High Tide in Tucson

High Tide in Tucson is a series of essays by heralded American novelist Barbara Kingsolver, collected and published in 1995. The essays are wide-ranging in subject matter, addressing topics from politics, to nature, to midcentury domestic life, but all reflect Kingsolver’s observations about herself and the people around her. Prior to her writing career, Kingsolver had a wide range of other professional experiences that influence essays in the book.

Most of the essays in High Tide in Tucson were previously published in a variety of magazines, while some were written specifically for the collection. In the preface, the author suggests reading the essays in the order they appear; despite originating in different places at different times, they are arranged by theme.

High Tide in Tucson was published just as Kingsolver was becoming a widely recognized writer. The story of her first novel, The Bean Trees (1988), is the subject of the essay titled “In Case You Ever Want to Go Home Again.” Many of the stories discuss her transition to public figure status. Kingsolver has received numerous awards, including the UK's Orange Prize for Fiction and the National Humanities Medal. Her work also been nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Pulitzer Prize.

This guide is based on the HarperCollins e-book version of High Tide in Tucson.

Summary

The book begins with essays about Kingsolver’s life in Tucson, Arizona. Later stories involve her childhood in Kentucky, her world travels, and her observations about science and politics. Many involve Kingsolver’s relationship with her daughter Camille and, in those written after her second marriage, her husband Steven. Major themes include family dynamics and how families change, The Relationship Between Humans and the Natural World, and the interconnectedness of different human lives and cultures.

Each personal essay explores a different facet of Kingsolver’s complex life. Most begin with a specific anecdote before zooming out and using that anecdote to explore wider themes: “Life Without Go-Go Boots” details her relationship to fashion, “In The Belly of the Beast” uses a visit to a Titan missile silo to discuss the US’ relationship to military destruction, and “Stone Soup” examines the different ways that cultures view children and how that shapes the children themselves.

The collection begins and ends with stories about a hermit crab that Kingsolver accidentally brought to Arizona from the Bahamas; Kingsolver compares that crab’s ability to adapt to her own journey from single motherhood in an unfamiliar place to getting remarried and establishing roots for her daughter.