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Animal Dreams  By  cover art

Animal Dreams

By: Barbara Kingsolver
Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
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Publisher's summary

From Barbara Kingsolver, the acclaimed author of Flight Behavior, The Lacuna, The Bean Trees, and other modern classics, Animal Dreams is a passionate and complex novel about love, forgiveness, and one woman's struggle to find her place in the world.

At the end of her rope, Codi Noline returns to her Arizona home to face her ailing father, with whom she has a difficult, distant relationship. There she meets handsome Apache trainman Loyd Peregrina, who tells her, "If you want sweet dreams, you've got to live a sweet life."

Filled with lyrical writing, Native American legends, a tender love story, and Codi's quest for identity, Animal Dreams is literary fiction at its very best.

©1990 Barbara Kingsolver (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Animal Dreams

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

She reads my heart

Yes, this author has magic words. And she is this reader’s modern Rachel Carson. But she is so much more than that: her stories ring true enough to have real meaning. Her ability to read is nearly unsurpassed in my experience, and her soft quiet demeanor gives hours and hours of relaxed listening pleasure. This particular story was very meaningful to me, having had these experiences with my own sister. Thank you for this story.

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28 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful

I’ve waited for several years to have Barbra Kingsolver read this book to me. It was worth the wait.
Thank you!

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20 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best fiction novel I have read this year.

This story includes elements of science, medicine, art, family, romance, environmentalism, politics, personal trauma, race all woven into one story. And the writer is so poetic. She uses beautiful language. Highly recommend.

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17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A languid story, not for everyone

Hmmm...This is a meandering story that from time to time missed the mark. Are my expectations clichéd if I want something to happen? Kingsolver has great writing ability, but her beautiful micro vignettes could not compensate for the languid pacing and lack of focus.
I don’t typically like it when the book’s author does the reading and this book was no exception. In fact, I had to increased the speed to 1.25.
Some will undoubtedly love this book, but I yawned just about the whole way through.

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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My favorite novel by Kingsolver

I enjoyed revisiting it in audio format. Barbara Kingsolver is both a fantastic reader and a moving writer. What a treat! I’d give more than five stars if I could.

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A gem reborn

This book has been on my reading list for many years but forgotten again and again. In this audiobook Barbara Kingsolver narrates her own writing. She is simply awesome, a writer of literature and a voice that keeps the life lessons alive and as true today as when Animal Dreams was first published in 1990.

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12 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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1.25 narration speed

This was a wonderful book! I almost gave up on it in the first couple chapters as the narration was grinding. I set the narration speed to 1.25 and it changed everything!

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Involving sometimes nearly magical story Nearly ruined by narration.

This is my first book by this author who I have been meaning to read for years. Unfortunately, it appears she narrates all of her audiobooks which is really going to put me off any further books She has a remarkable skill with prose and Storytelling, beautiful imagery and compelling characters, but she needs to realize there are other people who can read it better than she can.

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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wow

she has become my favorite author. The stories are complex and nature is always important

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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A Complex and Sweet Story

I knew that Barbara Kingsolver was a great story teller when I listened to “The Bean Tree” (and I’ve re-listened to that story many times)!
Animal Dreams is another story that I will listen to many times. The plot, while at first seeming disjointed, is simply a matter of the author’s gift of weaving many stories together then masterfully creating one complete story!
I enjoyed this book and recommend it highly!

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5 people found this helpful