ABOUT
THE BOOK

2020 Longlist

Meet Willa Knox, a woman who stands braced against a world which seems to hold little mercy for her and her family or their old, crumbling house, falling down around them. Willa’s two grown-up children, a new-born grandchild, and her ailing father-in-law have all moved in at a time when life seems at its most precarious. But when Willa discovers that a pioneering female scientist lived on the same street in the 1800s, could this historical connection be enough to save their home from ruin? And can Willa, despite the odds, keep her family together?

About the Author

Barbara Kingsolver is an American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the Congo. Kingsolver earned degrees in biology and worked as a freelance writer before she began writing novels including The Poisonwood Bible and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a non-fiction account of her family’s attempts to eat locally.

Librarian’s Comments

An enthralling look at what we need in order to thrive whether that be a sheltering home or strongly held beliefs and what happens when those foundations crumble. The book’s structure compares two tumultuous periods in small-town America and finds time to examine the nature of the relationships which sustain us and those which constrain us. Norfolk Library and Information Service, England

Barbara Kingsolver’s “Unsheltered” explores the idea of being without shelter, both in the sense of living in a hostile community and in the literal sense of a house falling down. Kingsolver’s unique literary talent shines in this novel, including her keen eye for characters and her detailed investigations into scientific themes.  A bonus of this historical novel is Kingsolver’s reintroduction of a little known 19th century scientist, a female naturalist named Mary Treat. “Unsheltered” draws a beautiful portrait of a house in New Jersey and its inhabitants while at the same time exploring provocative political, scientific and family motifs. Miami-Dade Public Library System, USA