Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver

 

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber; Main edition (18 Oct. 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571346987
• ISBN-13: 978-0571346981

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

2016 Vineland
Meet Willa Knox, a woman who stands braced against an upended world that seems to hold no mercy for her shattered life and family – or the crumbling house that contains her.

1871 Vineland
Thatcher Greenwood, the new science teacher, is a fervent advocate of the work of Charles Darwin, and he is keen to communicate his ideas to his students. But those in power in Thatcher’s small town have no desire for a new world order. Thatcher and his teachings are not welcome.

Both Willa and Thatcher resist the prevailing logic. Both are asked to pay a high price for their courage. But both also find inspiration — and an unlikely kindred spirit — in Mary Treat, a scientist, adventurer and anachronism.

A testament to both the resilience and persistent myopia of the human condition, Unsheltered explores the foundations we build in life, spanning time and place to give us all a clearer look at those around us, and perhaps ourselves. It is a novel that speaks truly to our times.

 

Review

I have been a huge fan of Barbara Kingsolver since reading The PoisonWood Bible a few years ago, so was very excited to be given the chance to review this new novel by Faber and Faber.  Unsheltered is split between present day and 1870, the common denominator being the house at Seven Forty Four East Plum in Vineland.  In the present Willa and her husband moves into the house with their adult daughter Tig and invalid father in law Nick, after her husband gets a teaching job, .  In 1871 Thatcher Greenwood has moved into Plum Street after marrying Rose.  The house had belonged  to her father but after his death her mother had to rent the house out as she couldn’t afford to stay there.  Now, the marriage has meant that Rose, her mother and sister Polly can all move back.  There maybe one hundred and forty five years separating Willa and Thatcher living on East and Plum Street, but they both face similar issues of expectations, politics, moral and ethical dilemmas.

As in her previous novels, Barbara Kingsolver deals head on the important issues of society at the period she is writing of.  In 1871, Thatcher is a scientist, a follower of Darwin but in a town that is still in the past and teaching in a school where Darwin’s studies are seen as blasphemy and that the bible has all the answers.  Thatcher also needs to bring his family into the present as their home is crumbling but his wife and mother in law won’t have anything changed as it was Rose’s father who built the house.  In the present Willa is having similar problems with the house, it is falling about around her ears and they don’t have the money to fix it or for much else in life.  Willa and her husband Iano are from a generation where they expected to be better off in their older years, both having had good careers, their children having left home and be doing well for themselves, not still having no money and being in a house that is falling down so much so they are sleeping in one room downstairs with their twenty six year old daughter and their baby grandson. Unsheltered  is very much about dissatisfaction with life, and the problem humans have in  looking backwards rather than looking forwards and adapting to the climate and situation you are living in.

Not one to shy away from difficult and political issues, Barbara Kingsolver deals with Obamacare in America, and how it is not well received by all, and in Nick’s case, Willa’s father in  law, he refuses to have anything to do with it due to prejudice.  The complexity of medical insurance is also explored and really makes me appreciate the free NHS we have access to in the UK. There is also a political character running for president very much in the mould of Donald Trump, and there are many discussions between Nick, Willa and Tig as to the political situation in America and the dissatisfaction of White Americans with their country.

Barbara Kingsolver is a wonderful and lyrical writer that has a great understanding of the human condition and the world around her.  Science plays a big part in her books and her look at the emergence of Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species and its reception is fascinating.  The idea that people put more faith in the bible than what had been proved by science, and the debates within the narrative make this an interesting and erudite read. In the present there is much discussion on climate change and plastic waste that need to be addressed to save our future. The characters in the present, could be any family in middle class America, all very different, with different feelings and attitudes to life that can cause conflict and arguments.  In the past, Thatcher has the same issues with his family, being from a different background to his wife and feeling he is falling short of their expectations, rather like Willa in the present. The metaphor at the forefront of this novel is that expectations can crumble around you like a house, thus leaving you ‘unsheltered’.

As expected Unsheltered is a wonderfully erudite and engaging read.  Barbara Kingsolver is remarkable in her ability to convey and understand the human psyche and emotions, and in her perspective of the society we live in.  The combination of history, science and her skilful story telling make this a compelling and pleasurable read; simply sublime.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my review of Unsheltered.  If you liked my review I hope you will subscribe by email to my blog or follow me on social media.  I appreciate all your comments, likes and follows.