Kingsolver's work bridges gaps between divergent communities: East and West, rural and urban, Native American, Anglo, and Hispanic. And like African-American novelist Terry McMillan she is commited to eliminating the lies of the repressed and silenced, particularly working-class women. Drawing on both the southern literary renaissance and the stark beauty of the Arizona desert, Kingsolver weaves together these apparently unrelated forces. As desperate and wrenching as the lives of many of her characters are, Kingolver's vision is always one of hope and ultimately redemption, through the power of individuals, families, and communtites.
"Living in the middle of an alfalfa field was an important influence, I grew up noticing where things come from and where they go -- in the sense of seed and compost rather than heaven and hell. I think the whole way I look at the world was formed on a farm."-Barbara Kingsolver