Animal Dreams

Infobox Book
name = Animal Dreams
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author = Barbara Kingsolver
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country = United States
language = English
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genre = Novel
publisher = HarperCollins
release_date = September 1990
media_type = Print (Paperback)
pages = 352 pp
isbn = ISBN 0-06-016350-X
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"Animal Dreams" is a 1990 novel by Barbara Kingsolver. A woman named Codi Noline goes back to her hometown of Grace, Arizona to help her aging father, who is fighting Alzheimer's. She then takes a high school teaching job and lives with an old high school friend. Animal Dreams features Kingsolver's trademark - alternating perspectives throughout the novel. Some chapters are told from the perspective of Codi, while others are told from her father Homer's perspective. The book was dedicated to Ben Linder, who was killed by the Contras on April 28, 1987.

The novel features some Hispanic and Native American themes. Codi's sister, Hallie, moves to Nicaragua to teach local people more sustainable farming techniques and dies after having been captured by the Contras. Another political theme in the novel is the town's fight against the mining interests whose polluted water will eventually force residents to abandon it.

In addition to political themes like these, many of Kingsolver's novels also feature images and themes from biology. "Animal Dreams" is rich with natural imagery and the study of the created world. And, as with most Kingsolver novels, this one is laced with genial humor.