Small Wonder [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Another irony that struck me was the unpleasant whiff of commercialism in packaging a collection of essays that seemed to capitalize on the events of 9-11 from someone who writes so eloquently about the soul-destroying aspects of rampant commercialism. While her writing is always a pleasure, her views seemed a tad simplistic at times. The 9-11 attacks were caused by global warming and multinational corporations -- nothing about US policies in the Middle East, religious fanaticism, and bad foreign policy in general. Homelessness can be solved by seeing that everyone has a home. (Having worked with several homeless people, I can testify that the solutions are just a tad more complicated than that.)

I was genuinely confused by her views on trade. If I buy food even from other parts of the United States is that a Bad Thing or a Good Thing? She points out that much of our food travels a long way to get to us -- conveniently ignoring the fact that people have sought goods from other lands for millenia -- but justifies her coffee because it is shade grown; I guess that cancels out the distance it is transported and the middlemen who also profit. And she rightly criticizes the big corporations who profit by using others and destroying land, but has nothing to say about the poor people in other lands who are using their little bit of commerce to feed their families.

She describes an encounter with several teachers who were nervous and afraid to come to work the day after the Columbine shootings. She is able to calm these silly gooses by pointing out that they are no more likely to die than any other day. But she herself is upset at 9-11, even though she doesn't live anywhere near the attacks, lost no one, and has no television. It just seems as though her feelings are genuine but others are shallow.

A final, personal quibble: I'd love to read something from a Southerner who doesn't have to point out that They Have Standards. I suppose that her comment about not being able to have company without doing some tidying because she is a Southerner was meant to be a little self-deprecatory humor, but the implication from her and others who keep doing this is that Other Folks are comfortable just sitting around in their underwear and throwing more trash onto the carpet. Believe it or not, other folks tidy up and invite people to dinner, can you imagine?

The essays in Small Wonder are depressing and serious for the most part. It starts with thoughts on September 11, 2001, and revives the theme often. While we were all obsessed with those events for some time, it was a bit jarring to return to that obsession almost three years later. Not that it isn't relevant or that we aren't obsessing about our current crisis, the Iraq War and its consequences. And not that these things aren't obsession-worthy. It was just that after the mainly upbeat and diverse essays of High Tide in Tucson, I found these dark and troubling essays tough going.

Don't get me wrong. I like Kingsolver's writing and I agree with nearly everything she says. I was just overwhelmed by the sadness and gravity of the subjects. I should have read the essays in shorter spurts. Instead I overdosed myself into a funk. Fortunately, a brisk walk to the nearby creek to check up on this spring's first batch of ducklings put things back into perspective.

I highly recommend High Tide in Tucson, and I recommend Small Wonder with a warning -- read in in small doses.

Also recommended: Jackson McCrae's "The Bark of the Dogwood."