Barbara Kingsolver book recommendations??

[tylerdylan]

I just finished reading "The Poisonwood Bible" which I LOVED.  I put off reading it for the longest time because I read somewhere (probably here) that people really liked her books and recommended "The Lacuna". I tried reading The Lacuna about 6 months ago and I could not get into that book.  I tried several times, took breaks to read other books and tried to go back to it, but eventually sent it back to the library only half read.  I remain hesitant to try another of her books, but really did love The Poisonwood Bible....of course I have always been drawn to anything to do with Africa....

I will happily take non-Barbara Kingsolver book recommendations as well.  I like books that don't take place in the present day and that open my eyes to other cultures and ways of life.

[beanma]

You might like "Prodigal Summer". It's a lighter than "The Poisonwood Bible", but still a good read IMO.

[katelove]

I loved "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" which is her account of the year her family undertook to eat locally. It is not fiction obviously but light and easy to read. There are some essays throughout which are a bit heavier going about some of the ecological issues around our food habits and such but you could easily skip them if they didn't appeal to you.

[Lillitu]

Have you read the older ones? The Bean Trees and that series. I love those. I would also check out Amiee Bender and Charles de Lint if you like her.

[citymagnolia]

I've read all of her novels and I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle right now, and I highly recommend all of them! Every one of them is at the top of  my favorites list. I think you should just go down the line and read them all. :)

Have you read The Red Tent by Anita Diamant? That's probably my favorite book ever.

The Birth House, Ami McKay another favorite of mine

The Girl With The Pearl Earring--Chevalier maybe?? Can't remember. I haven't seen the movie, but the book was awesome.

[raksmama]

I love many of Barbara Kingsolver’s books, but I find they are all different and liking one does not mean you will like the other. I loved The Poisonwood Bible but also had a hard time getting into  Lacuna. 

I first discovered  Kingsolver over 15 years ago  when I read her novels The Bean trees, Pigs in Heaven and Animal Dreams. They are very different from Poisonwood Bible taking take place in the American Southwest with many First Nation and Hispanic characters. I really enjoyed them and have read them several times.

Edited by raksmama - 1/9/11 at 5:38pm

[mazajo]

The Bean Trees is one of my favorite books of all time.

[raksmama]

I know how you feel. when I read that book I wanted to stay in her world, stay in Africa. At the time(about 10 years ago) I did not find anything. It just occurred to me you might like:

 The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (published as someone knows My Name in the US)

http://www.lawrencehill.com/the_book_of_negroes.html

  It  tells the story of a young West African girl who is abducted and sold into slavery. The story follows her long life where she is a slave in South Carolina, escapes to New York and eventually serves the British loyalists, going to Canada finally leaving to Sierra Leone. 

Originally Posted by tylerdylan 

I just finished reading "The Poisonwood Bible" which I LOVED.  I put off reading it for the longest time because I read somewhere (probably here) that people really liked her books and recommended "The Lacuna". I tried reading The Lacuna about 6 months ago and I could not get into that book.  I tried several times, took breaks to read other books and tried to go back to it, but eventually sent it back to the library only half read.  I remain hesitant to try another of her books, but really did love The Poisonwood Bible....of course I have always been drawn to anything to do with Africa....

I will happily take non-Barbara Kingsolver book recommendations as well.  I like books that don't take place in the present day and that open my eyes to other cultures and ways of life.

[Deir]

Originally Posted by beanma 

You might like "Prodigal Summer". It's a lighter than "The Poisonwood Bible", but still a good read IMO.

I loved Prodigal Summer!

[tinuviel_k]

I love ALL of Barbara Kingsolver's books, so I did not hesitate to buy The Lacuna in hardback as soon as it came out. I couldn't get into it at all and I just stopped reading it 2/3 of the way through.

But all the rest... yes, the are wonderful. My absolute favorite is Prodigal Summer. I also loved Animal Deams, The Bean Trees, Animal Vegetable Miracle...

[beanma]

I like all of Barbara's books. If you're specifically looking for other books about Africa you might enjoy Alexander McCall-Smith's Ladies Number One Detective Agency series. A friend recommended it to me for a long time and I finally picked up the first one when I saw it for cheap in the thrift store. I really liked it. Like Kingsolver, McCall-Smith spent a portion of his life in Africa and that really comes through.

It took me a little while to get through The Lacuna, but I did end up enjoying it. Prodigal Summer is an easier read, though. You might also like her book of essays that came out after 9/11. It's called, "Small Wonder".

Happy reading!

[Biscuits & Gravy]

I love Barbara Kingsolver, and was so excited to read The Lacuna because it felt like I had been waiting forever for her to write a new book. I could not get into it though, sounds like I'm not the only one. I think I've read The Poisonwood Bible about 10 times. I really liked Prodigal Summer, too.

[Annie Mac]

For me, The Poisonwood Bible really stood out among Kingsolver's books. I've read a number of them, but nothing quite hit the mark that TPB did. I did enjoy The Bean Trees though (not so much the follow up book) and tried, really tried, to read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I just couldn't get through it. I second the PP who suggested The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (aka Someone Knows my Name). Fantastic book! Also In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez might appeal. It's disturbing (and more or less true, which is even worse!) but very good. The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao also has a similar feel, imo, to all of these books. 

[tylerdylan]

Wow!  Thanks so much for all the great book suggestions!!  I have added them all to my "must read list" and look forward to each of them.

I'm also happy to hear that others agree with me on "The Lacuna" but that you liked Kingsolvers other books.  I won't hesitate to get my hands on each of her other books now :)

[littlecityfarmer]

Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorites, too. You might also really like Joanne Harris-- Chocolate is her best-known novel, but Five Quarters of the Orange has a similar theme of family dynamics to that of Poisonwood Bible.