Sign up
Search
Advanced search settings

Search only in certain items:

Search results
All (1715)
Content
People
Apps
Books
Orbs
Movies
Music
Podcasts
Shows
Tabletop Games
Tech
TV
Video Games
YouTube Channels
Videos
    Analyze This Chess

    Analyze This Chess

    Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Analyze your Chess game with a powerful Chess engine (Stockfish 8). Check out what the Engine says...

    BringGo Mexico

    BringGo Mexico

    Navigation and Travel

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    BringGo includes 30 days of access to Premium Navigation. After 30 days, you can opt for a Premium...

    Pepi Tree

    Pepi Tree

    Education and Games

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    > FWA Mobile Of The Day (MOTD) Award - thefwa.com/mobile > Kids App award 2012 - KinderAppGarten ...

    Chess-Studio

    Chess-Studio

    Games and Entertainment

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Chess Studio is the first and only application for iPhone and iPad able to completely manage chess...

40x40

ClareR (5726 KP) rated Unsheltered in Books

Nov 21, 2018  
Unsheltered
Unsheltered
Barbara Kingsolver | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
10
7.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I think that this is another ‘marmite book’ - you either love it or hate it. There is no in between. Well, I loved it. I like a meandering tale. Some people look at a really thick book and think “Oh no!” - I think “Let me at it!”. What’s more, I like a book that takes its time and is thoughtful. There’s a lot to think about here.
This book is set in two different eras: modern day Vineland, just before and after Trumps election, and 1870s Vineland, just after Darwin’s groundbreaking novel “Origin of the Species” was published.
Both families live in the same house, and both families are experiencing a house that is crumbling around them. The house seems to represent the political and environmental issues in the modern era, in my opinion, and in the past, a community that is failing.
I really enjoyed all of the family dynamics: an elderly Greek father-in-law who rails against the immigrants and blacks (not for one moment seeing the irony); a daughter who is an eco-warrior/ realist, a son whose wife dies, whilst he is left with their newborn; a wife and mother who becomes the primary caregiver to a tiny baby and her infirm father-in-law; and a father who struggled to retain a post as a university lecturer.
In the past, a modern thinking science teacher battles against a headteacher/ principle (principal?) who will not hear of evolution (angel bridges are mentioned - who knew they were a thing?!), and meets Mary Treat, a biologist who really existed and became well known. She exchanges letters and shares information with Darwin and other famous scientists of the time.
This story had so many layers - I loved it. I could feel the frustration of the characters in their respective times, as they had obstacles which seemed insurmountable to them. However, they weren’t, there were ways around their problems. The ‘getting there’ though, was quite a story!