Product Description

A collection of pieces in which Barbara Kingsolver, author of the novel "Pigs in Heaven", explores her trademark themes of family, community and the natural world. The topics include Kentucky, housework, promiscuity, health clubs, the Canary Islands, rock and roll, space rockets, and Thoreau.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #495967 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Novelist Kingsolver (Pigs in Heaven) is not one to let her miscellany stagnate; she has revised or expanded many of the 25 essays included here, most of which have previously been published, and yes, there are thematic links in her view of family, writing, politics and places. The strongest link is Kingsolver's wise and spirited voice, animated by poetic and precise language. A Kentucky transplant to Arizona, Kingsolver recounts the triumph and pathos of her return home as a novelist; she also delights in recollecting her role in the notorious Rock Bottom Remainders, the band of writers famous for their ABA performances. "Raising children is a patient alchemy," she declares; indeed, her self-imposed exile during the Gulf War led her to Spain's Canary Islands and an atmosphere of much greater affection for kids. Reports from Benin and Hawaii, even her aquarium, show the author to be a curious and sensitive observer. Most telling perhaps are Kingsolver's reflections on her mission: because it aims to convey truths we know but can't feel, "[g]ood art is political, whether it means to be or not." Illustrations. Literary Guild alternate.
-ood art is political, whether it means to be or not." Illustrations. Literary Guild alternate.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA?Displaying a diverse background and multiple interests, Kingsolver has written about subjects as varied as the biological clock of hermit crabs, tourist wanderings in Benin, and visiting an obsolete Titan missile site. The recurring themes here are the wonder and excitement of parenting; the respect for all creatures, religions, and points of view; and the importance of the natural world in our lives. She weaves these themes throughout her essays and presents readers with a vision of beliefs too often undervalued in our modern world. The author, a skilled observer of both people and nature, claims "to want to know and to write, about the places where disparate points of view rub together?the spaces between." These essays are her attempts to open the doors for her readers to see into those spaces.?Penny Stevens, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Twenty-five essays from the author of Pigs in Heaven (LJ 6/15/93) grace this collection; some have been previously published, and all have been revised for this book. The title essay uses the metaphor of a hermit crab displaced from the Bahamas to Tucson to express an analogous situation in the author's life; this creature reappears in the final essay, "Reprise," representing the cyclic and rhythmic nature of life. In between, there are musings on life in the desert, feral pigs, libraries, fidelity, childrearing, and the like, all written with a keen sensitivity to Kingsolver's surroundings and often bringing an unusual perspective on seemingly mundane subjects. One can skip around or read the pieces consecutively. Essential for humanities collections in public and academic libraries.
Janice Braun, Mills Coll., Oakland, Cal.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

A life affirming collection of essays
Barbara Kingsolver's collection of essays, High Tide In Tucson, is a truly life affirming, touching, true, poetic, real, view of life, nature, the Animal Kingdom, the Plant Kingdom, and community.

If you enjoy the novels of Barbara Kingsolver, you'll enjoy the essays in this collection. Well written, poetic-prose that is truly touching! As in all Kingsolver's books, even if you don't agree with the conclusions she comes to, it's ok. You don't feel preached at, she acknowledges the diversity of life, that we all have different, legitimate, opinions about all things. For example, I personally do not believe that science and biology are infallible, I am a Creationist. Ms. Kingsolver clearly believes in evolution and makes no secret that she believes that evolution is a "scientific fact." That's fine! It doesn't threaten me that we have different, legitimate, beliefs. The point is that we both, as she states, "risk belief." When she describes the glory of nature, the earth, and the Natural World, she gives credit to "Mother Nature," or "Mother Earth," or "Natural Selection," while I give credit to "God, the Creator." This is what life's all about. This is what this collection of essays is about, having an opinion and explaining it thoroughly, and listening to others opinions. It's "high tide" we must live this life we're given for the best, the best we know how, and not let another person's disagreement with us stop us. We must acknowledge and learn about the past, and honor the future as well. So, fill up the atomic bomb silos with concrete to be excavated later, collect shells on the beach, keep a journal, tell lies, honor life and nature and the earth, don't turn away from painful things in this chaotic world, look, acknowledge, help, believe, hope, it's high tide.

This is what good writing is all about
If my fellow writers, who struggle with the modern essay format, want to read an example of good writing, this would be a great place to start. Barbara Kingsolver, already famous for Beantrees, Pigs in Heaven, etc., lets loose with this collection of 25 essays on issues as diverse as hermit crabs, political activism, and vegetarianism. Her exquisite and thoughtful language persists throughout as, trained as a naturalist, she links minutae in the natural world with the more close-to-home issues of parenting, family, honesty, and her political views. Some of her best writing can be found in this collection.
Top rating.

Second reading, even better than the first
The essays in this book speak to the troubles of today's world because they are timeless. I feel like standing on the roof top and offering Barbara Kingsolver's wisdom and love of life and all it encompasses to all who pass by. The essays are a wake up call without being strident while at the same time a salve to my soul and a voice of reason. Let alone the fact that Kingsolver is a fabulous writer.

Somehow for me, it is the time to immerse myself in Kingsolver's words and ideas. I also re-read "Small Wonder" and I'm now savoring "Animal Dreams". I can only suggest that other readers might enjoy her books for the first time or second or third.