Unsheltered A Novel
Unsheltered A Novel by Barbara Kingsolver is a thought-provoking narrative published by HarperCollins on October 16, 2018. This 480-page book explores the intertwining lives of two families across different centuries in Vineland, New Jersey, as they confront the challenges of their respective eras. The story delves into themes of resilience and compassion amid societal upheaval, highlighting the struggles of Willa Knox and her husband, who find themselves grappling with financial ruin and familial responsibilities, alongside the historical challenges faced by Thatcher Greenwood, a science teacher navigating the tensions of truth and societal expectations.
Readers will find a rich tapestry of characters and situations that reflect the complexities of life during turbulent times. The novel presents a dual narrative that connects past and present, illustrating how the characters’ experiences resonate with contemporary issues. Through the lens of fiction, Kingsolver invites readers to consider the impact of history on personal lives and the enduring human spirit in the face of adversity. Unsheltered offers a compelling exploration of the intersections between personal and historical narratives, making it a significant addition to the literary landscape.
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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.
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