Author Analysis: Barbara Kingsolver

A two-fer for you all today! I was re-reading some of the other writings I've done this semester and I thought I would share this piece outlining the writing of one of my favorite authors. This was one of the first assignments for my Outdoor Writing class. Enjoy!

Author Analysis: Barbara Kingsolver

            The first time I can recall seeing the name Barbara Kingsolver, I was about fifteen. I was perusing my aunt and uncle’s bookshelves, as I often did while at their house. There was always something new. I can’t say for sure what drew me to Kingsolver’s book. It must have been that it was a new book on the shelf at the time. Whatever it was, I’m glad for it. 

From the moment I first picked up The Poisonwood Bible, I knew I was hooked. Through this novel, I was introduced into a fictitious world inspired by very true political, social, and religious upheaval facing the African Congo in the early 1960s. The evolution of each character throughout the book was contagious. While this novel was a far cry from anything considered outdoor writing, Kingsolver’s ability to draw me into the story was so great that I was greedy for more of her writing.

And what a treat all of her writing has been thus far! Since that first novel, I have steadily worked my way through most of Barbara Kingsolver’s work to date, with a few exceptions of a couple works I’ve been unable to get my hands on. I’m not really sure I can pinpoint exactly what I find so enticing about Kingsolver’s writing. It is a mixture of thoughts and ideas that are simple, yet complex. A mixture of thoughts and ideas that are reflective, yet provocative. There is a frank and raw sense of wonder driven into the language she with which she writes, which ultimately makes it difficult to shy away from. 

It leaves me hungry for more. 

Kingsolver’s initial training as an ecologist and biologist have not escaped her in her literary path. As an individual studying biology myself, I am drawn to her ability to weave biological and ecological principles through her storytelling, whether fiction or non-fiction. These principles are woven into her writing either directly in the case of Prodigal Summer (fiction) and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (non-fiction) or indirectly in Animal Dreams (fiction) or Small Wonder (non-fiction essay collection). In both instances, readers of Barbara Kingsolver are enveloped and educated through narratives infused with underlying biological and ecological themes. 

Kingsolver stated once in an interview I came across, that she worries about scientific illiteracy in our country and that this was where Prodigal Summer was born from. She aimed to bridge this gap by writing a novel shrouded in basic biological concepts from speciation and natural selection to keystone predators and genetic diversity, translating austere scientific jargon into an easy-to-read novel. A casual reader probably would not have guessed that. They would have thought it was a simple story of spring and summer time, not that it was really trying to describe nature in its prime or man’s ongoing feud with it. Even the title of the book is suggestive of its contents. Prodigal in Kingsolver’s mind was not about returning home. Rather, it is a succinct word for all that nature is in its height: “recklessly productive, prolific, lavish, wastefully extravagant” to quote Kingsolver.

I am currently working my way through Small Wonder. In reading these essays, I cannot help but feel there is flair reminiscent of Rachel Carson emanating through Kingsolver’s words. Each essay is poignant and full of a sense of hope. These essays were written just after the September 11^th attacks when hope was in full swing, not only for man, but also for the environment in which we live. They aim to remind readers that beauty still exists in a world that has been irrevocably scarred. 

I think this is what I like most about Kingsolver’s writing overall. She is an exquisite weaver of stories and narratives, both fictional and non-fictional. No matter how strong or ill-fated her subject is, there is always a positive sense of hope ringing through.

And I am left feeling content.