Prodigal Summer

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Kingsolver, Barbara	4-week checkout	Due 05-12-2024
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Kingsolver, Barbara	4-week checkout	Due 05-20-2024

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Well-written, slow-starting submitted by Sara W on June 21, 2011, 2:12am Barbara Kingsolver writes strong, lyrical prose. The descriptions of nature and Appalachian farm life are beautifully creative - they really capture the reader. That being said, this book took me about 75-100 pages to really get into.

The book develops three separate story lines - very separate, considering that each of the characters lives in selective isolation. These individual story lines are interesting on their own, but what emerges as even more impressive is how gradually and expertly Kingsolver weaves them together. By the time they connect, the reader has developed a new understanding of the meaning of place, community and life as relates to each of these enjoyable and likeable characters.

I chose this book to kick off my fledgling book club and it was unanimously adored. We had a great discussion and were so enthusiastic about this author that we selected "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" for next month.

Sensual and joyous submitted by jmenik on June 26, 2011, 4:05pm Having grown up in Virginia, I know the kinds of summers Kingsolver describes. The several interwoven story lines address personal transformation lived in the progress of a season. I adore this book for its spontaneity and humor.

Appalachian summer submitted by lifeisamuse on August 24, 2014, 11:48pm I grew up in rural Appalachia and Kingsolver's rich description of small rural farms abutting thick, lush forests made me feel so close to home. As always with her books, her character development was lovely, and their trials and tribulations served as an interesting backdrop to the ecological themes (value of predators over prey, land use management, forestry stewardship, organic farming practices, etc.) that Kingsolver brings to the fore throughout the novel. At times some of those very themes feel a bit belabored and redundant, but there are a few moments where the arguments presented by the characters reach beyond the typical dialogue to offer up something truly provocative and unique. Those moments, along with Kingsolver's endearing characters and rich description, make this book worth reading.

Gorgeous writing, but a bit preachy and unreal characters submitted by 21621031390949 on July 22, 2019, 2:16pm Kingsolver is a wonderful writer, and this novel is full of lush, evocative prose. I love the setting, the focus on Nature and ecology, and the strength of female characters. I love her overall messages - the interdependent web of all existence, the need for love, the drive to survive - but I have trouble both with her characters and her heavy-handedness in delivering her messages. As in other Kingsolver novels that I've read, I've found the people to be caricatured. They speak in unnaturally clever, uber-intellectually-literate phrases that sometimes feel like a cross between Noel Coward and a pedantic lecture. Maybe people speak like that somewhere, but not anyone I know.

Still, it's a beautiful novel, interesting stories, and educational about the natural world.