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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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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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One of my favorite books

A wonderful story of the vulnerability and resilience of humans and wildness where it lives.

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Loved it

This book was a fresh new view on love and nature. I enjoyed the intertwining of stories.

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Prodigal Summer

Wonderful presentation. The author wove a spell-binding tale of family concerns in a farming community of Appalachia. She artfully explored issues that concern farmers as well as those of us concerned with the environment. She presented both sides of many environmental issues. The issues were discussed in a manner that prompted critical thinking of the readers. A must read for everybody!

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beautiful.

beautiful story, nicely performed. very female centric, nature centric. overall, definitely worth reading. the characters are quite nuanced and original.

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An engaging and informative story

I loved that this story was read by the author who could give the emphasis and intonation she had in mind when she wrote it. The characters were unique and honest, and story included information about the natural world that I found interesting without being overly scientific. This is definitely one I will go back to again.

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Excellent work

Kingsolver is brilliant. She captures your attention, imagination, curiosity and your vision in your minds eye; all while teaching.

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Mesmerizing

Barbara Kingsolver is such a captivating author. In this audible book, she is also the narrator and I don't think anyone else could have captured the characters as she did in this beautiful novel. I have no doubt that this book will appeal to all women but I think there are guys like me who enjoy a change from international spy thrillers and mysteries and will get into this story. The characters wires enjoyable and the education about birds and bees and flowers and trees added so much new knowledge that everything just came together. I've read/listened to one other book by Kingsolver and will definitely look for more.

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One Of Us.

Mrs Kingsolver has managed to not only tell the stories of multiple loosely related characters well, but also the natural world around them equally well. She's one of us.

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Beautiful and moving and I so appreciate it

Beautifully written, heartfelt story, I want to be in those mountains and enjoy nature and I learned so much. Thank you.

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