A New York Times Bestseller Named one of the Best Books of the Year (2018) by NPR, O, The Oprah Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Christian Science Monitor and NewsweekThe New York Times bestselling author of Flight Behavior, The Lacuna, and The Poisonwood Bible and recipient of numerous literary awards—including the National Humanities Medal, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the Orange … The Lacuna, and The Poisonwood Bible and recipient of numerous literary awards—including the National Humanities Medal, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the Orange Prize—returns with a timely novel that interweaves past and present to explore the human capacity for resiliency and compassion in times of great upheaval.
How could two hardworking people do everything right in life, a woman asks, and end up destitute? Willa Knox and her husband followed all the rules as responsible parents and professionals, and have nothing to show for it but debts and an inherited brick house that is falling apart. The magazine where Willa worked has folded; the college where her husband had tenure has closed. Their dubious shelter is also the only option for a disabled father-in-law and an exasperating, free-spirited daughter. When the family’s one success story, an Ivy-educated son, is uprooted by tragedy he seems likely to join them, with dark complications of his own.
In another time, a troubled husband and public servant asks, How can a man tell the truth, and be reviled for it? A science teacher with a passion for honest investigation, Thatcher Greenwood finds himself under siege: his employer forbids him to speak of the exciting work just published by Charles Darwin. His young bride and social-climbing mother-in-law bristle at the risk of scandal, and dismiss his worries that their elegant house is unsound. In a village ostensibly founded as a benevolent Utopia, Thatcher wants only to honor his duties, but his friendships with a woman scientist and a renegade newspaper editor threaten to draw him into a vendetta with the town’s powerful men.
Unsheltered is the compulsively readable story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum in Vineland, New Jersey, navigating what seems to be the end of the world as they know it. With history as their tantalizing canvas, these characters paint a startlingly relevant portrait of life in precarious times when the foundations of the past have failed to prepare us for the future.
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A quintessential Barbara Kingsolver tale, about two families living in the same house, one in the present, one in the 19th century. It shows that while some things have changed, others are timeless, and the human race is eternally confounding and fascinating.
What an interesting book this is.
Meet Willa Knox, a freelance writer with adult children who had planned for a secure and comfortable future. Instead, she finds that she and her academic husband are homeless and jobless. She inherits an old house in a place called Vineland. Her husband manages to pick up a job as a lecturer at a nearby University. The house is almost uninhabitable and the cost of renovations prohibitive. Added to her woes is her cantankerous, bigoted father- in- law who requires almost round the clock care. Her highly educated son, Zeke struggles under the weight of school debt and a new baby. Her high spirited daughter, Tig whom she barely understands comes home from Cuba and the house is filled with people all of whom have problems. Desperate for help to fix the house, Willa begins looking for funding from the Historical Preservation Society and finds out about the history, an earlier occupant and the utopian community set up as Vineland.
Rewind to the 1880s when Thatcher Greenwood married finds himself living in the newly established Vineland with his young wife, mother- in- law and sister- in- law. He’s appointed science teacher at the local high school and the discoveries by Darwin are causing an explosion of divisive thinking. Thatcher comes to loggerheads with the Creationist and conservative Principal.
“Thatcher thought of the riot he’d seen in the Boston square, the scarecrow Darwin hanging from the lamppost, the crowd terrified witless at the prospect of shedding comfortable beliefs and accepting new ones.”
The parallel between the two timelines is fascinating. Conservative America in 2016 where climate change is denied by the powers that be sits side by side in Darwinist America of the 1880’s. The founder of the utopian Vineland, Captain Landis established and controlled a community of Christian ideals. Science comes along to disrupt and beleaguer the conservatives in both timelines.
The common bond between Willa and Thatcher is that they feel left out, unsheltered and stuck in a crumbling mess. In the mix is Mary Treat the next-door neighbour who was a real-life scientist of the 1880s in her own right, add in a mix of suffragettes and murder and things really get interesting.
The characters are all fascinating and well developed but I think the star of the show is Tig, the younger daughter. I loved the way Tig became the teacher and almost a saviour for her mother who sees her daughter in a very new light. The writing is very thought-provoking. Sometimes I found the scientific discourse on plants and animals a little on the slow side, and for some, this might be a little difficult. But my advice is to take it in, think about it and enjoy. This book will keep giving long after you’ve finished it.
Two families in two different time periods inhabit a house in a unique New Jersey community. Their lives are changed in dramatic ways. Kingsolver introduces a real life pioneer woman naturalist who deserves to be better known. The contemporary characters were interesting, but I was more drawn to those in the earlier historic period.
A book for the times, Unsheltered displays the current state of affairs in the US against the Anti-Darwin past with haunting similarities. Just goes to show that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Oddly, but not for Kingsolver who does this a lot, the main ‘character’ in this novel is the house – a broken-down disaster that has been that way ever since it was built. The current owner’s desperation to salvage it leads her in a research journey which teaches her more about its former owners and her current family than ways to pay for the renovations. A clever use of an object which has an impact on all of those around it.
Barbara Kingsolver is a national treasure. This book, like many of her books, looks at the most profound issues facing the planet, most specifically those surrounding climate change, through the lens of individuals struggling with their own personal problems. There are two plotlines, one contemporary and one historic, and Kingsolver’s meticulous research shows. I listened to the audiobook, which is narrated by Kingsolver herself. But despite the catalog of catastrophes on both a global and intimate scale, Kingsolver’s sense of humor gives her a unique and engaging voice.
Something different in a novel from Barbara Kingsolver that I didn’t expect since my first experience was The Poisonwood Bible. Great narrative and family saga.
Always love Barbara Kingsolver, but this take on modern times is fantastic. Highly recommend.
I finished it! But it was torture getting there. So many times i wanted to just call it quits, but other works by this author have been so good.
The present-day family’s story wasn’t so bad, but the 1880’s was agonizing. I’m not political, I read to escape and/or be entertained. This was just too heavy. Important parts — like the actual trial — were glossed over while walks in the Barrens dragged on ad nauseum.
I found it a weird co-incidence that two structures build on the same plot of land would both be compromised structurally.
I normally avoid books read by the author, but Barbara Kingsolver did a wonderful job. Had I read this book, I might not have like it, but as an audible book, it filled a dozen happy hours as I walked during a cold January. I live in suburban Philadelphia and have passed Vineland hundreds of times en route to the shore. It was fascinating to learn of Vineland’s past and the role of women in the battle for reason and science.
Willa’s journey with her adult children, grandson, father-in-law, husband, and house were all relatable on SO many levels. I’m missing her witty take on life now that I’m through with the book.
I felt manipulated by this book. Well written, but too pointed.
I loved this book. It describes a life many Americans can relate to in the current times of unemployment. And how families have to pull together to survive.
Barbara Kingsolver novels are great, but political in spirit, and this one is not different. The issues were a bit tedious, but definitely valid– both then and now. The story comprises two family’s ,100 years apart, both living in the same home in New Jersey. The historical characters included a female scientist I never heard of. That story is so enticing, I breezed through the loaded political and social dialogue to get back to that story. The present day family saga was also interesting, if a bit wearing on climate control. Overall this is a good read/listen.
I really liked this book, there were a few parts of it where the characters and their imperfections were really irritating…but so are some of my family members.
Listened to this on Audible, and it was a treat. I hated for it to end.
This story of two families who are united by the house they live in a century apart is captivating. The writer is a master at telling this story while the reader is forced to think beyond the printed page and really understand what is being said by the experiences of the characters. I was sad to finish this book! It was that good!
Barbara Kingsolver’s use of contrast between a contemporary family and a family who lived in the same house a century ago plus, is the perfect way to reveal the difficulty in navigating life in changing times. Engaging story and wonderful characters to make you think long past turning the last page.
Kingsolver does it again!
The meaning of life detailed in an entertaining read. An important lesson to us all: If you don’t like what went down in your past, lead the way to your new future. You can do it—Kingsolver shows you how.
Gloria Squitiro: Author of May Cause Drowsiness and Blurred Vision: The Side Effects of Bravery—YOU, Too! can OVERCOME ANXIETY and live a bigger more carefree life—Become a New and Better You!
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Can’t decide between 3 and 4 stars. I consider Barbara Kingsolver one of my favorite writers, and I think Poisonwood Bible was the book that first got me back into reading for pleasure after I was done with college, in my 20’s. I eagerly dove into this book, and at first, I loved it. I think her prose is amazing, and her ability to show her characters in a few stunning sentences is incredible. And I liked how she interwove her two narratives here, the 19th century with the contemporary, with clever, subtle parallels between the two stories. The characters are interesting, and there is dramatic tension in both. But I understand why some readers are giving this mixed reviews. A Kingsolver novel is going to be political, and I enjoy that. But the prose here does get bogged down in polemical diatribes in places. In the 19th century sections, although I understand what she is trying to do here, in drawing comparison between the eras, there is far too much detail on debates that will not seem relevant to many modern readers. I am glad I read it, and enjoyed much of the book, I can’t recommend it as “Kingsolver at her best”.