Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780060959036
ISBN: 0060959037
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 464
Publication Date: 2001-10-01
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: 2001-10-16
Studio: Harper Perennial

Barbara Kingsolver's fifth novel is a hymn to wildness that celebrates the prodigal spirit of human nature, and of nature itself. It weaves together three stories of human love within a larger tapestry of lives amid the mountains and farms of southern Appalachia. Over the course of one humid summer, this novel's intriguing protagonists face disparate predicaments but find connections to one another and to the flora and fauna with which they necessarily share a place.

Customer Rating:
Summary: Loved it
Comment: As I write this, we're heading into winter--a perfect time to read this novel and then ruminate on what your own place is in our global ecosystem. I have to admit a bias to Kingsolver's writing; she understands people and what motivates them. The Bean Trees, Animal Dreams, and Pigs in Heaven are novels that I recommend over and over to people who say, 'I want something good to read, but not something heavy.' This will be a recommended novel as well. Kingsolver always offers a small piece of life that most of us can accept graciously and then chew on thoughtfully--and her recipes are without unnecessary additives. Love that.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Biology 101
Comment: There are 443 reviews of this book as I post review number 444. "Prodigal Summer" is averaging four stars at this point and I'd give it four, too. I'm not a Kingsolver completist; I've only read "Poisonwood Bible" (loved it) and "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," which was brilliant. With "Prodigal," I'd recommend only to readers who don't mind a bit of biology class along with their plots and characters. The constant detail about mammals and bugs and reptiles and their habitats, rituals, needs and mating was, well, just a bit endless. All the major characters seem to have too much knowledge about nature. I have no problem with nature. It's one of my favorite things. But the information about every bird and goat and snake, layered in thick strands in a fairly rich and interesting plot, grew tiresome.

Here's an example. Deep into the book, Lusa is explaining about some vines. "This one's nice, though; it's supposed to grow here. It gets covered with white flowers at the end of summer, and then it makes millions of seedpods that look like little silver starbursts. It's called virgin's bower." I think you could extract key detail from throughout "Prodigal Summer" and extract another book, "Barbara Kingsolver's Fairly Random Guide To the Flora and Fauna Of Appalachia."

I don't mean to be disrespectful of Kingsolver, I'm just trying to give a flavor for the book. That being said, it's stunning how she has created three distinct sets of characters and set the stories into motion. Loner Deanna might be most compelling and interesting (at least to this guy), but she seemed too feisty and difficult for somebody who has been communing gently with nature. I almost enjoyed the crotchety relationship between Garnett & Nannie more. Their scenes were funny, touching and bitingly real--two neighbors with sharply contrasting views of the world and how it's put together. Similarly, how Kingsolver peels back the friction between Cole and Lusa, and then shows Lusa's struggles to overcome an entrenched family (some of the members of Cole's extended family are extremely well drawn) is vivid and memorable.

Some of the other reviews complain about the heavy-handed message. It's not subtle. But you are in a whirlwind of intriguing characters, absorbing some terrific conversations, and amazed at the ability of a good writer to make characters leap from the page, fully realized. Just wish I could have removed the parts that made it feel like reading a science textbook.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Prodigal Summer - very enjoyable light reading
Comment: I picked this book up at a Starbucks trading table not expecting much.

From beginning to end I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really liked the alternating chapters covering different people who were all interesting and so well developed by the author character-wise. I loved them all and especially how the author cleverly intertwined their lives at the end.

This is a book I will read again.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Got halfway through and just simply couldn't finish
Comment:
Prodigal Summer was a book picked by a friend of mine for our book club. We were all really excited as Kingsolver has a strong following and critics seem to love her. Needless to say from my review title I couldn't even finish it - I got to page 200 but with much effort. Her nature writing is nice (although probably boring and not for everyone) but her romance writing is really "cheesy" (think Harlequin romance) found in the section titled "Predators" - it was almost nauseating. "Moth love" was just depressing and the other section which I can't even remember the title of was, well, not very memorable... I was thinking maybe it was just me but several other members of our book club "hated it" and only 1 or 2 of the ladies even finished it. I didn't give the book 1 star b/c I admit that maybe I am missing something but this book just left me bored and wishing for more of a plot and better characters.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Prodigal Summer
Comment: I loved this book!Barbara Kinsolver has a way of making you feel connected to every living thing on Earth.Every time I read one of her books I have a larger appreciation for the Earth as a whole.

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