A timely novel that interweaves past and present to explore the human capacity for resiliency and compassion in times of great upheaval.
Willa Knox has always prided herself on being the embodiment of responsibility for her family. Which is why it’s so unnerving that she’s arrived at middle age with nothing to show for her hard work and dedication but a stack of unpaid bills and an inherited brick home in Vineland, New Jersey, that is literally falling apart. The magazine where she worked has folded, and the college where her husband had tenure has closed. The dilapidated house is also home to her ailing and cantankerous Greek father-in-law and her two grown children: her stubborn, free-spirited daughter, Tig, and her dutiful debt-ridden, ivy educated son, Zeke, who has arrived with his unplanned baby in the wake of a life-shattering development.
In an act of desperation, Willa begins to investigate the history of her home, hoping that the local historical preservation society might take an interest and provide funding for its direly needed repairs. Through her research into Vineland’s past and its creation as a Utopian community, she discovers a kindred spirit from the 1880s, Thatcher Greenwood.
A science teacher with a lifelong passion for honest investigation, Thatcher finds himself under siege in his community for telling the truth: his employer forbids him to speak of the exciting new theory recently published by Charles Darwin. Thatcher’s friendships with a brilliant woman scientist and a renegade newspaper editor draw him into a vendetta with the town’s most powerful men. At home, his new wife and status-conscious mother-in-law bristle at the risk of scandal, and dismiss his financial worries and the news that their elegant house is structurally unsound.
Unsheltered is the story of two families, in two centuries, who live at the corner of Sixth and Plum, as they navigate the challenges of surviving a world in the throes of major cultural shifts. In this mesmerizing story told in alternating chapters, Willa and Thatcher come to realize that though the future is uncertain, even unnerving, shelter can be found in the bonds of kindred—whether family or friends—and in the strength of the human spirit. ( Goodreads )
Don't compare this to Poisonwood Bible. It's like comparing the apples with bread. While Poisonwood Bible is a sublime novel, and it does make Unsheltered feel less substantial and even a bit shallow, Unsheltered is a good novel in its own way.
If this one had been written by someone other than Barbara Kingsolver, reviews probably would've been different, slightly better, but one can't help to compare this to other work. Certain authors enable certain expectations.
That said, I did enjoy this novel. It's set in our time, during the Trump legislation, which is delved into on more than one occasion (to the end getting a bit on my nerves, since I'm from Europe and we didn't elect that madman).
More importantly, the theme of this novel got under my skin. The notion of slowly and surely building a future for yourself and your family, only for it to be swiped away without any notice is actually one of my recurrent nightmares. SO I definitely could relate with Willa's panic attacks. But it's more than only the loss of things, because in the heart of the novel it's actually about reconnecting with family and friends. The clash between the materialistic and emotional connections is fought on these pages.
Not a novel for everyone, but if you're an avid reader as myself I think you'd find a merit or two in the depths of this story.
