Prodigal Summer
by Barbara Kingsolver
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Book Reviews of Prodigal Summer
Book Review: calling all enviromentalists & preservationists
Summary: 4 Stars
Prodigal Summer is 444 pages in length.That's not to say the book isn't worth reading. There are three stories here that eventually blend themelves together. The story takes place in southern Appalachia.The first characters are a wildlife biologist and her coyote hunting/ drifter boyfriend who form a unusual alliance. The second group of characters are a widowed farmers wife and her cold in laws who are trying to figure one another out. And then there are Nannie & Garnett. Two elderly feuding neighbors who have totally opposite views on life and who constantly debate about, pesticides, god, and the world in general. The book tells a story of human nature and nature itself. There are constant themes that deal with the issues of enviromentalism and preservation.I personally loved nannie & garnett. The two feuding elderly neighbors. Especially the part in the book when Garnett has an encounter with a turtle. This isn't a book for everyone.However those who have a deep love and appreciation for the enviroment, should enjoy this book. Barbara Kingsolver has been able to take a serious issue and form it into a enjoyable read.Book Review: Kingsolver is the best writer on the planet
Summary: 5 Stars
I approached "Prodigal Summer" wondering if any book could be as good as Kingsolver's "Poisonwood Bible." This is as rich and satisfying and so different I marvel at the depth of the author's talent and skill. The characters are so well-drawn you would recognize them if you saw them on street (and half expect to, they're so real). As with "Poisonwood" Kingsolover tells the story through the eyes of several characters, and has perfected this technique, providing each with a distinct and unique voice. Set in the area in and around Zebulon National Forest over one long summer, we follow three intertwined stories: Deanna Wolfe, a wildlife biologist, and her unlikely affair with her intellectual opposite - Eddie Bondo; Lusa Maluf Landowski, who fears she will never be accepted by her husband's farming family, whose post-doctoral education is as foreign to them as her Arabic name; and Garnett Walker, whose long-running feud with Nannie Rawley provides some of the most comical moments in the book. Kingsolver's depth of study in biology and natural science brings the setting to life with incredible detail.Book Review: Way better than Poisonwood Bible
Summary: 5 Stars
From the first to the last word, Kingsolver keeps you enthralled. You learn more about moths, birds, nature than you think you would from just a novel. And she entertwines the main characters beautifully ~~ making sure that you know just how important the characters are to each other, just as how the animals and insects need each other in order to survive. This novel is much more interesting than Poisonwood Bible (though I liked that one too!)and you can relate to the characters a little more realistically.If you like birds, animals, insects or are environmentally-conscious, I highly recommend this book. It gives a fresh outlook on the ecological system in the midst of the Appalachian mountains. While reading this book, I long for the winter snows to be over so I can camp out in the midst of the woods in southeastern Ohio and listen for the birds' return.
Once again, Kingsolver produces a lyrical read ~~ and keeps you on tenderhooks till she wraps up the ending. It's a great book to read by the fireplace while it's snowing outside. And it's a great book to share with your friends.
Book Review: Best Novel I've Read in Years!
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Book Review: literary perfection
Summary: 5 Stars
Kingsolver has often been criticized for being too politically minded in her books. When she wrote The poisonwood bible, critics wanted more storyline and less talk of African civil conflict. Now, people complain of Kingsolver's boring ecology lessons. I say, what is the worth of art if it can't serve to teach a lesson? After reading this book, I was more enthralled with Kingsolver's message than her equally important characters. I have always been taught that humans have dominion over the Earth. Now, I know we are nothing but the top of one of millions of food chains. Everything affects us, and we affect everything. If God made the world, he didn't make it for us to rule, he made it so it would be beautiful. All of God's creatures are an equal part of an ecosystem. This book made me think of the millions of species that are wiped out when people butcher the rain forests. The Earth is not our's, we are its, and Barbara Kingsolver teaches me to seek beauty in nature, a message that I will remember for years to come.