I was given a copy of this book by a complete stranger with whom I had happened to strike up a conversation.  She handed it to me against my weak protestations, saying that in exchange for receiving the book, all she asked was that I pass it along to someone else once I had finished with it.  She also promised that it would change my life.  One of those two things came to pass; I'll let you guess which one.

I have never been a huge fan of Barbara Kingsolver.  For some reason her writing strikes me as the work of a hippie-er American version of Margaret Atwood.  (A writing style that her Wikipedia entry refers to as "ethereal."  I assume they mean it as a compliment; either way, it's very apt.)  Animal, Vegetable, Miracle did little to dispel this impression, and added in "weird quasi-religious bent" to boot.  Kingsolver strikes me as someone with her heart in the right place, but a bit of a pill nevertheless.  Dogmatic, committed to her cause, whatever that cause may be, and More Liberal And Holier Than Thou.

As I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I found myself feeling the way I do when I am bombarded by commercials for a product I already use.  Doesn't it seem like there should be an opt out button for those ads?  For example, I am a passionate and committed fan of Coke Zero, so I feel that I should not have to ever watch another Coke Zero ad ever again.  

I felt this way with Kingsolver's book with regards to Eric Schlosser, Michael Pollan, et all.  If you have already read, digested, and heartily agreed with Fast Food Nation, it seems unfair to have to sit through the finger wagging diatribes in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.  One thing that Schlosser and Pollan have over Kingsolver is that they don't take the high moral stance of finger wagging.  Kingsolver's accusatory tone is both misplaced and misguided, as well as being a complete turn off for the reader.  (This reader, anyway.)

However, I thoroughly enjoyed the first person passages, wherein Kingsolver recounts her experience of trying to live completely locally, seasonally, and as self-sufficiently as possible.  I can never get enough "city girl moves to the country" stories, probably because that is my story as well.  Any part of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which is written in the first person is outstanding, funny, and sympathetic.

Kingsolver isn't the sole author of the book, which leads us to the next complication.  She enlisted her entire family in the creation of the book, which is a very sweet thing for a mother to do.  Unfortunately, being either mother or spouse to your contributors may not be the best way to get the best results out of them.  In particular I'm thinking of the smug, self-satisfied passages from her college age nutritionist student daughter who asserts that her recipes are both delicious and healthy.  On the last count I cannot disagree, but I can definitely disagree with the first.  I whole-heartedly agree with trying to eat seasonally and locally, but her recipe for (e.g.) spring rolls is just terrible.

I couldn't put down Animal, Vegetable, Miracle fast enough, but clearly I'm in the minority.  Maybe it will change YOUR life.  You're welcome to my copy, at any rate!