bohemianbibliophile's review
4.0
The mention of the California desert conjures up an image of barren, dry, and arid land. What is it like to grow up on such a land? What is it that drives people to make it their home? Miracle Country is a debut memoir by author Kendra Atleework about a part of California that few people talk about.
Through a non-linear narrative, it follows the author’s journey as she and her family struggle with the loss of her mother. Escaping to Los Angeles and then Minneapolis (that is more bountiful) before making peace with the memories and returning back home.
The book is as much a memoir as it is about the history of California. The transformation of the desert into a city. The author shares how it was growing up in such harsh terrain. She also discusses wildfires, droughts, water wars, how nature can be unforgiving, the Paiute people and the injustice they suffered. The amount of research is evident.
The writing style is poetic and a good attempt by a debut author. She manages to combine the two narratives (family history and the history of California) effortlessly. Also, nature is more of a character in the book that I found interesting.
Every family cultivates a culture and lives by its own strangeness until the strangeness turns normal and the rest of the world looks a bit off.
What did not work for me was the pacing of the book. Due to the non-linear narrative, it does take a while to get into it. Since it is not a memoir in the truest sense, it would appeal more to history buffs than those who enjoy memoirs.
All in all, I enjoyed the book. It is moving and at times thought-provoking. If you enjoy reading memoirs with a generous dose of history, I would recommend you pick this book.
I received an ARC from Algonquin Books for the blog tour. All opinions are my own.
Through a non-linear narrative, it follows the author’s journey as she and her family struggle with the loss of her mother. Escaping to Los Angeles and then Minneapolis (that is more bountiful) before making peace with the memories and returning back home.
The book is as much a memoir as it is about the history of California. The transformation of the desert into a city. The author shares how it was growing up in such harsh terrain. She also discusses wildfires, droughts, water wars, how nature can be unforgiving, the Paiute people and the injustice they suffered. The amount of research is evident.
The writing style is poetic and a good attempt by a debut author. She manages to combine the two narratives (family history and the history of California) effortlessly. Also, nature is more of a character in the book that I found interesting.
Every family cultivates a culture and lives by its own strangeness until the strangeness turns normal and the rest of the world looks a bit off.
What did not work for me was the pacing of the book. Due to the non-linear narrative, it does take a while to get into it. Since it is not a memoir in the truest sense, it would appeal more to history buffs than those who enjoy memoirs.
All in all, I enjoyed the book. It is moving and at times thought-provoking. If you enjoy reading memoirs with a generous dose of history, I would recommend you pick this book.
I received an ARC from Algonquin Books for the blog tour. All opinions are my own.
bookhound's review
5.0
4.5* Crisp, gorgeous writing with many of my favorite elements- memoir, nature, history. This is so good, especially if you love the desert.
camilaariasb's review
3.0
I read this book between June 15th and July 1st, 2020 as part of a blog tour I was invited to participate in by Algonquin and gave it three stars, but it's more like 3.5, really. I'd like to thank them, the author, and NetGalley for this opportunity. Now, this is nonfiction but it is nothing like what I've read before. I say this because it seems as if the main character in this book, other than being Atleewood herself or her family, is the place where they all live. I might be wrong, and if I am, please correct me, but the author is from Bishop, which is a desertic land in California.
To me, it was interesting to read about the weather, and the elements, and nature itself as characters, especially in an autobiographical book. It is especially interesting considering I have only lived in the city, and Colombia is a tropical country so the climate, biodiversity, and pretty much all other natural factors are very different from what the author experienced growing up. I think for that reason it took me a bit to get into the book, to really connect with what Atleework was narrating and describing, but I've hit that point and now I feel like everything is flowing.
That's something important I want to say to potential readers of this book: it is slow and, honestly, kind of boring at first, but once you get past that, the author narrates more of her family life and history and focuses less on describing the landscape with excuciating detail. She still does, but I think by that point, the readers are used to that.
I've said this before, but I'll explain it a little bit better because I think that way you'll understand my three-star rating. Although I didn't find anything particularly *wrong* with this book, I didn't think it was my type of book at all, so I didn't connect with it in ways other people would. That's why I gave it the rating that I did. I didn't think it was really fair to give it four stars because, other than entertaining me and teaching me about another place's geography, it didn't do much for me.
There are a few content warnings that I think you should consider before reading this book. You can perfectly skip the sections where they are mentioned, so it's not like you can't read the entire book because of them. There are mentions of self-harm and attempted sexual assault, both, I think, in the same chapter. If you can, get someone else to read it before and let you know what to skip.
To me, it was interesting to read about the weather, and the elements, and nature itself as characters, especially in an autobiographical book. It is especially interesting considering I have only lived in the city, and Colombia is a tropical country so the climate, biodiversity, and pretty much all other natural factors are very different from what the author experienced growing up. I think for that reason it took me a bit to get into the book, to really connect with what Atleework was narrating and describing, but I've hit that point and now I feel like everything is flowing.
That's something important I want to say to potential readers of this book: it is slow and, honestly, kind of boring at first, but once you get past that, the author narrates more of her family life and history and focuses less on describing the landscape with excuciating detail. She still does, but I think by that point, the readers are used to that.
I've said this before, but I'll explain it a little bit better because I think that way you'll understand my three-star rating. Although I didn't find anything particularly *wrong* with this book, I didn't think it was my type of book at all, so I didn't connect with it in ways other people would. That's why I gave it the rating that I did. I didn't think it was really fair to give it four stars because, other than entertaining me and teaching me about another place's geography, it didn't do much for me.
There are a few content warnings that I think you should consider before reading this book. You can perfectly skip the sections where they are mentioned, so it's not like you can't read the entire book because of them. There are mentions of self-harm and attempted sexual assault, both, I think, in the same chapter. If you can, get someone else to read it before and let you know what to skip.
a_lit_babe's review
3.0
One thing I love about book is how beautifully poetic it is. The writing is seemless and entralling. The way the author writes on loss, on nature, on family is alluring.
I rarely read non-fiction and while it took me a while to adjust to this one, it is undeniable that this book is a masterpiece. The way Kendra Atleework weaves her story back and forth, only few writers know how to pull that off seemlessly and perfectly.
I was also pleasantly surprised to learn from the book that the name Atleework is actually a combination of the surnames of Kendra Atleework’s parents — Atlee & Work.
I don’t have much words to describe this book or explain a lot about it but if you enjoy memoirs that are poetic, moving, deep and if you love nature, you should read this book. However, as a trigger warning, this book contains themes of sexual assault so take note.
I rarely read non-fiction and while it took me a while to adjust to this one, it is undeniable that this book is a masterpiece. The way Kendra Atleework weaves her story back and forth, only few writers know how to pull that off seemlessly and perfectly.
I was also pleasantly surprised to learn from the book that the name Atleework is actually a combination of the surnames of Kendra Atleework’s parents — Atlee & Work.
I don’t have much words to describe this book or explain a lot about it but if you enjoy memoirs that are poetic, moving, deep and if you love nature, you should read this book. However, as a trigger warning, this book contains themes of sexual assault so take note.
annarella's review
4.0
An excellent memoir that mixes personal story with social issues.
I found it gripping and informative.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I found it gripping and informative.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
lifelivedbooked's review
5.0
Miracle Country by Kendra Atleework is a beautiful reflection by the author of her life living in the Eastern Sierra Nevada desert, in the presence of snow capped mountains and a glaring absence of available water. Atleework brilliantly situates this land of "lack" against her own experience of loss after her mother dies, bringing this idea of something that is missing from the microcosm of family to the larger picture of an entire region.
It is clear that Atleework loves the wild land where she grew up; within her memoir is a wealth of historical information from the nearly complete siphoning of her town's major water source via canal system to Los Angeles, to how this "modernization" in conjunction with white settlement has impacted the indigenous Paiute tribe, to the peculiar weather patterns that arise on the Eastern side of the Sierra and the impact that climate change has had on the area.
Miracle Country is beautifully written and rife with longing for her mother, for the family she had before her mother's death, and for her hometown once she moves away for college. I recommend for anyone that enjoys a stunning memoir that looks outside, as well as in.
It is clear that Atleework loves the wild land where she grew up; within her memoir is a wealth of historical information from the nearly complete siphoning of her town's major water source via canal system to Los Angeles, to how this "modernization" in conjunction with white settlement has impacted the indigenous Paiute tribe, to the peculiar weather patterns that arise on the Eastern side of the Sierra and the impact that climate change has had on the area.
Miracle Country is beautifully written and rife with longing for her mother, for the family she had before her mother's death, and for her hometown once she moves away for college. I recommend for anyone that enjoys a stunning memoir that looks outside, as well as in.
emileereadsbooks's review
4.0
Thank you to Algonquin Books for my free copy!
This book is not only a memoir of Atleework's time growing up in the Owens Valley of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, but a reflection on the region's history. She weaves the historical elements into her family's story with beautiful prose. I learned so much about this portion of our country that is so out of my orbit and was interested to see how Atleework pulled all the story stands together to weave this narrative. Readers who love contemplative memoir will devour this book.
This book is not only a memoir of Atleework's time growing up in the Owens Valley of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, but a reflection on the region's history. She weaves the historical elements into her family's story with beautiful prose. I learned so much about this portion of our country that is so out of my orbit and was interested to see how Atleework pulled all the story stands together to weave this narrative. Readers who love contemplative memoir will devour this book.
forsan's review
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
5.0
I was given a copy of this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers to review (unbiasedly), and I absolutely adored it.
This book is billed as a memoir, and it is; it recounts her childhood in a small town in the Eastern Sierras; her family's dynamics, especially those involving her mother, who passed away from an autoimmune disease when Kendra was 16; the drive to escape the Eastern Sierras that led her to LA and Minnesota; and her eventual return. But it also interweaves Kendra's memories with the history of the Eastern Sierras region, the history of the Paiute tribe and the continuing water-rights saga that has parched the region to help SoCal spread. And it does so masterfully.
I loved this book so much. The love that Kendra has for her home region is extremely clear, and the nature writing throughout this book, the way that it anchors Kendra's story to the land, is excellent. (There are also a lot of references to and quotes from other nature writers, especially female ones--Mary Austin, Terry Tempest Williams, Rebecca Solnit, Ellen Meloy.) More generally, the prose is overall lovely and lyrical. The story definitely isn't linear in the slightest, which was a bit surprising at the beginning, but it worked really well. And if there ever was a book to be read outdoors, this is definitely one of them--I read the entire thing sitting outside over the course of a couple days, and I'm tremendously glad I did so.
This book is billed as a memoir, and it is; it recounts her childhood in a small town in the Eastern Sierras; her family's dynamics, especially those involving her mother, who passed away from an autoimmune disease when Kendra was 16; the drive to escape the Eastern Sierras that led her to LA and Minnesota; and her eventual return. But it also interweaves Kendra's memories with the history of the Eastern Sierras region, the history of the Paiute tribe and the continuing water-rights saga that has parched the region to help SoCal spread. And it does so masterfully.
I loved this book so much. The love that Kendra has for her home region is extremely clear, and the nature writing throughout this book, the way that it anchors Kendra's story to the land, is excellent. (There are also a lot of references to and quotes from other nature writers, especially female ones--Mary Austin, Terry Tempest Williams, Rebecca Solnit, Ellen Meloy.) More generally, the prose is overall lovely and lyrical. The story definitely isn't linear in the slightest, which was a bit surprising at the beginning, but it worked really well. And if there ever was a book to be read outdoors, this is definitely one of them--I read the entire thing sitting outside over the course of a couple days, and I'm tremendously glad I did so.