Homeland (1998) By Barbara Kingsolver - Fiction

Kingsolver brings her resilient and charming characters to life with plenty of biting irony and well-crafted plots.

In this collection of short stories Barbara Kingsolver displays her striking ability to create witty, down to earth, and admirable characters. This is the third book I’ve read of hers and in each one I can't help but root for her go-getter protagonists–most of whom are working class women. In Homeland they range from young girls through middle-aged women, and the settings expand from Northern California, small Kentucky towns, and the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. Kingsolver tends to stick to rural areas and hones in on domestic issues like struggling marriages, surviving single parenthood, working with societal outcasts, and dealing with seemingly psychotic family members. Homeland shines with wisdom and humor as Kingsolver perfectly captures challenges common to blue collar women and single mothers in particular. Like in “Quality Time” where single mother, Miriam, reflects on how her young daughter conceptualizes the idea of family, “It is only lately, since she’s learned to count, that Lute’s [the ex-husband] absence matters to Rennie. On the Disney Channel parents come in even numbers” (67).

There are a few stories that expand beyond domestic themes like in “Jump-up Day” where the feisty protagonist gets mixed up with a local medicine man and dives in far over her head with a traditional medicinal experience. And the story “Why I Am a Danger to the Public” is about a no-nonsense single mother who fights for her rights as a copper mine worker by exposing the discrepancies of her employer and even her union. Of all the stories it’s the one that has the broadest sociopolitical applications. Every story is full of wit and a special distinctive sensitivity towards its characters.

With stories mostly about domestic issues Homeland will likely attract adult readers who already have a breadth of life experiences. Take for example “Stone Bridges” where the middle-aged female protagonist is having an affair. Unless his/her parents committed such an act it would be hard for a teen reader to relate this story. Cheating on your high school sweetheart is not the same thing as the failure of a previously devoted marriage. Or take the story “Quality Time” again where the protagonist, Miriam, agonizes about avoiding tragedies like car accidents and how she can build a stronger relationship with her daughter. Again, these are things that an adult parent with more life experience could connect with easier than a teen reader. One exception is “Rose-Johnny” which I actually first encountered in a Young Adult literature anthology. Georgeann is a young girl who learns about gender role expectations by working with Rose-Johnny who “wore a man’s haircut and terrified little children” (203). Kingsolver is too classy to describe her as butch, but if the boot fits, and in fact it does since Rose-Johnny wears men's boots.

Homeland is not escapist literature. While it’s themes and characters may feel quite relatable to get the most out of Kingsolver’s stories you need to read them intentionally. Short stories are notoriously difficult to write, and sometimes to read. You only have about 10 to 20 pages to fit a lot in–setting, tone, character development, a story arc, and some sort of theme or overall idea. Kingsolver does all this with poise. Through description she drops nuggets of wisdom, however, she mostly allows the dialogue, shifting tones, and biting irony to propel the story’s main ideas. Her use of irony is worth mentioning because it’s sure to make you cringe and chuckle simultaneously. Take the opening lines of “Extinctions” for example, “It may already be too late for the pandas, the man on TV says. When Westerners first discovered them they were so fascinated they just couldn’t kill enough...and the best efforts of science can’t seem to bring them back” (168). Kingsolver’s artistry shines here because an astute reader will connect these comical tidbits to the overarching development of the characters.

Most of the stories are written from a first or close third person perspective which invites readers to walk alongside these women. Some stories are quite clear in their themes like in “Blue Prints” about a young married couple who struggle in their move from a city to a minuscule one stoplight town. The protagonist Lydia thinks, “It’s frightening...how when the going gets rough you fall back on whatever awful thing you grew up with” (29). Lydia and her husband wrestle with how to rekindle their marriage despite the stresses of rural living. Other stories, however, are more subtle, like “Stone Dreams,” where I don’t think I fully grasped the protagonist's epiphany. This is likely not because of lackluster writing, but my subpar skills in comprehending the subtleties of being a woman (my wife helped me edit that sentence).

Homeland reminds me of movies like Erin Brockovich (2000), Pursuit of Happiness (2006), North Country (2005), and “...first do no harm” (1997) all of which have resilient characters fighting against tough odds. Kingsolver is unbeatable in wittiness and she gives her characters distinct rough edges while maintaining their endearing tenderness. Homeland is sure to make you ponder some of life’s toughest challenges, but you’ll also be carried safely through them by the resilient charm of the characters.

If you want to read a full length novel by Kingsolver that contains similar female lead characters I suggest you check out Beans Trees and its sequel Pigs in Heaven.

Highest Score - 5 Trophies

Writing: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Readability: 🏆🏆🏆

Plot: 🏆🏆🏆🏆

Characters: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Overall: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

January 14, 2020