Such a must read! It’s very difficult to read, at times, but it’s a beautiful book. One of my first questions was why it was so different from Hillbilly Elegy, which I stopped reading after a few chapters. They both cover some of the worst aspects of Appalachia, but I think the salient differences are that 1) Barbara Kingsolver loves the place and the people, 2) she’s an excellent writer.

There are so many characters with key roles, but they’re fleshed out and nuanced enough that I felt like I’d met them. Even the most evil characters have some redeeming qualities.

I thought she did an excellent job showing the rural perspective of urban life. In addition I thought she did an excellent job of giving us insight into how addiction became such a big issue and the history of the Appalachian economy. It made me want to read something more in-depth about the history of the region.

It’s such a rich novel that I feel like I’ll need to read it again after a while.