2021 EDIT: Couldn't hold my interest quite as much this time, I'm afraid. And I only first read and loved this five years ago. Wow I'm getting old fast. Also, I somehow didn't catch on last time that Calpurnia and her family have black maids and cooks (is there a mention of pay?), and this is set in Texas in 1899. And they live and work in a cotton farm. For a book all about exploring, studying and analysing everything around you, particularly in childlike wonder, the racial tensions, violence and segregation of that period are never even cited. Nothing of that side of life is addressed in this book, when it has boundless opportunity to. Silly kiddie crushes everywhere seem more important. In terms of politics, sexism is criticised (though not really any form of toxic masculinity, I'd noticed), but not racism.
Well, 'The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate' is still a book I would recommend to anyone, mainly children. It still doesn't matter that it has no plot; it's the coming-of-age journey that matters.
At least it's leagues better than the sequel.
Final Score: 3.5/5
Original Review:
Never, ever before have I read a novel where the general consensus for it could very well be "Nothing happens", and yet I found it to be the most beautiful, charming, wonderful, funny and spellbinding kind of "Nothing happens".
Each chapter of 'The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate' by Jacqueline Kelly is a little standalone story. Lacking an overall plot, the book's connecting theme is the coming-of-age journey of eleven-year-old Calpurnia "Callie Vee" Tate, and her scientific exploration and discoveries in her small, hot Texas farm in 1899, at the turn of the century and the revolutionary point of great worldly changes. While she's thinking on one of her many musings, Callie ends up starting a close relationship with her grandfather, a shadowy figure in the family, who is also deeply into the scientific field. Together they become avid naturalists - finding various types of animal species and insects, plants and micro-organisms - influenced by Charles Darwin's 'Origin of Species'.
Later, however, Callie's upbeat, energetic, independent and curious personality is threatened by her mother's interference. As the only girl of seven children, Callie is made to learn cooking, sewing and other chores to prepare her for the drudged, limited life of a housewife. As a little girl who thrives in creativity and the open air, and who hates tedium and repetitiveness, Callie wishes to escape society's expectations of what a woman should be. She continues to explore the grasslands and rivers with her grandfather, discovering things every day.
Is Callie's own nature strong enough to fight a restricted, oppressive environment? Is her future set in stone, even as she enters a new century, full of new and exciting possibilities?
I absolutely adore 'The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate' and its themes and characters. Callie is a joy to read about; always fun, witty and active, she's totally infectious as a narrator. She's right up there with Anne of Green Gables and Heidi on the list of sweet and highly enthusiastic young girls in literature that bookworms would imagine as their friends. Callie loves books and libraries too! I love her interactions with everyone in this book. Her six equally-growing brothers range from kind to mischievous to too darn adorable. Her bond with her granddaddy is something special indeed. He is the sly, encouraging relative the reader wishes they had. Callie's relationships with other female characters - like her mother, her family cook Viola, and her best friend Lula Gates - are varied as well, and ever-changing as the novel progresses in development.
As Callie is still a child, she can also be selfish and afraid of change in her family. She doesn't hide much from anyone. But hallelujah!! she acknowledges and learns from her mistakes, which is admirable for someone of her age.
The whole novel has a positive, sunny feel to it, thanks to Callie's youthful view of the world. Yet it doesn't shy away from what she must expect when she becomes a young woman. Blatant sexism creeps into her innocent world. Callie Vee is truly heartbroken at the prospect of not being allowed to follow her dreams anymore, because she's a girl, and the author makes sure the reader understands her pain and anguish.
Throughout the book you get to know Calpurnia Tate as a spirited, free-thinking, free-feeling, clever and brave girl. So the thought of all that being forced out of her - that she might be beaten down into a repressed, bored, dead-inside servant - is devastating. She isn't a wild child or a degenerate; she's just curious about all the little natural mysteries surrounding her home life. The absence of a major plot reflects Callie's own spontaneous growth and development (her own “evolution” as the title indicates) - humanity and earth are meant to be carefully studied and explored, not manmade into hard, coherent and contrived structures.
Calpurnia Tate is a healthy kid, a healthy girl. To hell with what's considered normal. If only her parents and teachers gave her the benefit of the doubt.
Callie doesn't give in easily though, and she knows what's what, and who is good and who is bad for her (and her safety): another refreshing trait in a heroine. By the end, I was wishing this fictional charmer all the best - for a bright future where she can achieve her dreams - in a brand new beginning in 1900...
I cannot recommend 'The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate' enough. I found myself re-reading chapters over and over again because they're such lovely treats - something I've never done before. It is a gorgeous, spritely tale about earth's treasures amidst the mundane and ritual, created by man. There are no constraints. Similar books have not come close to making me feel the freshness and glory that 'Calpurnia Tate' has.
Nature has no set rules, not always. It is fleeting, unpredictable, but beautiful, like life itself. Calpurnia Tate has made me feel lucky and grateful to be alive.
Final Score: 5/5
EDIT: Forgot to mention another thing that's such a breath of fresh air in this novel - there's not a hint of a love interest for the female protagonist in sight!!!
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