Summary | Excerpt | Reading Guide | Reviews | Read-Alikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' Opinion:
First Published:
Apr 2002, 288 pages
Paperback:
Apr 2003, 288 pages
Sometimes grave, occasionally hilarious, and ultimately persuasive, Small Wonder is a hopeful examination of the people we seem to be, and what we might yet make of ourselves.
In her new essay collection, the beloved author of High Tide in
Tucson brings to us, out of one of history's darker moments, an extended
love song to the world we still have.
Whether she is contemplating the Grand Canyon, her vegetable garden,
motherhood, genetic engineering, or the future of a nation founded on
the best of all human impulses, these essays are grounded in the
author's belief that our largest problems have grown from the earth's
remotest corners as well as our own backyards, and that answers may lie
in both those places.
Sometimes grave, occasionally hilarious, and ultimately persuasive,
Small Wonder is a hopeful examination of the people we seem to be, and
what we might yet make of ourselves.
God's Wives Measuring Spoons
Most of the time I go right on growing tomatoes and basil and broccoli simply because they are good, we like them, I'm determined to figure out the right planting time for cole crops, and broccoli attracts hordes of green looper caterpillars that throw Lily's chickens into paroxysms of chicken joy. I do it because the world has announced to me, loudly, that it's time to make a choice between infinite material entitlement or a more modest, self-reliant security, and this is a step I can take in the right direction. Most of the time I raise up my wonderful daughters to have what I hope will be a useful blend of smart-aleck acuity and politeness, and once in a while we go down to help out the homeless shelter or dig a community vegetable garden because I want my kids to understand that compassion involves not just the heart but the hands. I write my ...
If you liked Small Wonder, try these:
by Jon Mooallem
Published 2022
From the discovery of the author's face in a century-old photograph to a triple-amputee hospice director working at the border of life and death, here are thirteen hopeful, heartbreaking, and profound essays from "one of the most intelligent, compassionate, and curious authors working today" (Elizabeth Gilbert).
by Christina Adam
Published 2002
Like the richest classical paintings, these 26 short stories explore the surprises and beauty of the natural world. Read a complete short story now. Great gift!
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
