Barbara Kingsolver

Willa Knox has always prided herself on being the embodiment of responsibility for her family. Which is why it's so unnerving that she's arrived at middle age with nothing to show for her hard work and dedication but a stack of unpaid bills and an inherited brick home in Vineland, New Jersey, that is literally falling apart. The magazine where she worked has folded, and the college where her husband had tenure has closed. The dilapidated house is also home to her ailing and cantankerous Greek father-in-law and her two grown children: her stubborn, free-spirited daughter, Tig, and her dutiful debt-ridden, ivy educated son, Zeke, who has arrived with his unplanned baby in the wake of a life-shattering development. In an act of desperation, Willa begins to investigate the history of her home, hoping that the local historical preservation society might take an interest and provide funding for its direly needed repairs. Through her research into Vineland's past and its creation as a Utopian community, she discovers a kindred spirit from the 1880s, Thatcher Greenwood.

Unsheltered

Sarah Sammis

DNF... too slow a plot. Too much time spent for characters debating current events.

Sian Wadey

Well a week late is better than not at all! This is the #abookandabeer most recent read and I must admit I did consider giving up a few times. I think being able to read big chunks in one go definitely helped. The story goes between modern day Willa and 19th century Thatcher Greenwood (fantastic name). I really felt for Willa and all of the agonising decisions she had to go through. Unfortunately, I think many people are going through her situation and watching events unravel and the problems spiral made my heart bleed. Thatcher's parts grew more interesting as his story unfolded, particularly the debate with Cutler. I found myself holding my breath. I was also fascinated to find that Vineland and Landis are all based in fact and will be doing some research of my own.
The reason this is 3 stars, is because of the dialogue. I understand that this novel is a commentary on politics, climate change, society, but the conversations had around the dining table were unbelievable, at least, in my own experience.

Clara Moore

This was not my favorite Kingsolver book. I think I maybe would have enjoyed it more if I was a mother. However her prose was beautiful and her chapter transitions, between time lines, was very lyrical and helped the story flow from past to present seamlessly.

Cindy Lieberman

3.5. This novel struck me as a thinly disguised way to discuss many of today’s most pressing social and political issues, including science (climate change; evolution), health (Medicare and the Affordable Care Act), racism, immigration, and how/why the current president rose to power. There were also discussions around the sharing economy, the focus on tenure at universities, parenting, and what makes a home. The novel alternates between two centuries, drawing interesting comparisons (and some surprising similarities) when it comes to human behavior and dogma. It was slow at times, and I was pleased to be able to listen to the audiobook at 1.5x speed for a good part of it. Some aspects of the novel will stay with me for a while, and I’m glad I read (listened to) it.

Jaime McLean

I just could not finish this audiobook. I liked the premise, but I think the pace of the audio was just too slow for me. I got fairly far into the nook, but I just never wanted to go back to it. 

Katja Evertz

New York Times bestseller An NPR pick for Best Books of 2018 An O, The Oprah Magazine's Best Book of 2018 A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of 2018 One of Christian Science Monitor's best fiction reads of 2018 One of Newsweek's Best Books of the year The 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 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.

A Novel

Allison Garber

Kylie Frazer

Catrin Ashton

Caitlin Hooker

David Pascuzzo

Michelle

Lexie 

Alexandra Sklar

BARBARA. KINGSOLVER

Meet Willa Knox, a woman who stands braced against a world which seems to hold little mercy for her and her family - or their old, crumbling house, falling down around them. Willa's two grown-up children, a new-born grandchild, and her ailing father-in-law have all moved in at a time when life seems at its most precarious. But when Willa discovers that a pioneering female scientist lived on the same street in the 1800s, could this historical connection be enough to save their home from ruin? And can Willa, despite the odds, keep her family together?

Unsheltered

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