Mini Review: Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

I finished my second book and second 5 star read of 2021! This was my very first Barabara Kingsolver book, and I can now understand the praise her books and writing receive!

I started this book one night and finished it the next. I normally read very few contemporary fiction, but Animal Dreams totally captured my interest.

This is a beautiful and evocative book about a woman finding herself and purpose.

Codi is a young woman with a not quite finished medical degree, who never can settle in one place for too long or commit to being fully known by others or herself. She isn’t sure of who she is, or what she wants to do in life.

When her younger, more confident and adventurous sister sets off for Nicaragua, Codi returns to her small hometown in Arizona, and struggles to reconnect with her distant doctor father, who has been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

The majority of this book is in Codi’s perspective, with brief chapters in her father’s, and I loved this added element to the story.

This is a beautiful exploration of character development, full of rich prose and gorgeous descriptions of the landscapes. I’m looking forward to reading more by this author!

This review is also on my Goodreads and Instagram.