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American Essays
High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never by Barbara Kingsolver β€” book cover

High Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now or Never

by Barbara Kingsolver, Paul Mirocha
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Overview

"There is no one quite like Barbara Kingsolver in contemporary literature," raves the Washington Post Book World, and it is right. She has been nominated three times for the ABBY award, and her critically acclaimed writings consistently enjoy spectacular commercial success as they entertain and touch her legions of loyal fans.

In High Tide in Tucson, she returnsto her familiar themes of family, community, the common good and the natural world. The title essay considers Buster, a hermit crab that accidentally stows away on Kingsolver's return trip from the Bahamas to her desert home, and turns out to have manic-depressive tendencies. Buster is running around for all he's worth β€” one can only presume it's high tide in Tucson. Kingsolver brings a moral vision and refreshing sense of humor to subjects ranging from modern motherhood to the history of private property to the suspended citizenship of human beings in the Animal Kingdom.

Beautifully packaged, with original illustrations by well-known illustrator Paul Mirocha, these wise lessons on the urgent business of being alive make it a perfect gift for Kingsolver's many fans.

Synopsis

"There is no one quite like Barbara Kingsolver in contemporary literature," raves the Washington Post Book World, and it is right. She has been nominated three times for the ABBY award, and her critically acclaimed writings consistently enjoy spectacular commercial success as they entertain and touch her legions of loyal fans.

In High Tide in Tucson, she returnsto her familiar themes of family, community, the common good and the natural world. The title essay considers Buster, a hermit crab that accidentally stows away on Kingsolver's return trip from the Bahamas to her desert home, and turns out to have manic-depressive tendencies. Buster is running around for all he's worth — one can only presume it's high tide in Tucson. Kingsolver brings a moral vision and refreshing sense of humor to subjects ranging from modern motherhood to the history of private property to the suspended citizenship of human beings in the Animal Kingdom.

Beautifully packaged, with original illustrations by well-known illustrator Paul Mirocha, these wise lessons on the urgent business of being alive make it a perfect gift for Kingsolver's many fans.

Seattle Times

Whether cultural, personal, or theoretical, Kingsolver's nonfiction is a delight.

About the Author, Barbara Kingsolver

Equally at home with poetry, novels, and nonfiction narratives, Barbara Kingsolver credits her careers in scientific writing and journalism with instilling in her a love of nature, a writer's discipline, and a strong sense of social justice.

Reviews

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Editorials

New York Times Book Review

Kingsolver's essays should be savored like quiet afternoons with a friend.... [She] speaks in a language rich with music and replete with good sense.

Seattle Times

Whether cultural, personal, or theoretical, Kingsolver's nonfiction is a delight.

San Francisco Chronicle

A delightful, challenging, and wonderfully informative book.

Entertainment Weekly

The acclaimed novelist's extraordinary powers of observations and understanding of character serve her beautifully in this collection of essays.

Washington Times

Ms. Kingsolver possesses the rare ability to see the natural world with the keenness of both the poet and the naturalist.

Kansas City Star

Brilliant...lucid, well thought-out, and remarkably sensitive. Kingsolver's power will linger long after you've finished High Tide in Tucson.

Weekly Entertainment

The acclaimed novelist's extraordinary powers of observations and understanding of character serve her beautifully in this collection of essays.

Cleveland Plain Dealer

A book full of discoveries.

Milwaukee Sentinel

Clever...magical...beautifully crafted. Kingsolver spins you around the philosophic world a dozen times.

Book Details

Published
August 1, 1996
Publisher
HarperCollins Publishers
Pages
304
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780060927561

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