Pigs in Heaven [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

For what's hoped to be a ``break-out book,'' a greatly gifted storyteller returns to the characters and settings of her celebrated first novel (The Bean Trees, 1987). Kingsolver previously tracked plucky ex-Kentuckian Taylor Greer as she made her way west to Tucson, struggling to earn a living and to deal with the frightened, wounded toddler Turtle, who had been abandoned in Taylor's care in Oklahoma. Now it's three years later. Settled Tucsoners Taylor and Turtle are on vacation at the Hoover Dam when six-year-old Turtle witnesses an accident--a retarded man has fallen into a spillway. When the man is rescued, Turtle becomes a celebrity--which brings self-confidence but also the attention of Cherokee Nation authorities in Heaven, Oklahoma- -especially that of Indian-activist lawyer Annawake Fourkiller, who recognizes Turtle as a missing Cherokee child called Lacey Stillwater; Lacey, it turns out, is the daughter of a deceased Cherokee woman whose alcoholic sister's abusive boyfriend broke both of Turtle's arms before the sister and boyfriend ditched her and disappeared. When Fourkiller pays an ominous visit to Taylor, whose adoption of Turtle may have been illegal, Taylor packs up the child and goes on the lam. As their flight becomes more punishing, Turtle regresses severely. Meanwhile, Taylor's spirited mother Alice Greer, remembering she has a Cherokee cousin in the town of Heaven, pays a visit, snoops around, and falls in love--with Cash Stillwater, Lacey/Turtle's grandfather and only living relative. Soon Taylor (no mother, not even those in the Indian myth of the odd title, is more loving) shows up to spare Turtle the trials of flight. All will be amicably, hilariously, and heartwarmingly settled to everybody's satisfaction. Not the truly wonderful book it might have been--characters who seem important disappear; carefully marked trails turn out to be merely picaresque, leading nowhere--but a terrific read nonetheless. (First printing of 100,000) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

It takes an insightful writer like Kingsolver ( Animal Dreams , LJ 8/1/90) to tackle the complicated, emotional issue of dysfunctional families, but she does it well (again), making this development of characters first introduced in The Bean Trees ( LJ 2/1/88) as enjoyable to read as its predecessor--and better. Taylor Greer and her kindergarten-aged adopted daughter, Turtle, unwittingly place themselves at the center of a controversy involving Turtle's Native American heritage. Their love for each other--an unspoken, unquestioning bond--helps them cope with family, friends, and lovers as they try to tie the loose ends of their lives into a strong, tidy knot. Maybe this novel will help readers understand the meaning of life or simply provide them with some good entertainment. But as Kingsolver brilliantly reveals from the first pages of this novel, the answers to our questions aren't delivered easily but must come from the heart. Recommended for all general collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/93.
- Marlene McCormack-Lee, Reedsport Branch Lib., Ore.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

YA-When a young Cherokee tribal lawyer comes to the door to claim Taylor's illegally adopted Indian daughter, the white woman must face the fact that her stable life is about to be torn apart. The story follows her and six-year-old Turtle across the West as they flee from the threat of separation and exist on minimum-wage earnings. Meanwhile, Taylor's mother, Alice, leaves her second husband and goes to stay with her cousin in Heaven, Oklahoma. There she meets Cash, a full-blooded Cherokee, who has been living outside the reservation, but yearns to return to his roots. The richness of Indian tribal life is seen through the eyes of Cash, Alice, and Annawake Fourkiller, the lawyer. There are some wonderful scenes revealing Cherokee customs and lifestyles. The stories of the different characters are woven together with humor and sensitivity. When Taylor and Turtle come to the reservation to face their future, readers will feel the adoptive mother's helplessness as she admits that she, too, might have let the child down. The characters are ordinary, yet noble and memorable, and the ending is just and gratifying. The issue of Indian children being adopted outside the tribe is addressed with respect from all sides.
Penny Stevens, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. -- Dieser Text bezieht sich auf eine vergriffene oder nicht verfügbare Ausgabe dieses Titels.

Im Mittelpunkt des Romans steht die sechsjährige Turtle Greer, die einen furchtbaren Unfall beobachtet. Schnelle Reaktion, ihre Beharrlichkeit und das Vertrauen ihrer Mutter in sie, führen schlußendlich zur Rettung des Verunglückten. Aber damit beginnen Turtles Probleme erst. Der Wirbel um ihre Person hat für Mutter und Tochter Konsequenzen ungeahnten Ausmaßes. Ihr Leben und das derer, die mit ihnen in Berührung kommen, beginnt sich auf wundersame Art zu verändern. "A novel full of miracles" (Newsweek)

Barbara Kingsolver wurde 1955 geboren und wuchs in Kentucky auf. Als Achtjährige nahmen ihre Eltern sie für ein Jahr mit in den Kongo. Sie studierte Biologie und arbeitete in verschiedenen Berufen, bevor sie zu schreiben begann. Heute lebt sie mit ihrer Familie in den Bergen von Tucson, Arizona.