• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Heavy Petal

Gardening for everyone

  • About
  • Journal
  • Small-Space Vegetable Gardens
You are here: Home / Green Gardening & Living / Book review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

Book review: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver

January 8, 2008 by Andrea Bellamy 6 Comments

animal vegetable miracle.jpgI just finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Subtitled “A Year of Food Life,” it’s a personal account of back-to-the-land living crossed with an inquiry into the (big) business of food. It’s not a new book (it came out last spring), nor is it a new concept. But whether Kingsolver’s arguments for eating locally are old hat or big news to you, this is one compelling read.

On one hand, it’s an account of how one family spent one year with the aim of getting their food “so close to home, [they’d] know the person who grew it.” Often, Kingsolver writes, “that turned out to be us.”

On the other hand, the family narrative is interspersed with an examination of corporate agriculture, the impending food crisis, oil dependency, and the effects of each on our planet, our children and communities. Sound heavy? Well… it is, but Kingsolver manages to take such weighty topics and make them not only relevant but digestible. And she provides steps everyone can take to improve the situation, even if you’re not planning to grow your own food.  

As a gardener, I loved the way the author organized the book around the calendar, which, because the Kingsolver family was living so closely in tune with nature, echoes the growing cycle – from asparagus in April to (frozen) zucchini the next March. I learned a lot that I’ll apply to my vegetable growing (without feeling like I just read a book on crop rotation or seed starting). I think Barbara would like that.

For recipes and more, visit the Animal, Vegetable, Miracle website.  

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailBook review: Tulipomania by Mike Dash Default ThumbnailPet worms for sale Default ThumbnailThe Hundred Mile Diet Default ThumbnailEdible forest gardens

Filed Under: Green Gardening & Living, Inspiration Tagged With: 100 mile diet, animal vegetable miracle, barbara kingsolver, eating locally, food crisis, food security, kingsolver, local eating, locavore

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Colleen says

    January 9, 2008 at 3:23 am

    Great review, Andrea–thanks! This one’s been on my reading list for a while—I’ll have to pick up a copy next time I’m at the bookstore.

  2. robin says

    January 9, 2008 at 10:03 am

    it was in my top 3 non-fiction for 2007!

  3. blake says

    January 10, 2008 at 8:32 pm

    Yes! Loved this book, read it last year. I think of it so often, and I am sure I decided to start growing my own veggies because of it. It’s one of those books you’re sad to put down when it’s done.

  4. Andrea says

    January 11, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    Colleen – do pick it up. You won’t regret it. And let us know what you think of it!

    Robin – I saw that on your blog. You have good taste, my friend ;)

    Blake – I have a feeling it will have that kind of lasting effect on me too.

  5. Mandy Scott says

    January 28, 2008 at 8:51 pm

    I read the piece about your blog in Sunset and rushed to check it out.

    I truly think Animal, Vegetable, Miracle changed my life. Since I read it, I have started baking my own bread, prepared a giant garden for the spring, started my search for canning supplies and have tried very hard to eat locally and organic when possible. Another book you should check out is The Ominvore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. It is a bit more dense, but accessible and man, have I learned a lot.

    Mandy

  6. Andrea Bellamy says

    January 29, 2008 at 11:32 am

    Great to hear from you, Mandy. I think you’re onto something: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle is a life-changing book for many people. Since I’ve read it, I’ve also tried to eat locally and organically as much as possible (it’s definitely easier to eat organic than it is to find local produce this time of year, but the book made that point, too – you have to prepare for the winter months!). I’ve also done a lot more cooking, and tried my hand at canning. Now you’ve inspired me to jump into the bread-making thing, too! Thanks for the tip on the Omnivore’s Dilemma – I’ve heard a lot about that book, so I guess it’s time to check it out.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

My latest book

The bright, illustrated cover of Small-Space Vegetable Gardens
Small-Space Vegetable Gardens by Andrea Bellamy

newsletter

Subscribe to receive occasional email updates (I promise never to spam you!)

Reader Favourites

Round, cookie-dough-like balls of clay and seed

How to make seed balls

Colourful quinoa plants in bloom

Would you grow your own grains?

This proves it. Chickens are hot.

Categories

  • Annuals
  • Blogging
  • Bulbs and Tubers
  • Composting
  • Critters and wildlife
  • Events
  • Garden Design
  • Garden Tours
  • Gardens to Visit
  • Green Gardening & Living
  • Holiday
  • How To
  • Indoors
  • Inspiration
  • Miscellaneous
  • My garden
  • Outdoor Living
  • Pacific Northwest
  • Perennials
  • Ponds & Water Gardening
  • Raving and Whining
  • Resistance is fertile
  • Resources
  • Retail Therapy
  • Shrubs & Trees
  • Small-Space Vegetable Gardens
  • Sugar Snaps and Strawberries
  • Uncategorized
  • Veggies & Edibles
  • WTF?
  • Home
  • About

Copyright © 2023 · Infinity Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in