Small Wonder: Essays

“Soulful and soul searching. . . a passionate invitation to readers to be part of the crowd that cares about the environment, peace, and family.”—San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

In this moving essay collection, the acclaimed author of bestselling works such as Demon Copperhead and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, raises her voice in praise of nature, family, literature, and the joys of everyday life while examining the genesis of war, violence, and poverty in our world.

Whether Barbara Kingsolver is contemplating the Grand Canyon, her vegetable garden, motherhood, genetic engineering, or the future of a nation founded on the best of all human impulses, her writings are grounded in the belief that our largest problems have grown from the earth's remotest corners as well as our own backyards, and that answers may lie in both those places.

Sometimes grave, occasionally hilarious, and ultimately persuasive, Small Wonder is a hopeful examination of the people we seem to be, and what we might yet make of ourselves.

In her new essay collection, the beloved author of High Tide in Tucson brings to us out of one of history's darker moments an extended love song to the world we still have. From its opening parable gleaned from recent news about a lost child saved in an astonishing way, the book moves on to consider a world of surprising and hopeful prospects, ranging from an inventive conservation scheme in a remote jungle to the backyard flock of chickens tended by the author's small daughter.

Whether she is contemplating the Grand Canyon, her vegetable garden, motherhood, adolescence, genetic engineering, TV-watching, the history of civil rights, or the future of a nation founded on the best of all human impulses, these essays are grounded in the author's belief that our largest problems have grown from the earth's remotest corners as well as our own backyards, and that answers may lie in those places, too. In the voice Kingsolver's readers have come to rely on—sometimes grave, occasionally hilarious, and ultimately persuasive—Small Wonder is a hopeful examination of the people we seem to be, and what we might yet make of ourselves.

“This book of essays by Barbara Kingsolver is like a visit from a cherished old friend.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Soulful and soul searching. . . a passionate invitation to readers to be part of the crowd that cares about the environment, peace and family. . . a tantalizing peek into Kingsolver’s world.” - San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

“Essays … [of] great skill and wisdom.” - Booklist

“Observant, imaginative, and both lucid and impassioned.” - Book Magazine

“Brave … a book of conscience [and] the voice of reason we all need to hear.” - Winston-Salem Journal

“The acclaimed novelist’s extraordinary powers of observation and understanding of character serve her beautifully in this collection of essays.” - Entertainment Weekly

“A delightful, challenging, and wonderfully informative book.” - San Francisco Chronicle