Animal, Vegetable, Miracle

A Year of Food Life

By: Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp

Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp

Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

When Barbara Kingsolver and her family move from suburban Arizona to rural Appalachia, they take on a new challenge: to spend a year on a locally-produced diet, paying close attention to the provenance of all they consume.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle follows the family through the first year of their experiment. They find themselves eager to move away from the typical food scenario of American families: a refrigerator packed with processed, factory-farmed foods transported long distances using nonrenewable fuels. In their search for another way to eat and live, they begin to recover what Kingsolver considers our nation's lost appreciation for farms and the natural processes of food production. Americans spend less of their income on food than has any culture in the history of the world, but they pay dearly in other ways: losing the flavors, diversity, and creative food cultures of earlier times. The environmental costs are also high, and the nutritional sacrifice is undeniable: on our modern industrial food supply, Americans are now raising the first generation of children to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

Part memoir and part journalistic investigation, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle makes a passionate case for putting the kitchen back at the center of family life and diversified farms at the center of the American diet.

©2007 Barbara Kingsolver (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Kingsolver has the ear of a journalist and the accuracy of a naturalist." (Publishers Weekly)

Lovely!

This book is fantastic. Kingsolver does an outstanding job of delivering this story with humor, much information, and most importantly, hope. I have a bit more time on the road and I might just re listen instead of starting my next book, it's so good!

Changed my relationship with food

What did you love best about Animal, Vegetable, Miracle?

I live in the same county as the authors and know many of the same farmers. It was enjoyable to read about their interactions at my local farmer's market and about attempts at cultivating many of the same crops I have tried to grow.

What other book might you compare Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to and why?

The Omnivore's Dilemma is the obvious comparison because of the subject matter but this book seemed much more personal to me. It is aptly subtitled as a memoir, for that is what it is.

Which scene was your favorite?

Picking the garden on the way out the door to vacation. Been there, done that.

One of my favorite books for years

One of my favorite books for years - I return to it every time I have to deal with big life upheaval. The narration is relaxing & cozy at 1.00, invigorating at 1.25. Kingsolver's research is on-point as always, and beautifully delivered. The autobiographical portions are poignant, funny, vulnerable, and encouraging. ♡♡♡

Buckle up for the guilt-trips!

I love Barbara Kingsolver, and I love so much about this book. However, you do have moments of feeling tremendous life guilt if you:
A-do not live on a farm and grow your own food
B-do not have the means to buy a farm and revolutionize your current lifestyle
C-do have a veggie garden but bought your seeds and plants from (gasp) The Home Depot
D-listen to this book while waiting in a drive-thru line.

Eye opening

I really enjoyed listening to this book. I'm actually glad that I listened to it instead of reading it--I think listening forced me to slow down and really absorb everything the book says (I tend to read pretty fast). The juxtaposition of the different voices of the authors (Barbara K., Stephen H. and Camille K.) worked very nicely. Some of the points do get repeated a bit throughout the book, which did get a little annoying. However, that did not interfere with my enjoyment.

The book struck such a chord with me. When I was a child, there wasn't so much transportation of produce and I do remember how excited my mother would get when certain things came "in season." This book really brought all that back. I wish I had read this book in August or July, instead of November! I also appreciated the insight into the corporate food industry. The book makes me want to investigate further.

Started out good; but then let me down

I really liked the way the book began; chronicling the year of local food and discussion of the food industry in this country. I started to lose it, however, when she went into making their own cheese and then the tours of some small farmers' operations. It started to get too preachy and seemed to prattle on without the realization that most readers would not be interested in making their own cheese (or sausage or whatever), and she just kept going on about it. Also had a touch of one of the "simple life" books which I have enjoyed in the past, it is true, but I don't expect here because she is a best selling author and presumably well off. I thought the "asides" by the daughter were absolutely not necessary and preachy as well and I have a hard time being preached to by a girl in her teens or early twenties.

Refreshing

This was one of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to. I was so inspired by this book! If we could all follow this path, just think what our future would look like. This is also one of the rare times when the author is the BEST person to narrate. Thank you!

excellent

i can only hope that a trend begins where everyone who reads this book recommends it to ten friends.

interesting book

made me think about our food and where it comes from.

amazing read

This book was awesome. Made me want to go dig in the dirt, plant all kinds of vegetable gardens in my yard, start going to Farmer's Markets, raise chickens, make my own cheese, and never buy meat from commercial farmers again. I have always admired Barbara Kingsolver, but this book gave me insight into her family's resolve to live according to their principles and to make a positive impact on their health and the earth. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to connect with the earth and make positive changes for their families.