans to live in harmony with nature. Preachy, perhaps, but saved by its poetry and original characters. Better sex scenes than in 'Rescue Me' as well.

Pigs in Heaven - Barbara Kingsolver

71%
17.11.01




A book rejected by my Basingstoke reading group because it is modern American literature, I read it more out of interest than anything else. The plot was decidedly odd, and implausible towards the end, with characters appearing for fun rather than to further the story. But there's nothing wrong with that - the quality of the writing itself is impressive - lyrical and often demanding a reflective pause. Even when the metaphors are obvious, the sleight of hand involved must be admired.