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Prodigal Summer  By  cover art

Prodigal Summer

By: Barbara Kingsolver
Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
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Publisher's summary

Prodigal Summer weaves together three stories of human love within a larger tapestry of lives in southern Appalachia. At the heart of these intertwined narratives is a den of coyotes that have recently migrated into the region. Deanna Wolfe, a reclusive wildlife biologist, watches them from an isolated mountain cabin where she is caught off-guard by Eddie Bondo, a young hunter who comes to invade her most private spaces and her solitary life.

Down the mountain, another web of lives unfolds as Lusa Maluf Landowski, a bookish city girl turned farmer's wife, finds herself 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 neighbors tend their respective farms and wrangle about God, pesticides, and the possibilities the future holds.

Over the course of one long summer, these characters find connections to one another, and to the land, and the final, urgent truth that humans are only one piece of life on earth.

©2000 Barbara Kingsolver (P)2000 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Readers will be seduced by [Kingsolver's] effortless prose." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Prodigal Summer

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one of the mist enjoyable books ever.

loved loved loved everything about it. the Narration was beyond superb. kingdom very is a master story teller.

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Wonderfully woven together tale of multiple women.

King solver always does an amazing job with detail and information. Her characters are always well researched and follow true to their personalities.

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Informative

Enjoyed the story line & the information about our relationship to the world we live in. Ways to make it better.

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Beautiful story, annoying sound effects

The reader and story were both fantastic, but there is a bird chirping transition between chapters that is much louder than the narrator and is extremely jarring. If I had a do-over I would grab the paperback copy instead.

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Astonishing and wonderful

I learned so much from this book. While I’ve always been enthralled by the natural world, my understanding and respect for all things great and small has been so broadened by this amazing book. And the three stories are great! It was also a treat listening to the author herself as she skillfully narrated her remarkable book.

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One of the best to listen to: Prodigal Summer

I recommend this book to anyone who will listen as my favorite audio book listening experience. It is a perfect blend of an interesting and heartwarming story told by the author in her own perfectly suited voice.

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best book in a very long time!

I loved so many things about this book. I loved listening to the author read it - her soft southern accent is so perfect for this story. I love her strong, smart, caring women characters. I love learning about animals, bugs, and the balance of nature and how we can live within that balance. She raises my awareness of these things without being "preachy ." And I love how she pulls all 3 story lines together at the end. I guess I've fallen for Barbara Kingsolver!

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If you love Monarchs

I read this book just after my summer of breeding Monarch Butterflies. The magic of that experience was continued for me as I listened to this book #magic. I felt her love of nature, her respect and caring #caring. I wanted to cry for her needs to share and yet to be independent #independent. I couldn't put the book down #keptreading. #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

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Enticingly listenable!

I adored each character and this southern read. Great narrator too! I am going to buy the book.

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Hang in there

This book was off to a slow start for me. I wasn’t getting in to it for a chapter or two and started thinking about not continuing on. It's definitely worth persevering through the first few chapters because in the end the stories are lovely and interestingly woven together. Don't give up on it.

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