Status
Available
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin Books (2004), Edition: Reprint, 432 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. Romance. HTML:A warm and witty saga about agribusiness, environmental activism, and communityâ??from the celebrated author of The Book of Form and Emptiness and A Tale for the Time Being Yumi Fuller hasnâ??t set foot in her hometown of Liberty Falls, Idahoâ??heart of the potato-farming industryâ??since she ran away at age fifteen. Twenty-five years later, the prodigal daughter returns to confront her dying parents, her best friend, and her conflicted past, and finds herself caught up in an altogether new drama. The post-millennial farming community has been invaded by Agribusiness forces at war with a posse of activists, the Seeds of Resistance, who travel the country in a camping car, â??The Spudnick,â?ť biofueled by pilfered McDonaldâ??s french-fry oil. Following her widely hailed, award-winning debut novel, My Year of Meats, Ruth Ozeki returns here to deliver a quirky cast of characters and a wickedly humorous appreciation of the foibles of corporate life, globalization, political resistance, youth culture, and aging baby boomers. All Over Creation tells a celebratory tale of the beauty of seeds, roots, and growthâ??and the capacity for renewal tha… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member RLupisella
A refreshingly entertaining story with an enviromental agenda.
LibraryThing member steph.severson
I enjoyed this book... seems like a good time of year to read it as I was very involved in planning my own garden and dreaming about fall harvest. The political aspects didn't seem too heavy handed or preachy. I cared about the characters even with all their faults. Great book!
LibraryThing member dczapka
A novel that revolves around sex, potato farming, senility, hippies, and genetic engineering is attention-grabbing, if nothing else. In the confident, assured hands of Ruth Ozeki, the result is a novel that preaches without seeming preachy and is as readable as it is intellectually challenging.
The
Despite dealing with content that ranges all over the map, from the specificities of potato agriculture to the ethics of science, Ozeki never lets things stray too far from the story, and making it an unabashedly plot-driven narrative is a great move, even if the book wants to be a novel of ideas. She manages this through an obvious but well implemented set of metaphors -- Yumi, for instance, as the "bad seed" -- that tie the strands of the novel together well. This becomes increasingly useful as the Seeds of Resistance, a radical group opposed to genetic modification, become embroiled in both the politics and emotions of the characters.
It is the sketching of these characters, however, that is what drives the novel. The ever-frustrated Cass is maintained by Ozeki as a relatively even-keeled character, which lets the eccentricities of the Fuller family come to the fore. Even the Seeds, drawn at first as caricatures, become round, meaningful characters, and when a shocking tragedy strikes near the novel's end, it feels both utterly random but also horribly affecting. In the end, it is Ozeki's ability to show some degree of sympathy for her characters that makes the novel such a pleasure to read.
While All Over Creation may not necessarily convince you to join the fight against genetic modification, it will almost certainly sink its claws into you and hold on tight. With a complex plot and an involved ideology, the novel establishes Ozeki as one of the most talented "idea novelists" in recent memory.
The
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novel opens in the small town of Liberty Falls, Idaho, where potato pro and patriarch Lloyd Fuller is becoming increasing immobile while his wife Momoko is increasingly stricken with dementia. Their only daughter, Yumi, ran away at 15 and has been bouncing unpredictably around the country, leaving the Fullers in the hands of Yumi's childhood friend Cass. But Lloyd's impending death brings Yumi -- and a host of other problems, related and unrelated -- to the town, crashing together in a tale that is as moving as it is farcical.Despite dealing with content that ranges all over the map, from the specificities of potato agriculture to the ethics of science, Ozeki never lets things stray too far from the story, and making it an unabashedly plot-driven narrative is a great move, even if the book wants to be a novel of ideas. She manages this through an obvious but well implemented set of metaphors -- Yumi, for instance, as the "bad seed" -- that tie the strands of the novel together well. This becomes increasingly useful as the Seeds of Resistance, a radical group opposed to genetic modification, become embroiled in both the politics and emotions of the characters.
It is the sketching of these characters, however, that is what drives the novel. The ever-frustrated Cass is maintained by Ozeki as a relatively even-keeled character, which lets the eccentricities of the Fuller family come to the fore. Even the Seeds, drawn at first as caricatures, become round, meaningful characters, and when a shocking tragedy strikes near the novel's end, it feels both utterly random but also horribly affecting. In the end, it is Ozeki's ability to show some degree of sympathy for her characters that makes the novel such a pleasure to read.
While All Over Creation may not necessarily convince you to join the fight against genetic modification, it will almost certainly sink its claws into you and hold on tight. With a complex plot and an involved ideology, the novel establishes Ozeki as one of the most talented "idea novelists" in recent memory.
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LibraryThing member jiles2
Ozeki loves to intertwine problems of agribusiness, love, and media into one tightly woven knot. And as with "My Year of Meats", there is an aha moment, in which our protagonist finally figures everything out. Ozeki has an ear for dialogue and an eye for the details in the shadows. Unfortunately
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her stories seemed to become overburdened by her politics. A book that is probably being read by the choir, not those in need of conversion. Show Less
LibraryThing member judithann
Nice book, entertaining, but not very real for me. That is, I found it hard to get drawn into the story, and it really was just a story. The people did not come alive for me. The main character, Yumi, was not particularly likeable and I did not understand her bevaviour.
Otherwise, it was a pleasant
The story does have a happy ending of sorts, even though it takes two people to die before things turn around.
If you haven't read anything by Ozeki, go for My Year of Meat first. That is a great book!
Otherwise, it was a pleasant
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read and it was interesting to learn a bit more about GM foods, etc.The story does have a happy ending of sorts, even though it takes two people to die before things turn around.
If you haven't read anything by Ozeki, go for My Year of Meat first. That is a great book!
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LibraryThing member hemlokgang
An original story, beautifully layered in such a way that the themes of propagation both natural and unnatural are addressed on both micro and macro levels. This story has memorable characters and has flashes of really talented writing. I will long remember Mimoko and Lloyd and their seed
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philosophy. This book also addresses timeless issues of parent-child relationships, non-conformity, and trust. A really good read! Show Less
LibraryThing member andsoitgoes
I liked the story and the strong message about genetically modified plants but found the Yummy character very confusing. I kept waiting for the explanation of why she hated her father so much that she did what she did but the lame excuse Ozeki provided did not satisfy the reader. My favorite
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character was Momoko. I listed to this on my iPod and the reader was good except when she found it necessary to change her voice for the male characters, Lloyd sounded like Herman Munster, almost ruined the book for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member SusanMcDonough
An excellent and disturbing look at our food creation and distribution system in the US through the experiences of a fictional family.
LibraryThing member skasmith
A sprawling, beautiful, heart-breaking story. Covering decades of time and three generations, this book makes personal the struggles of small-town, small-farm, rural America; the hopes and fears of young people committed to creating a better world; and the relationships of a small family. Very
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highly recommended, I think this one will prove to be worth owning. Buy a copy for your local library. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookfest
It's hard to like Yummy, the main character. She is self indulgent, a careless (if loving) mother, an inept (if loving) daughter. And yet you can't help but hope her life and those around her will get better. Yummy ran from home at 14 but her childhood friend and neighbor manages to find her in
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Hawaii, urging her to come home to take care of her ailing parents who live on a potato farm in Idaho. In the meanwhile, a group of activists, The Seeds, are heading to Idaho to challenge genetic engineering of seeds and potatoes. The somewhat motley crew becomes quite lovable as the move in on Yummy and her parents, providing help that is desperately needed. Then there's Elliot, the scoundrel, who dis-railed Yummy's life to begin with and is back to stir up more trouble. Often quite funny, this is actually a very political book that reminds me of some of Barbara Kingsolver's novels about environmental issues. It's a good read, often a romp, but not nearly as good as A Life for the Time Being. Show Less
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Who would have predicted that interactions between modern hippie activists against genetic engineering and other food abuses, and salt-of-the-earth Idaho potato producers, would lead to a meeting of the minds? I absolutely loved this book and all its rich characters.
LibraryThing member BrokenTune
“Lloyd’s home, Mom.” I fingered the straggling ends of my mother’s hair. And your daughter is having a nervous breakdown. And there’s a caravan of hippies camping out behind the barn. Oh, and you’re a prophet of the Revolution.”
All Over Creation is probably Ruth Ozeki's weakest book
I'm not going to say much about the plot other than that it is the story of a family who split apart over a matter of principle and who are slowly coming to terms with each other, life, illness, death, and all the things around them.
Whilst Ozeki's writing is for the most part wonderful, I felt that All Over Creation was trying too hard to accomplish two things:
1. home in on the environmental message of the book; and
2. dwell on scenes and descriptions for dramatic effect.
The book did not need to do this and there were a few scenes where I felt that less would have been more - especially at the end.
However, I was moved and engaged, and it made me laugh and provided all "the feelz", and I will not hold the over-kill of emotional writing on a handful of scenes against the rest of a book that clearly engages a more intellectual appreciation for the way Ozeki formed her characters and gave them voices that are so real that I had no trouble imagining them.
As spaced out as my introductory quote sounds, there is much more to the book than the family saga and in a way there are two parallel stories - one about the family and one about the family business (selling plant seeds) - and sometimes it is not clear if the story is about the family or the seeds, and this metaphorical conundrum is where Ozeki's craft shows:
“But they’re ours. We have to keep them safe!” She shook her head. “No. Keeping is not safe. Keeping is danger. Only safe way is letting go. Giving everything away. Freely. Freely.”
All Over Creation is probably Ruth Ozeki's weakest book
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to date, and yet, I devoured it in just one hung-over weekend.I'm not going to say much about the plot other than that it is the story of a family who split apart over a matter of principle and who are slowly coming to terms with each other, life, illness, death, and all the things around them.
Whilst Ozeki's writing is for the most part wonderful, I felt that All Over Creation was trying too hard to accomplish two things:
1. home in on the environmental message of the book; and
2. dwell on scenes and descriptions for dramatic effect.
The book did not need to do this and there were a few scenes where I felt that less would have been more - especially at the end.
However, I was moved and engaged, and it made me laugh and provided all "the feelz", and I will not hold the over-kill of emotional writing on a handful of scenes against the rest of a book that clearly engages a more intellectual appreciation for the way Ozeki formed her characters and gave them voices that are so real that I had no trouble imagining them.
As spaced out as my introductory quote sounds, there is much more to the book than the family saga and in a way there are two parallel stories - one about the family and one about the family business (selling plant seeds) - and sometimes it is not clear if the story is about the family or the seeds, and this metaphorical conundrum is where Ozeki's craft shows:
“But they’re ours. We have to keep them safe!” She shook her head. “No. Keeping is not safe. Keeping is danger. Only safe way is letting go. Giving everything away. Freely. Freely.”
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LibraryThing member Eye_Gee
This novel has a message that stayed with me for a long time after I finished it. The plot and characters were engaging so it never felt like work to read it. Highly recommended.
LibraryThing member jonerthon
I finally ended my fiction drought of 2019 with this title! The main character grew up in Idaho with a potato farmer father and Japanese expat mother with an intense green thumb before GTFO at a young age. The aging of said parents requires her to return for the first time in 20 years with the
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children she now has, and everyone is suitably uncomfortable with the arrangement. It was a rich narrative with strong development of a lot of characters, even though we likely could have done without some of them. Show Less
LibraryThing member doryfish
I liked the characters better at the beginning than at the end. (Yumi Fuller especially is a real piece of work. She runs away at age 14 after her relationship with a teacher comes to light. 25 years and three kids later, her maturity level has not changed at all.) Most of the characters treat the
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people around them with resentment and/or neglect, which was very frustrating for me to read. I also wish there were more facts about GMOS instead of a faux-debate with PR reps on one side and hippies on the other. On the positive side, Ozeki's writing is very vivid and readable. Show Less
LibraryThing member snash
An interesting cast of characters and story. There were a few places where it wasn't clear whether the story was the focus or a lecture on the perils of GMO's. In the end, however, the story won out.
LibraryThing member mykl-s
Ozeki knows how to tell a story, a collection of plots that are rich and complex and embedded in places and times from her characters past and present. I seldom read fiction longer than 300 pages, but the extra hundred in 'All Over Creation' were no burden at all.
Subjects
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — 2004)
American Book Award (2004)
WILLA Literary Award (Winner — Contemporary Fiction — 2004)
Language
Original language
English