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All Over Creation: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.01) - 1,620 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A warm and witty saga about agribusiness, environmental activism, and community—from the celebrated author of The Book of Form and Emptiness and A Tale for the Time Being
Yumi Fuller hasn’t set foot in her hometown of Liberty Falls, Idaho—heart of the potato-farming industry—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, “The Spudnick,” biofueled by pilfered McDonald’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 growth—and the capacity for renewal that resides within us all.
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"Very satisfying, complex, lots of characters intertwining...this book really shows Ozeki growing up as a writer. There's a lot of near-preaching in this, but the characters are strong enough that it's still delightful to read. If you are a hippie gardener, it's absolutely entrancing. "
— Caroline (4 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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Ozeki is one of my favorite novelists . . . bewitching, intelligent, hilarious, and heartbreaking, often on the same page.
— Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize winner and author of This Is How You Lose Her -
In precise and luminous prose, Ozeki captures both the sweep and detail of our shared humanity. The result is gripping, fearless, inspiring and true.
— Madeline Miller, author of the Orange Prize winner The Song of Achilles -
Ozeki is a gifted storyteller. All Over Creation buzzes and blooms with the cross-pollination of races and subcultures, death and birth, betrayal and reconciliation, comedy and tragedy.
— Los Angeles Time Book Review -
Sophisticated . . . a nice blend of humor and strangely affecting optimism. Ozeki has written a book where dread and hope coexist. Neither is given short shrift or magicked away.
— The New York Times Book Review -
Ozeki joins the constellation of such environmentally aware writers as Barbara Kingsolver, Annie Proulx, and Margaret Atwood, bringing her own shrewd and playful humor, luscious sexiness, and kinetic pizzazz to the table, as well her keen interest in the interface between food, family, science, and corporate greed and the dynamics of spin. . . . Moving neatly between the intimate and the environmental, the familial and the global, Ozeki hones each vivid description, witty conversation and surprising occurrence to illuminate the complex dichotomies between love and responsibility, nature and culture, traditional and corporate agriculture, traditional and corporate agriculture, fact and fabrication.
— Chicago Tribune -
Ruth Ozeki is bent on taking the novel into corners of American culture no one else has thought to look—but where she finds us in all our technological weirdness. With a combination of humor and pathos that is all her own, Ozeki brings the American pastoral forward into the age of agribusiness and genetic engineering. The result is a smart compelling novel about a world we don’t realize we live in.
— Michael Pollan -
All Over Creation opens wider with every plot twist as it moves from tenderness to comedy to sobering truth and the world in the eye of one family’s storm. This is Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang updated by thirty years, with modern environmental challenges on the map and women in the front seat, driving the story. Hooray—Ozeki rides again.
— Barbara Kingsolver -
Ozeki deftly and sensitively folds the variegated topics together, whipping up a savory treat.
— Entertainment Weekly -
This winning novel . . . is a feast of humor and wisdom about family and friendship.
— Glamour -
Bewitching . . . Ozeki’story splices a bit of Edward Abbey into an Anne Tyler plot. The fruits of this mix are definitely worth tasting.
— Publishers Weekly (starred review) -
A feast for mind and heart.
— Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Awards
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Winner of American Book Award
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Winner of American Book Award
All Over Creation Listener Reviews
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" I enjoyed reading this. It wasn't an all out page turner, as it took me some time to get through, but I enjoyed it. Yummy Fuller ran away at fourteen and now, twenty-six years later, she returns home as a single mom to three kids. I was only slightly sympathetic to her. She sort of made her own bed in her very poor choices, even if she was somewhat driven to them by her fundamentalist family. Growing up in Idaho would be rough on anyone. Regardless, she spends too much time blaming everyone else for her problems. Maybe I've just grown up too much to feel sorry for a fourteen year old runaway. :) "
— Jeana, 2/19/2014 -
" It was ok. Over long at times, but ended well, all nice and tied up in a bow. Just like I like 'em! "
— Melanie, 1/26/2014 -
" My year of Meats was such a great book... not preachy, but thought-provoking through the story. This book was a finger-wagging-you-better-listen-to-me-or -else. It wasn't a good story. But I highly recommend My Year of Meats by this author. "
— Debbie, 1/19/2014 -
" This book was incredibly slow. I would have quit reading, if it wasn't this month's pick by my book club. "
— Helen, 1/12/2014 -
" An interesting look at genetically modified farming and a story to go along with it. "
— Laura, 1/10/2014 -
" I really like this Author, heartwarming story, fun characters. "
— Gitana, 11/19/2013 -
" An entertaining, unique little tale. I would have given it 4 stars, but one of the main characters started grating on my nerves a bit towards the end. Still worth a read. "
— Lael, 11/15/2013 -
" Not as good as My Year of Meats, but it still contains very interesting/controversial information about GMOs or GE foods. I just had a hard time empathizing with, or even liking the main character. "
— Adonna, 11/11/2013 -
" Super informative, but kind of boring. It is worth reading if you are at all interested in genetically engineered food/plants. "
— Lindsey, 10/17/2013 -
" entertaining complex story. makes you want to eat organic. "
— Adina, 9/24/2013 -
" Made me laugh and want to hop in a biodiesel bus and fight against GMO monster. "
— Erin, 8/16/2013 -
" Funny, frigtening, generally a great read! "
— Elizabeth, 6/5/2013 -
" This book was odd, but I couldn't stop reading it. The main characters are a train wreck in themselves but the story was well developed with an interesting ending. "
— Tori, 2/14/2013 -
" I never could finish this one. Disappointing after "My Year of Meats." "
— Amy, 2/6/2013 -
" The kind of thing that should be up my alley - but for some reason I found it bland and preachy. I think I read it on the way to Yellowstone Park for my undergrad research. If you want to be educated about food system issues, read your Michael Pollan and skip this. "
— Maddy, 11/19/2012 -
" Less preaching and more humor would have helped put this story on par with her "Year of Meats" story. Oh well, her themes can all be original, I guess & maybe I'm too picky or both. "
— Greta, 9/15/2012 -
" Also one of my favorite books. It's funny, human, touching. I liked her first book too (My Year of Meats), and I think it's an improvement over that one. "
— Mark, 7/31/2012 -
" Listende of Ipod. Great reader and interesting book. "
— Pat, 1/9/2012 -
" Could hardly put this one down. "
— Ginnie, 12/11/2011 -
" My Year of Meats was flashier, more media saturated & had more laugh-out-loud moments. But this second novel had characters I missed the day after I finished the book. "
— Holly, 12/3/2011 -
" This didn't quite rock my world, but it did make me look at potatoes in a different light. From what I've heard, Ozeki's My Year of Meats is a better pick. "
— Anne, 2/28/2011 -
" So far, interesting and the author keeps the multiple story lines moving. Still, doesn't make me want to go to Idaho. Or eat most produce. "
— Lisa, 2/6/2011 -
" I had high hopes at the beginning, but the author lost me at about a quarter of the way into the book. "
— Kelly, 1/31/2011 -
" My Year of Meats was flashier, more media saturated & had more laugh-out-loud moments. But this second novel had characters I missed the day after I finished the book. "
— Holly, 11/29/2010 -
" I loved <u>My Year of Meats</u> and this is one is standing by. "
— Ink, 9/12/2010 -
" Reminiscent of The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey. "
— Scottie, 9/6/2010 -
" Enjoyed this book and learned a little at the same time. "
— Stacy, 7/8/2010 -
" recommend to the right people. not everyone would like it due to subplot of potato engineering "
— Marion, 4/20/2010 -
" 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. "
— Cheryl, 3/26/2010 -
" OK. Dreary at times. Dragged on too long. "
— Julie, 2/26/2010
About Ruth Ozeki
Ruth Ozeki is a novelist, filmmaker, and Zen Buddhist priest. She is the award-winning author of several novels, including A Tale for the Time Being, which was a finalist for the 2013 Booker Prize. Her nonfiction work includes a memoir, The Face: A Time Code, and the documentary film, Halving the Bones. She is affiliated with the Everyday Zen Foundation and teaches creative writing at Smith College, where she is the Grace Jarcho Ross 1933 Professor of Humanities.