High Tide in Tucson (1995)

Earlier this year, while in the midst of the high tide of our family's move, I spent several days sorting through piles of papers in our den. Work-related papers, school papers, recipes torn from magazines, writing ideas, artwork created when the kids were in preschool. You get the idea.

One of the papers that I came across was a page torn from an Oprah magazine (probably one circa 1998, as I threw away more than a decade's worth - I wish I was kidding - of such publications). It contained this quote, from "High Tide in Tucson" by Barbara Kingsolver:

"Every one of us is called upon, probably many times, to start a new life. A frightening diagnosis, a marriage, a move, loss of a job .... And onward full tilt we go, pitched and wrecked and absurdly resolute, driven in spite of everything to make good on a new shore. To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another - that is surely the basic instinct.... crying out: High tide! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time to take this life for what it is." (pg. 15-16, "High Tide in Tucson")

That resonated with me so much in those darker days of just several months ago, and I knew I had to read High Tide in Tucson sooner rather than later.

And so, I hunkered down this holiday weekend with this collection of 25 essays (some of which Kingsolver previously published elsewhere, some of which were revised for the purposes of this collection) and I found myself absolutely entranced.

Barbara Kingsolver has a lyrical way with words and a style that is so warmly familiar, and oftentimes, dead-on funny. She's an absolute craftsman of the creative nonfiction form, and anyone who writes in that form or wants to hone their skills in that form would be wise to read her work. I think this collection would be invaluable for bloggers, actually. She speaks directly at her reader as she writes of many a varied topic here - the landscape (physical and emotional) of her childhood home of Kentucky; a beloved teacher; the deserts of Tucson that are her adopted home; a pet hermit crab; the myth of private property; a family of paper dolls; Hawaii; the javelinas (wild pigs) that descended each night on the family's desert home, and the life of a writer.

(If you are a writer, this collection is a must read, if only for "In Case You Ever Want to Go Home Again," "Jabberwocky," "The Forest in the Seeds," and the downright hilarious sampling of letters Kingsolver has received as an author, "Careful What You Let in the Door.")

The best thing I can do - the only thing I can do - in this review is to give you a sampling of Kingsolver's prose from High Tide in Tucson and let you judge for yourself just how good she is. And, this too: keep in mind that these words were written for a 1995 publication date. I think they ring true - even moreso, really - today, and that is the true mark of a writer for our time.

"I played with a set of paper dolls called 'The Family of Dolls,' four in number, who came with the factory-assigned names of Dad, Mom, Sis, and Junior. I think you know what they looked like, at least before I loved them to death and their heads fell off.

Now I've replaced the dolls with a life. I knit my days around my daughter's survival and happiness, and am proud to say her head is still on. But we aren't The Family of Dolls. Maybe you aren't either. And if not, even though you are statistically no oddity, it's probably been suggested to you in a hundred ways that yours isn't exactly a real family, but an imposter family, a harbinger of cultural ruin, a slapdash substitute - something like counterfeit money. Here at the tail end of our century, most of us are up to our ears in the noisy business of trying to support and love a thing called family. But there's a current in the air with ferocious moral force that finds its way even into political campaigns, claiming there is only one right way to do it, the Way It Has Always Been.
In the face of a thriving, particolored world, this narrow view is so pickled and absurd I'm astonished that it gets airplay."

(This is in 1995, people. Sixteen years ago. The times, they definitely ain't a changin'.)

"You can fool history sometimes, but you can't fool the memory of your intimates. And thank heavens, because in the broad valley between real life and propriety whole herds of important truths can steal away into the underbrush. I hold that valley to be my home territory as a writer." ("In Case you Ever Want to Go Home Again," pg. 36)

"To find oneself suddenly published is thrilling - that is a given. But how appalling it also felt I find hard to describe. Imagine singing at the top of your lungs in the shower as you always do, then one day turning off the water and throwing back the curtain to see there in your bathroom a crowd of people with videotape. I wanted to throw a towel over my head." ("In Case You Ever Want to Go Home Again," pg. 37)

(That's kind of how I feel sometimes when someone who I know in real life admits they've been reading my blog - when I hadn't known they've actually been doing so.)

For each of these quotes, I could have included ten more. But you get the idea. This is a fabulous, fabulous collection of essays. I can't imagine any better way to spend Thanksgiving weekend.

Except, perhaps, with Ms. Kingsolver herself at the table.

"Any family is a big empty pot, save for what gets thrown in. Each stew turns out different. Generosity, a resolve to turn bad back into good, and respect for variety - these things will nourish a nation of children. Name-calling and suspicion will not. My soup contains a rock or two of hard times, and maybe yours does too. I expect it's a heck of a bouillabaise." ("Stone Soup," pg. 145 of High Tide in Tucson)
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barbara kingsolver is one of those (few, for me) authors whom i read and think to myself, i'd really like to sit on the porch with a glass of wine some evening or a cup of tea some morning, and just talk with her. she is so fascinated by so many different things, and i love finding people like that. reading her writing, then, for me, is always an experience that makes me want to live more, to think more, to know more. i can't ask for more than that from a book. and she delivers every time.

"'If you never stepped on anybody's toes, you never been for a walk.'" (a quote from her grandfather)

and a quote among many that speaks to me as marcy and i step closer to our adoption: "...life with children always bursts to fullness in the narrowest passages..." ( )

Barbara Kingsolver’s book of essays, High Tide in Tucson, is an interesting and enjoyable read. Fans of Kingsolver’s books will recognize many aspects of Kingsolver’s life as described in the essays, from her novels. While her novels are not autobiographical, it is gratifying to know that some elements of her wonderful novels are derived from first-hand knowledge and experience. The title essay, about a hermit crab, is especially delightful and interesting. I recommend this book to fans of Kingsolver’s novels as an excellent background read. ( )

I've been reading Kingsolver's works in reverse chronological order and it is interesting to see how she has modified her voice over the years. Honestly if her name wasn't on these essays, I wouldn't have recognized them as her work because they seem much different than her other books I've read. Still interesting and well-written, just in a different tone. Her travel logs from living overseas are enjoyable and the piece regarding how children are treated in Spain was especially thought-provoking. While her approach to matters regarding the US military seem somewhat one-sided and overly simplistic, she doesn't shy away from controversial or unpopular topics either, which I appreciate. Whether you agree with her viewpoints or not, it is a good well-rounded collection that gives the reader a much better understanding of one of America's most gifted bestselling authors. Bottom Line: Love her or hate her, the lady can write. ( )

Wonderful essays. ( )