To me, this is the least appealing of Kingsolver's books. Of course, your mileage may vary. But I will confess what my reasons are, and you can judge for yourself.

First, this is set in a very small town, in which everyone knows and remembers the narrator from when she grew up there. I shudder at the thought of living where everyone knows your business (or thinks they do).

Second, the narrator, Codi, has somehow kept herself open to the whole range of emotions, and in full strength. Again, I can't imagine living that way. Maybe it tells more about me than the book, but the most vivid scenes I can remember deal with Codi's losses.

Finally, this book, like many others, includes a father who has decided, as if it were a personal choice affecting nobody else, like preferring green beans or broccoli, not to have any emotional connection with his children.

So those are the three reasons I kept wanting to throw the book across the room. However, I concede that Kingsolver is a good enough writer that somehow the book never left my hands.

So that's one person's opinion. Future readers, what do YOU think?

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