Good Reads / Community Library Notes
Unsheltered
Barbara Kingsolver
Review by Priscilla Comen
Unsheltered
Barbara Kingsolver
Review by Priscilla Comen
Unsheltered, by Barbara Kingsolver, begins with Willa finding out her lovely old house can not be repaired. The contractor is honest; there’s no sense in trying to save it. In the next chapter, we meet Thatcher in the 19th century in the same house. His house, too, is falling down and leaking. But he loves Boston and is pleased his wife’s young sister, Polly, is going to school there.
Willa’s two adult children, Tig, her daughter, and son, Zeke, live there too. Zeke has a new baby he is responsible for because his wife committed suicide after his birth. These two houses and families are the bases for the intriguing plot Kingsolver has set up for us. Tig, a tiny young woman has recently returned from Cuba, Zeke her brother, loves to argue with her. Nick, Willa’s father-in-law, is an invalid on oxygen and also lives with them. He likes the man who is running for president and turns up the TV whenever the unnamed man speaks. Willa thinks they must keep this house for everyone’s sake.
Thatcher goes next door to his neighbor, Mrs. Treat, and finds her feeding her finger to a Venus flytrap. She is a scientist, an eccentric woman, and a feisty one. Her husband has left her for Victoria Woodhull, a suffragette. Mrs. Treat has jars of tarantula spiders that build amazing structures. Thatcher confesses his belief in Darwin’s theories. He risks being fired at the school where he teaches if he teaches Darwinism to his students. He’s not even permitted to take them outside to study nature.
The town of Vineland, New Jersey is an experiment in community living. Willa goes to the historical society office to try for a grant to renovate her house. She believes it has historical value because of Mrs. Treat. The man in charge shows her a letter from Darwin to Mrs. Treat. The director, Christopher Hawk, thinks Mary Treat may have lived in Willa’s house. Author Kingsolver gives us the atmosphere of the past century—Thatcher and family go to see Tom Thumb at a theater. Residents don’t want to believe in Darwinism.
Many problems need answers: Will Willa be able to save Thatcher and her house by putting it in the historic register? Will Thatcher lose his teaching job? Who will care for Zeke’s infant son, Dusty, after Zeke becomes a financial advisor in Boston? Kingsolver gives us meaningful conversations between Tig and Willa about mother’s plans for their children’s lives by moving them from place to place. Find out in this wonderful book on the new fiction shelf at your Mendocino Community Library.
Willa’s two adult children, Tig, her daughter, and son, Zeke, live there too. Zeke has a new baby he is responsible for because his wife committed suicide after his birth. These two houses and families are the bases for the intriguing plot Kingsolver has set up for us. Tig, a tiny young woman has recently returned from Cuba, Zeke her brother, loves to argue with her. Nick, Willa’s father-in-law, is an invalid on oxygen and also lives with them. He likes the man who is running for president and turns up the TV whenever the unnamed man speaks. Willa thinks they must keep this house for everyone’s sake.
Thatcher goes next door to his neighbor, Mrs. Treat, and finds her feeding her finger to a Venus flytrap. She is a scientist, an eccentric woman, and a feisty one. Her husband has left her for Victoria Woodhull, a suffragette. Mrs. Treat has jars of tarantula spiders that build amazing structures. Thatcher confesses his belief in Darwin’s theories. He risks being fired at the school where he teaches if he teaches Darwinism to his students. He’s not even permitted to take them outside to study nature.
The town of Vineland, New Jersey is an experiment in community living. Willa goes to the historical society office to try for a grant to renovate her house. She believes it has historical value because of Mrs. Treat. The man in charge shows her a letter from Darwin to Mrs. Treat. The director, Christopher Hawk, thinks Mary Treat may have lived in Willa’s house. Author Kingsolver gives us the atmosphere of the past century—Thatcher and family go to see Tom Thumb at a theater. Residents don’t want to believe in Darwinism.
Many problems need answers: Will Willa be able to save Thatcher and her house by putting it in the historic register? Will Thatcher lose his teaching job? Who will care for Zeke’s infant son, Dusty, after Zeke becomes a financial advisor in Boston? Kingsolver gives us meaningful conversations between Tig and Willa about mother’s plans for their children’s lives by moving them from place to place. Find out in this wonderful book on the new fiction shelf at your Mendocino Community Library.