Barbara Kingsolver

9 summariesLiterary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Spirituality

Barbara Kingsolver is a Pulitzer Prize winning American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the Congo in her early childhood. Kingsolver earned degrees in biology at DePauw University and the University of Arizona and worked as a freelance writer before she began writing novels. Her widely known works include The Poisonwood Bible, the tale of a missionary family in the Congo, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a non-fiction account of her family's attempts to eat locally.

Books by Barbara Kingsolver

9 books available

The Poisonwood Bible
Barbara Kingsolver
4.1 (659k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
A zealous missionary's rigid faith clashes with the Belgian Congo's wilderness and people, unraveling his family through the eyes of his five unforgettable women.
The Bean Trees
Barbara Kingsolver
4.0 (135k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
A Kentucky woman finds an unexpected family with a silent, traumatized Native American child, building a new life in the American West.
Prodigal Summer
Barbara Kingsolver
4.0 (98k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
In the wild heart of southern Appalachia, a biologist, a farmer's wife, and two feuding neighbors find their lives connected during one summer.
Flight Behavior
Barbara Kingsolver
3.8 (83k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
When a restless Appalachian farm wife discovers a valley filled with monarch butterflies, she faces scientific findings, religious views, and personal changes that challenge her beliefs about her life and the changing world.
Animal Dreams
Barbara Kingsolver
4.0 (64k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
A woman returns to her dying Arizona hometown, confronting a distant father, an environmental crisis, and a captivating Apache philosopher who challenges her to reclaim her dreams and identity.
The Lacuna
Barbara Kingsolver
3.8 (61k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
Between Frida Kahlo's Mexico and WWII America, Harrison Shepherd navigates a life shaped by art, revolution, and the space between personal truth and public perception.
Pigs in Heaven
Barbara Kingsolver
4.0 (57k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
After a heroic rescue at the Hoover Dam puts six-year-old Turtle and her adoptive mother Taylor in the national spotlight, their new fame sparks a custody battle over Turtle's Cherokee heritage, sending them on a journey to define family and belonging.
High Tide in Tucson
Barbara Kingsolver
4.0 (11k) average on GoodreadsLifestyle
Barbara Kingsolver, with the sharp eyes of a scientist and the lyrical voice of a poet, navigates family, community, and the natural world, all while relocating a desert tortoise named Buddy from Tucson to the Kentucky mountains.
Homeland and Other Stories
Barbara Kingsolver
3.8 (7k) average on GoodreadsLiterary Fiction
Kingsolver's collection turns everyday moments into profound explorations of the human spirit, focusing on love, resilience, and unexpected joys.