Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - All Over Creation

I don’t know how to explain the beauty of Ozeki’s books. The plots follow a standard literary fiction path while adding in these historically complex topics. For All Over Creation, Yumi visits her parents 25 years after she ran away at the same time that a group of eco-anarchists arrive to protest against corporate interests in Idaho potato farming communities.

I absolutely loved it. The themes that struck me the most were afterlife, fatherhood, and how trauma impacts identity. There are some lengthy descriptions of sexual abuse of a child so please keep that in mind. So much happens in this book, so I’m just going to put some of my favorite quotes.

“I didn’t realize there were so many shades of dying. So many different levels” (348).

THE ENTIRE LAST CHAPTER BEFORE PART 7. THAT WAS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS IVE EVER READ. I WILL THINK ABOUT IT FOREVER.

“But maybe that was the trick—to accept the responsibility and forgo the control? To love without expectation? A paradox for sure, but such a relief” (410).

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alisonburnis's review

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emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Twenty-five years after she ran away, Yumi Fuller is called back to her hometown of Liberty Falls by her best friend Cass, to be with her dying parents. Accompanied by her three children and all of the baggage of estrangement, Yumi struggles with being back in the house, caring for her parents, caring for her children.

Next door, Cass has been taking care of Yumi’s parents for years, and her husband Will has acquired their land. Cass, more than anything, wants a baby but after years of trying, a bout of cancer, and nothing but pain to show for it, it’s another layer of resentment between her and Yumi and their complex friendship.

Enter the Seeds of Resistance. A group of environmental activists, they make their way to Liberty Falls to meet Yumi’s parents, who’ve been running a seed company, with values the Seeds believe align with their goals. A ragtag, unconventional story of family and friendship blossoms from their arrival: the challenges of loving people who make difficult decisions and hurt you, who you don’t always agree with, and the ways we build our communities.

I really enjoyed this, though it wasn’t my absolute favourite Ozeki. It’s very challenging - the characters make a lot of frustrating decisions to the very end. But Ozeki is kind to them, and in turn invites us to be easy on everyone in the story.

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lazydaisy's review

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

A gut-wrenching story at times that does a great job at representing and humanizing a variety of positions in the discussion around GMOs and farming, as well as exploring family relationships at their most tense and difficult.
I removed 0.25 stars because my sense of justice wished that the plotline with Elliott

had been handled with a bit more resolution by the end, because it felt like his character hadn't really grown or understood the extent of the harm he had inflicted upon others (young Yumi as well as her community later on as an adult). It was painful to see Yumi going back to him throughout the book, and I felt like it was a slap in the face seeing him basically unscathed and even emboldened to make a final marriage proposal without being told off properly other than on the phone by Phoenix.
I also wish there had been more conversation around the danger of allowing Lloyd (or someone like him) at the forefront of a movement, equating the efforts against GMOs to movements against abortion, especially given that the women in the Seeds identified as outspoken feminists. Calling out that tension and having a conversation about the nuances of so-called "sanctity" of life, perhaps with The Seeds and Yumi's children being given room to acknowledge the intense pain Yumi's father's shame had caused her, could have offered an interesting exploration of the gendered aspects of this political struggle.
Instead, Yumi is re-traumatized by her Dad's words once he becomes the spokesperson for this new movement, going back to her childhood rapist/boyfriend for comfort, and resented by her children because of this. Even though things do work out slightly better by the end, I was disappointed that Lloyd's treatment as the victim of this situation by characters surrounding him wasn't called into question (with Yumi's victimhood being seen as merely an excuse, or worse, her own fault), and Elliott didn't get more than a slap on the wrist (without deeper reflection on how this is often the case for manipulators/abusers).

However, overall it was a thought-provoking novel that tugged on my heart-strings and created characters that were complex, making it hard to put down the book.

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