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Title: All Over Creation by Ruth Ozeki ISBN: 0-670-03091-0 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 10 March, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.38 (13 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Lovely writing, wonderful subject, contrived plot
Comment: After reading "My Year of Meats", I was excited to start Ozeki's next work, "All over Creation". Having just finished it, I can say that I was left with very mixed feelings.
As with her previous book, Ozeki has a flair for writing and painting a picture of place, time and characters. Her character development is first rate and she never goes for the black and white. Everyone is cast in rich shades of gray. These are people we could know, who might live next door or in the town where we grew up.
In addition, she is a courageous writer. Ozeki is not afraid to use her fiction to tackle important subjects, such as Genetic Engineering and its impact on our lives.
However, I was bothered by a story that was so terribly contrived. The arrival of Elliot Rhodes and the Seeds at just the moment when Yummy Fuller comes back to Liberty Falls for the first time in 25 years is hard to swallow. The intersection of these events and the subsequent impact on the lives of the Fullers and the Quinns feels too neat and convenient and frankly, forced. Unlike her character development, Ozeki's plot development is very flawed.
I hope with time that Ozeki learns how to craft a credible story. With her gift for character and description, she can go far in the literary world.
Rating: 5
Summary: Waiting for Ruth Ozeki's Next Book!!
Comment: I just discovered Ruth Ozeki earlier this year, when I plowed through My Year of Meats. MYOM was more laugh-out-loud funny than All Over Creation, but it's clear to see that Ozeki has matured as a writer. All Over Creation had a more complex plot and character development. I would give this book 4-1/2 stars if I had a choice, because although I loved the character of Yumi, I had a really hard time understanding why she had any interest in Elliot. Here's a woman who has had many lovers and has never married any of them...you'd think she must be at least a bit choosy. Elliot was a jerk; it was obvious from the very beginning when he committed statutory rape years ago.
The story of friendship between Yumi and Cass was heart-warming and complicated. Cass resents Yumi for her fertility and the way she treats her children, having experienced the tragedy of infertility herself. Ozeki realistically portrays the complexity of female friendship.
The Seeds of Resistance stories were funny and enlightening. And finally, I enjoyed the rich relationships between Yumi, her parents, and her children. I would love to meet Ocean!
Rating: 4
Summary: Seeds of rebellion and forgiveness....
Comment: There are two things you need to know about Ruth Ozeki. The first is that she's a radical, anti government, anti-corporation, anti-globalization, tree-hugging leftie. The other is that she is a fabulous storyteller. If you can get past the former, you're in for a treat. If you can't, this book will irritate the heck out of you.
All Over Creation centers on the interactions between the Fullers and Quinns, potato farmers in Idaho, and the Seeds of Resistance, a ragamuffin bunch of activists working the anti-corporate agricultural scene with a vengeance.
Yumi Fuller is home for the first time since she ran away as ahe has learned her father is dying. She's returned against her best judgment as she has been estranged from her father since the day she left. Cass Quinn is her best friend from childhood, her family's neighbor and, with her husband, the Fullers effective landlord. A goodly part of the book is a "search for meaning and forgiveness" story between Yumi, Cass and Lloyd Fuller, Yumi's father. Into this volatile mix comes the Seed's, looking to learn seeding skills and techniques from Lloyd and getting in a few good activist actions on the side.
As is the norm with an Okezi story, the characters are vividly and sympathetically drawn. The story-political polemics aside-is vibrant and engaging. The book, though outlandish on it's face, nevertheless feels very real, the characters come alive, and the book becomes a page turner quite quickly.
There is not the slightest effort to achieve any sort of balance-as I mentioned earlier, Ozeki has a point of view and pounds it home with a vengeance. However, it never really affects the narrative in a meaningful way.
All in all a very entertaining and moving story. I will never really agree with Ozeki's politics and worlview, but I will eagerly look forward to reading her nbooks as long as her storytelling remains this compelling.
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Title: My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki ISBN: 0140280464 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: March, 1999 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: Getting Mother's Body : A Novel by Suzan-Lori Parks ISBN: 1400060222 Publisher: Random House Pub. Date: 06 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $23.95 |
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Title: The Master Butchers Singing Club : A Novel by Louise Erdrich ISBN: 0066209773 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 04 February, 2003 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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Title: Caramelo by SANDRA CISNEROS ISBN: 0679742581 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 09 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The Mammoth Cheese: A Novel by Sheri Holman ISBN: 0871139006 Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.00 |
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