Everyone alive today in 2009 should have this book as a MUST READ. Kingsolver so beautifully encapsulates the conditions going on in our world and our environment with what it means to be human: writer, friend, daughter, mother. But most importantly, she has tremendous facts in hand with the reality of what is happening (and has happened) in our environment, with global warming. As well as incorporating 9/11 and her own personal story. I alternately laugh and cry with this book - kudos to Kingsolver. ( )

I read this after reading Rush drummer Neil Peart's book, Traveling Music ( )

I don't read a whole lot of nonfiction, but Barbara Kingsolver's essays are the exception to my rule. I LOVE them. They make me want to stand up and yell "Hallelujah, you tell 'em, Sister!" She says exactly what I think but could never express in such beautiful language. ( )

Powerful Essay ( )

Small Wonder is the second collection of essays I have read by Barbara Kingsolver. Like her first collection, High Tide in Tucson, this collection is heartfelt and thought provoking. Written in response to September 11, Kingsolver expresses her sorrow through her writing, covering a variety of subjects including parenting, world peace, agriculture, nature, social protest and homelessness. While reading Small Wonder, I was maddened, saddened and moved all at once – an exhilarating ride that left me near breathless when I was done.

I learned so much about our country in this book. My first reaction, as Kingsolver criticized how wasteful Americans can be, how inappropriate war can be and how our planet and its resources are dwindling, was anger toward the writer. I considered her un-American, a non-patriot, and a loud liberal complainer who should move to another country if she thinks it’s so terrible here.

But as she continued to write, to tell – I saw a writer just wanting to make a better place for herself and her family. I began to soften and become more objective.

In her last chapter, she made a point that will resonate with me for a long time. By protesting, by objecting, by making people aware – she is being very American. Isn’t that how this country was founded? What if Susan B. Anthony didn’t protest for women’s suffrage? Or Martin Luther King didn’t stand up for civil rights? The best changes are country has ever made were moved by people who wanted to make a difference. Kingsolver and those like her can make a difference- if people like you and me remain open-minded and listen to what they have to say.

I listened, and I am ready to take some steps to help make our country and Earth better for my fellow Americans (and especially my children):

1) Recycling – I am so ashamed that all of my aluminum cans, plastic bags and newspapers go into the trash. No more!
2) Purchasing fruits and vegetables from local farmers – By buying from a local farmers’ market, I won’t be supporting an industry that transports fruits and vegetables from all parts of the world – a way to help curb gasoline waste. My local farmers only have to come a few miles, and I bet the food will taste better.
3) Paying attention to the upcoming 2008 election – I have not been a conscientious voter. I really don’t research the candidates like I should. I will do a better job picking my candidates in the upcoming elections.

Inspired, yes. Motivated, absolutely. I am proud to be an American and a citizen on this planet. If you want to learn some ideas on how to make your little section of the world better, I highly recommend Small Wonder. Be ready to be moved. ( )

Loved it, like I do most of her work. She's one of the few writers around whose non-fiction equals her fiction. ( )

TBR

I enjoyed reading these essays very much, probably because I agreed with her point of view in many of them. She does seem to have a very European approach to issues, which is probably why I found myself so receptive to her non-fiction, just as I already have been with her fiction.

some excellent, personal writing in it, but also a hell of a lot of preaching ( )

A collection of essays written and compiled after September 11th. The topics are pretty diverse, touching on patriotism, war and American foreign policy, but also on writing, parenting, feminism, conservation, ecology, genetically modified food, independent bookstores, gardening, and, like all of Kingsolver's work, what "home" really means. This is the first of her non-fiction I've ever read (she's one of my favorite fiction writers), and she's a phenomenal writer in the essay format as well as the novel format. What's more, she's a phenomenal writer who was trained as a biologist, so she gets the big picture - and I mean big as in Life, not just life. The essays themselves are about as variable in impact as they were in topic. All are heartfelt, but the first few and the last one veered from essay into a lecturing tone, while many of the ones in the middle, the ones least connected to the organizing theme of the book, were the most enjoyable and the most meaningful to me. Idealogically, she's extremely close to Daniel Quinn: her prose is prettier by far, but somehow his stuff was better able to strike home and engender the personal change that both are looking for. So, some hits, some misses (for me), but worth reading for the hits or just if you enjoy her writing and want more of it. ( )

As I read about her feelings regarding Sept 11, the environment, and a wide range of other topics, it occurred to me that this is the type of stuff I would write if I had a flare for writing short essays. ( )