Pigs in Heaven

by Barbara Kingsolver

Book Overview

Six-year-old Turtle Greer witnesses a freak accident at the Hoover Dam, leading to a man's dramatic rescue. But Turtle's moment of celebrity draws her into a crisis of historical proportions that will... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060922532
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: HarpPeren
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 5.3"

Customer Reviews

Eloquent sequel to The Bean Trees

Turtle, adopted Cherokee daughter of Taylor Greer, is the metaphorical baby in the King Solomon dilemma, a child wanted by two divisive forces. Kingsolver manages to show compassion and understanding for both sides of the issue: Indian lawyer Annawake Fourkiller, who insists that the child be returned to the Cherokee Nation on one side, pitted against Taylor, who has rescued the child from an abusive situation and wants to integrate her society at large, wrapped securely within her mother-love.Beautiful prose and superior descriptive abilities heighten one's appreciation of this superbly crafted story.

A joy to read

One, it's beautiful. This woman can write. From elegant descriptions to well-formed characters, nothing disappoints the mature reader. Two, it deserves a willing suspension of disbelief. So the plot is a bit unlikely; it doesn't matter. And I've lived long enough to know that it's only slightly unlikely that some of the strangers in this novel would prove to have connections. If a lyrical, meaningful, warm-hearted and provocative big story is what you crave, read this. Don't dismiss this as a woman's story, or a story about women who don't understand men. Although the male characters have smaller roles, they are very important, and very likeable. Kingsolver does a virtuoso trick of letting you see them through the eyes of flawed observers and yet rather more clearly. As for the negative reviews: You might also note that nearly all of those who didn't like this book commented on their own political divergence of opinion or were forced to read it for school. Who asked them about their politics? Who cares? As for the mewling high schoolers, too many of whom have a lot of trouble spelling, punctuating or matching cases, please realize that bathroom images are not an impressive metaphor for your opinion. Less emotion and more substance from both sets, please.