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Summary: Rural America at its best
Review: All of Barbara Kingsolver's books are excellent but this book touched me in ways that the others had not. Perhaps it is because I am also a widow and it was so true what she wrote about going on with life after one's husband dies. It was especially interesting how the one lady who had lost her husband slowly became friends with most of her husband's brothers and sisters. It was good how Barbara wrote of the different characters and then pulled them all together at the end. As I read the book I felt as if it was only one in a set of two books. I hope that she writes about these same people again and I will be so disappointed if she doesn't tell us more about their lives. I enjoyed the books very much and tell all my friends to read it.
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Summary: Warm and Wonderful
Review: This is a definite must read for any Barbara Kingsolver afficianados. It's much more like "Animal Dreams" than "The Poisonwood Bible", or any of her other recent works. It has much less action in it, but it has such a warm easy style to it that it really does hold your interest. The characters are wonderfully written, and the average reader will probably learn a thing or two about some amazing natural phenomena. Pick it up, it's a great read.
Rating: 
Summary: She's Done Better
Review: I have always read and enjoyed Barbara Kingsolver's work and was sorely disappointed by Prodigal Summer. Although there are some wonderful passages about the dawning of springtime in the woods, the plot is predictable and weak, feeling at times like a novel by Danielle Steele instead of Barbara Kingsolver. Prodigal Summer seems like a rushed, poorly crafted work of fiction by someone who could do a lot better.
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Summary: Lush, Fecund Novel...
Review: I'm so glad that Kingsolver returned to her roots in this lush, rich novel. The characters burned in my head and when I finished the book, I was melancholy for days. . . I wanted the story to go on and on, the true test of a great read. This is one of her most sensual books yet in that it seduces all of your senses. You can smell the earth in the forest and even feel the rain in the wild storms. Fabulous read!
Rating: 
Summary: Start with ANIMAL DREAMS
Review: I began reading PRODIGAL SUMMER with expectations of inspiration and enlightenment. And although these expectations weren't completely fullfilled, I did enjoy the mix of memorable characters and ecological concerns that Kingsolver brought to the novel. If you have enjoyed Kingsolver's works in the past, you will enjoy this one, but if you are a first time reader, start with ANIMAL DREAMS.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying, but not filling.
Review: If the Kingsolver you love is the one who wrote The Bean Trees, Pigs in Heaven, and Animal Dreams, and you found The Poisonwood Bible written in a different voice and style, be warned that Prodigal Summer is closer in tone and structure to The Poisonwood Bible. But Prodigal Summer has its own power and magic. The basic storyline is the focus on nature as a major life force. But it is told from the viewpoint of three different character groups who come to understand that no one stands alone, no action is without consequence, every decision leads to results, wanted or unwanted. The young widow must make decisions about her future and her dead husband's land while struggling with his complex family. The Forest Service employee must deal with her chosen solitude and the hunter whom she invites to interrupt it. The two farmers must come to grips with how to manage their adjoining land, organically or chemically. These elements would stand well on their own, but Kingsolver doesn't let the story lines run separate. All these people's lives cross. Their opinions differ, their ways of dealing with life and conflict differ. But they have to come up with a way of getting along. Just like real life. The telling of this one story in different voices is a method Kingsolver does well. The story is intersting, touching, gripping and, happily for the reader, not neatly tied up at the end. Like nature, things are left unsolved, to continue along with choices made thoughtfully and thoughtlessly, but all with strong convictions. It's a good read with a careful presentation of some controversial topics.
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Summary: wanted it to go on and on and on..........
Review: This is such a good story... very different from Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, but equally as engaging. I LOVED it! (Also think it's a perfect movie possibility)
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Book
Review: Maybe it is because I live in ranch country and love to hear the coyotes singing on a summer night. Maybe it is because I learned to love the luna moth when I lived in east Tennessee. But I just loved this book. It is very relaxing and soothing to read. There were a lot of strings left dangling. Maybe there will be a sequel. How bout it Barbara?
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Summary: Best Novel I've Read in Years!
Review: I recieved Prodigal Summer as a birthday gift from my Aunt and I must say, it's the best novel I've read in years! I need not get into the lucidity and richness that characterizes Kingsolver's narrative voice to praise this highly-recommended novel. Her insights into the way bodies move on this earth are rendered with such imaginative beauty, I found myself underlining passage after passage. Others have criticized Prodigal Summer for being ecologically "preachy." They couldn't be more wrong. Given the characters, where they live and what they do, the conversations are as realistic as any conversation I, or anyone else, would have with family, friends and acquaintences. Every novel teaches us something, whether we recognize it or not, and this novel taught me things that only a biologist-turned poet could accomplish so beautifully and naturally. Few writers are able to accomplish the rich mixture of philosophical insights and imaginative, colorful writing. Barbara Kingsolver has done this and may she stand as a model for future novelists to come.
Rating:
Summary: Still love "The Bean Trees" the best
Review: Good book but as with Poisonwood Bible I felt that I was kind of left out there.....would have enjoyed more closure at the end.
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