I’ve continued my somewhat unintentional foray into reading food literature with my most recently finished book, Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (352 pages).  Her memoir follows her family’s year-long experiment of eating only local vegetables, fruits, and meat products.  It is interspersed with environmental science and nutrition and culinary sidebars from her husband Steven L. Hopp and daughter Camille Kingsolver, respectively.

I feel conflicted about this book.  I have been a huge fan of Kingsolver’s since I was a teenager, and in this book, she has continued her lushly lyrical and descriptive style.  She won me over with descriptions of bountiful vegetable harvests and comical turkey mating.  (Really, I look at birds a whole lot differently now.)  I was also impressed with the way her family jumped into this experiment, and resourcefully planned for their eating needs without a dependence on big grocery stores or restaurants. 

However, there are times when Kingsolver lectures a bit too much.  Especially in the beginning, I felt like I was sitting in Fossil Fuels 101 or Introduction to Industrial Farming Practices. Perhaps I am slightly more educated on these matters than the average reader after working at a culinary school for three years.  (I’ve read a lot of term papers on just these issues.)  For me, these forays into informative style disrupted the narrative of the story, especially since we already had sidebars on these very topics. 

Depsite these feelings, Kingsolver’s story won out and I burned through this book very quickly.  Besides, I think her lecturing might have worked. If we can secure it,  my husband and I are going to buy a Community Supported Agriculture share in a local farm.  

Total For 2008: 2702 pages
Genres: Memoir (3), Essay (1), Graphic Novel (1), Non-Fiction (2), Poetry (3), Comic Book Anthology (1)