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Summary: Kingsolver does it again. Wonderful
Review: Kingsolver's work usually elicits many conflicting opinions. However, I'm thrilled that such a wonderful wordsmith consistently tackles important social issues. I may not always agree with her opinions, but she always leaves me thinking after I've read any of her books or articles. This book is no exception. Three seemingly disparate stories are carefully woven around the common thread of how we as individuals impact our world, whether it be natural or social. Ecology. Kingsolver manages once again to educate the reader through her obvious knowledge of the natural world and ensnare the reader with her wonderful prose and storytelling. I would have preferred fewer loose ends at the close of the book, but I suppose mulling over possible endings for each character has made me think more about each story, the characters, and their impact on their environments in their little spot in the world. A compelling read that I high recommend.
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Summary: Kingsolver- the "Bev Doolittle" of Literature
Review: I read many, many books and Barbara Kingsolver has long been my favorite author. Prodigal Summer is yet another reason for her to retain that title. I once read she said "in order to write, you must have something to say" and no one says it so eloquently as Kingsolver. She takes the everyday lives of different people and intricately weaves them into a delightful story you can't put down. And with each book, you come away with not only the satisfaction of a well written novel, but also find you have learned something. In this book, she teaches (not preaches) about the delicate balance of nature, the effects of greed and the reasons hastily implemented conservation plans contribute to the problem. In other Kingsolver books, readers learn about Native American culture, alzheimer's disease and American overconsumption - all presented in such a way that is so subtle, so unoffensive, you hardly know you're learning anything until you look closer. Like the artist Bev Doolittle who is the master of beautifully camaflouging her deeper subjects, Barbara Kingsolver acheives the same effect with her writing. When I finish a Kingsolver book, in my mind, I am always standing upright, loudly applauding her incredible talent.
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Summary: A beautifully written tale about small town life
Review: My basis for choosing to read 'Prodigal Summer' was the fact that one of the best books I read last year was Kingsolver's ' The Poisonwood Bible.' I was not disappointed - 'Prodigal Summer' is a great novel.Kingsolver's background as a biologist comes through strongly in this book - 'nature' is as much a character as any person. Through the telling the stories of three characters - an almost-hermit like woman living in the forest, ; an old widower and a young widow, whomat first do not seem connected - the author explore a small community sympathetically, showing us that stories do nto need to be sweeping an dramatic to be interesting; there is tradgedy, humour and beauty in everyday lives. As the book progresses, we see the multitude of ways these stories interconnect - both through relationships, and connections to inanimate objects ( a hollow chstnot log and an old brocade overed chair are two examples). Kingsolver reveals these connections delicately, and it doesn't seem laboured at all - just a purely natural progression in your knowledge of the characters. My judgement of a good book in may cases is how much it makes me think, and on those ground, this book rates highly. It is also beautifully written. As one of the characters in the book says "trying to teach a lesson that people have forgotten to know.". this book has a message, beautifully packaged in a story based on ordinary lives, which we all know are extraordinary in their own way.
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Summary: Forget the ending: read it for the joy of the journey!
Review: Don't read this book to find out how it ends. Read it for the pure enjoyment of reading. One thing I love about Barbara Kingsolver's books is that I can relate to her main characters' solitude of mind and intellect. Love blossoms from loneliness. Hope blossoms from striving day to day. You'll find yourself yearning for the love interests of the two main characters as if they were your own. The book has a certain harmony to it much like the harmony of life: things are often left unresolved, people cope in the face of unexpected change, and nature continues oblivious to what's going on in my own little piece of life. When I finished reading this book last year, I was disgusted with the ending. But, a year later, I look back and realize that the book could have ended no other way.
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Summary: Easy Going and Satisfying
Review: I really didn't want to read this one when I picked it up. It was one of those books that kind of got pressed on me by a friend. Nevertheless, I was about 120 pages into it before I could put it down, and I really cared about what happened to these characters. I never became toooo passionate about reading this book, but it did keep me pretty engaged. There was some excellent writing and some wonderful characters. This novel has three story lines which overlap at times. Each is a type of love story. The first is between between Deanna and Eddie. She is a fortyish forest ranger and he is a young hunter with whom she shares a passionate summer. The second concerns Lusa who quickly becomes a widow and tries to learn to deal with her new life and her inhereted inlaws. The third is between two older people, Garnett Walker and Nanny Rawley. He is the extreme old conservative fuddy-duddy, and Nanny is his eccentric liberal neighbor who he is trying to learn how to handle. All of the stories take place in the southern Appalachians, and each is very intertwined with the environment of the area. And I think that is Kingsolver's purpose for writing the novel. She is describing the unique place that humans and human love have in nature. Really, this is a light, enjoyable read with some insight to offer the reader. Prodigal Summer is definitely worth a read.
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Summary: not as good as Poisonwood Bible
Review: but an excellent summer read nonetheless. "Prodigal" to me, had never before meant anything but the Prodigal Son parable, but it has another meaning or two here: bountiful, fruitful; or excessively wasteful, spendthrift. Barbara Kingsolver takes us through three interconnected stories involving nature, the environment, flora and fauna, and human relationships, and unlike some other reviewers, I didn't find the clear analogies between the human drama and the rest of the green earth too preachy or overwhelming. I enjoyed her lyrical prose, her unmatched descriptive powers, and the slow-moving but satisfying resolution of the plotlines. Perfect reading for a slow summer afternoon.
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Summary: Light but Filling....
Review: This is a very well written light summer read, plus. Heavy on both romance and the environment, with likable characters and thought provoking questions. We meet several characters and visit them in alternating chapters, all in the same rural area in southern Appalachia. Everyone is equally interesting for different reasons, a pleasure to return to (unlike books I've read where I've found myself skipping chapters that characters that seemed superfluous or boring). Common themes are concerns about the difficulties and pleasures of living with the land, animals and people around us, without misusing the same. Deanna has retreated to the mountains after a failed marriage, now working away from people as a Forest Ranger. She encounters a younger man and realizes her hunger to be with people, along with her anger at having that need. (He is pretty superfluous -- handsome, sexually exciting but a coyote hunter, his character is primarily a backdrop for her to realize and present her opinions.) Lusa is a young Jewish woman who marries a farmer. After his untimely death, she must deal with his sisters, who seem to resent her taking over their family farm. She struggles to be accepted and to accept her changing lifestyle, to find ways to grow and survive both personally and on the farm. Ancient widower Garnett Walker III is a crusty and cantankerous old soul, set in his convictions and not very open to change. He offers a bit of comic relief, a recognition of that in ourselves that does not want to change or admit to being wrong even for our own good. He also represents those who believe firmly in Creationism and technology (a somewhat strange combination). He is paired against (or is it with?) his neighbor, the never married Nannie Land Rawley, aging hippie, organic farmer, single mother of a long dead child. These characters are all revealed slowly to be connected. There are mainly upbeat and welcome changes and developments to be found. I've never read a book quite like this, one that reads like a lazy summer romance, but with a liberal (literally and figuratively) sprinkling of environmental and biological concerns that make it a bit more filling than most. Entertain and educate yourself!
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Summary: Great, as always!
Review: Another great by Barbara Kingsolver. She begins the book with a handful of different plot lines and then masterfully weaves them together. A quick and satisfying read. Highly recommended.
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Summary: Delicious...
Review: I enjoyed this book enormously! Kingsolver writes with warmth and humor and brings the characters to life. The writer is a weaver of tales, a super storyteller.
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Summary: Did you love storytime as a child?
Review: The story gripped me and would not let go. Having the luck to also have "read" this on the book on tape version read by Kingsolver herself, I enjoyed it all the more... so if you're a "car reader" like me, give this one a try. You'll find yourself making excuses to go on long road trips. Kingsolver's voice is pleasant, she dramatizes the story "just enough" but not so much you feel the performance is "affected," and you really feel you're lucky enough to be sitting in a room somewhere while the author reads to just you. I used to be an "anti-book on tape" snob, thinking that people should "read" books, not listen to them. But I am such a convert now, and think that some books just beg to be oral stories. I think this is one of them.
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