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Prodigal Summer

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"Prodigal Summer" by Barbara Kingsolver is a beautifully written novel that intertwines the lives of different women, each connected in subtle ways, much like the ecosystems they are part of. The book combines themes of ecology, romance, and nature seamlessly, with each character having a unique voice and depth. Kingsolver's storytelling weaves together three seemingly disparate stories, focusing on strong female characters and the interconnectedness of nature and human relationships.

Characters:

The characters are multifaceted and relatable, each facing their own challenges and embodying themes of nature and human experience.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is lush and descriptive, weaving together character-driven narratives with poetic language that captures the essence of nature.

Plot/Storyline:

The story revolves around three interconnected narratives, each exploring themes of love, loss, and the relationship between humans and nature.

Setting:

The setting is the lush, natural landscape of southern Appalachia, which is central to the story and its themes.

Pacing:

The pacing varies, beginning slowly to develop character depth and gradually building as storylines connect.
Her body moved with the frankness that comes from solitary habits. But solitude is only a human presumption. Every quiet step is thunder to beetle life underfoot; every choice is a world made new for ...

Notes:

Prodigal Summer is set in the southern Appalachians in the town of Egg Fork.
The novel weaves together three interconnected storylines, each focusing on a different character's relationship with nature and the environment.
Deanna Wolfe is a wildlife biologist and forest ranger who is passionate about protecting coyotes.
Lusa Landowski is a young widow who inherits her husband's struggling family farm and tries to adapt to country life.
Garnett Walker is an elderly man trying to graft a blight-resistant American chestnut tree and has an ongoing feud with his organic apple farmer neighbor, Nannie Rawley.
Kingsolver's background as a biologist plays a significant role in the ecological themes present throughout the novel.
The book explores the interconnectedness of human lives, love, and the natural world.
Kingsolver's writing blends scientific information with beautiful prose and vivid imagery.
The novel addresses themes such as conservation, the ethics of hunting, and agricultural practices.
Prodigal Summer has been described as both a romance and a celebration of the natural world.

Has Romance?

The book contains significant elements of romance, explored through the relationships of its characters.

From The Publisher:

It is summer in the Appalachian mountains and love, desire and attraction are in the air. Nature, too, it seems, is not immune. From her outpost in an isolated mountain cabin, Deanna Wolfe, a reclusive wildlife biologist, watches a den of coyotes that have recently migrated into the region. She is caught off guard by a young hunter who invades her most private spaces and interrupts her self-assured, solitary life. On a farm several miles down the mountain, Lusa Maluf Landowski, a bookish city girl turned farmer's wife, finds herself marooned in a strange place where she must declare or lose her attachment to the land that has become her own. And a few more miles down the road, a pair of elderly feuding neighbours tend their respective farms and wrangle about God, pesticides, and the possibilities of a future neither of them expected. Over the course of one humid summer, these characters find their connections of love to one another and to the surrounding nature with which they share a place.

With its strong balance of narrative and drama, Prodigal Summer is stands alongside The Poisonwood Bible and The Lacuna as one of Barbara Kingsolver's finest works.

Ratings (38)

Incredible (8)
Loved It (12)
Liked It (10)
It Was OK (6)
Did Not Like (1)
Hated It (1)

Reader Stats (99):

Read It (39)
Want To Read (47)
Not Interested (13)

About the Author:

Barbara Kingsolver's thirteen books of fiction, poetry and non-fiction include the novels The Bean Trees and the international bestseller The Poisonwood Bible which, amongst other accolades, won the 2005 Penguin/Orange Reading Group Book of the Year award. Her most recent novel is The Lacuna.

 
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