All over Creation

An emotional journey

When I began reading this book I wasn't sure if I would really enjoy it or not. As I got deeper into the story, it evolved into an emotional journey from a young girl and her severed relationship with her parents to one of reconciliation and forgivness. It also takes you through the emotional turmoil she went through while trying to reconnect and after she reconnected with them and the heartbreak of dealing with 2 very ill parents.

I have to say if you don't find the book interesting when you first start to stick with it because it is quite a journey this young girl who becomes a women and single mother goes through.

The Full Cycle of Life

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I couldn't put it down! Agriculture plays an important role in this story, as well as serving as a metaphor. From seed to blossom to fruit to harvest to death and rebirth...we see it literally in the potato fields of Idaho. We see it played out in the lives of the Fuller family (and others) as well. The scientific research is wonderful and I learned a great deal. Ozeki raises important issues and questions and, thankfully, refrains from giving simplistic answers. What gripped me the most about this novel, however, were the myriand human relationships: Yumi returning home to her dying father after 25 years, her relationship to her own children, her friendship with Cass, Cass' relationship with her husband Will after numerous miscarriages... I was also impressed by the way Ozeki deals with cultural change and adaption. I never thought I'd see a book in which a fundamentalist Christian and a radical environmentalist truly befriend and learn from each other. It was refreshing. Even rural Idaho is subject to cultural and global influences it must learn to accomodate. Even rural Idaho has something to teach the rest of us.

Got me from the first page...

I liked this book from the first page. Rarely does that happen. Great handling of character development since there were so many of them. A lot of inter-twining story lines here guide Ozeki's characters to come together in the name of healthy and nutritious food. Ozeki has a great sense of sentimentality while using her tilted humor to tell the story. She does so well with pairing a bunch of societal clashes- East versus West ethnicity, old versus new generations, traditional versus alternative lifestyles and even organic versus biotechnology. Throw in an RV running on 'used french-fry oil' and you've got one of the best books I've read in a long time. Can't wait to see more from this author!

beautiful

A beautifully done novel. Touching, but not sentimental. Poetic, but not sappy. Do yourself and favor and pick this one up.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.

No text was provided for this review.