
Prodigal Summer
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Narrated by:
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Barbara Kingsolver
About this listen
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.Listeners also enjoyed...
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"Readers will be seduced by [Kingsolver's] effortless prose." (Publishers Weekly)
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Performance
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- Unabridged
-
Overall
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Performance
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- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins
- Abridged
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Barbara Kingsolver has written these five short stories with the same wit and sensitivity that characterize her highly praised and beloved novels Animal Dreams and The Bean Trees. Spreading her characters over a variety of colorful landscapes, she tells stories of hope, momentary joy, and powerful endurance.
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Another great book by Kingsolver!
- By Rosemarie on 01-09-12
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Pigs in Heaven
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
- Length: 2 hrs and 50 mins
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Taking place three years after The Bean Trees, Taylor is now dating a musician named Jax and has officially adopted Turtle. But when a lawyer for the Cherokee Nation begins to investigate the adoption—their new life together begins to crumble. Depicting the clash between fierce family love and tribal law, poverty and means, abandonment and belonging, Pigs in Heaven is a morally wrenching, gently humorous work of fiction that speaks equally to the head and the heart.
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I didn't realize it was the abridged version
- By David Andrews on 02-27-15
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Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
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Wow! It’s a Masterpiece
- By Billy on 10-25-22
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The Language of Flowers
- A Novel
- By: Vanessa Diffenbaugh
- Narrated by: Tara Sands
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past. The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it's been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude.
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You don't need a green thumb to enjoy this one
- By Diana - Audible on 04-16-12
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Run
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Peter Francis James
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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It's a winter evening in Boston and the temperature has drastically dropped as a blizzard approaches the city. On this fateful night, Bernard Doyle plans to meet his two adopted sons, Tip the older, and more serious and Teddy, the affectionate dreamer, at a Harvard auditorium to hear a speech given by Jesse Jackson. Doyle, an Irish Catholic and former Boston mayor, has done his best to keep his two sons interested in politics, from the day he and his now deceased wife became their parents, through their childhoods, and now in their lives as college students.
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Don't listen to the interview at the end.
- By S. Elder on 12-16-07
By: Ann Patchett
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State of Wonder
- A Novel
- By: Ann Patchett
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Research scientist Dr. Marina Singh is sent to Brazil to track down her former mentor, Dr. Annick Swenson, who seems to have disappeared in the Amazon while working on an extremely valuable new drug. The last person who was sent to find her died before he could complete his mission. Plagued by trepidation, Marina embarks on an odyssey into the insect-infested jungle in hopes of finding answers to the questions about her friend's death, her company's future, and her own past.
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Do yourself a favor and listen to this book!
- By F. B. H. In TN on 06-10-11
By: Ann Patchett
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The Signature of All Things
- A Novel
- By: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson
- Length: 21 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction, inserting her inimitable voice into an enthralling story of love, adventure and discovery. Spanning much of the 18th and 19th centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker - a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia.
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Don't miss this one
- By Molly-o on 12-27-13
What listeners say about Prodigal Summer
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- Carrie Hoffman
- 05-26-23
Perfection!
If you have any experience living in nature, then in this book will feel like coming home. Barbara’s passion for environmental harmony is synchronous with her tremendous ability to entertain. You will laugh and you’ll cry and hopefully you will understand your place and this amazing world just a little bit better.
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2 people found this helpful
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- suzanne
- 10-03-12
Don't usually like authors to narrate, but,
Where does Prodigal Summer rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
This is definitely and still in my top five!
What was one of the most memorable moments of Prodigal Summer?
I love the way she weaves the different story lines and characters together. And, the natural world is explained and shown to have it's own persistent and undeniable purpose, presence and influence. I read this years ago and my listening to this book did not dissapoint.
What about Barbara Kingsolver’s performance did you like?
She has a soft pleasant lilting voice which serves her material well. I have found a number of books where the author makes the mistake of narrating. If I don't like the narrator I won't buy or listen to the box. You will not be dissapointed with Kingsolver's performance!
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
Iit's all a big sexual circus!
Any additional comments?
The science in this book is amazing. The age-span of the characters and issues presented our astonishing.
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1 person found this helpful
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- lindsey
- 02-26-18
I’ve thought about this book for years
When I first got this book quite frankly I forgot about it and didn’t finish it for two years, however, it was a book I continually thought about. I always thought of moths and coyotes after and just how she transports you to wherever she is. Years later I read the entire book and was surprised at how much I not only loved it, but how much I learned. I loved this book, I loved where it took me, and how she brings everything together for the larger picture of life.
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- Maria Dolores
- 04-08-19
Timely story
I am about to move to the country with my partner so this novel couldn’t have been read at a better time for me. I loved the beautifully crafted prose, the realistic and touching dialogues and the author’s ability to evoke landscapes, smells and moods. Great read.
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- Connie R Meester
- 12-19-18
Not a good listen
The author writes well, reads poorly with childlike voice. Had to give up. As far as I could go, the story is interesting
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- MM
- 04-11-19
Fun book!
Great book with good narration but I found the chirping transition between chapters to be way too loud when listening on headphones or a speaker. Otherwise the book was great!
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- Peter
- 01-08-07
timeless
This is a book that I keep coming back to. Kingsolver weaves three wonderful stories as one without preaching (too much). Funny, thought provoking, interesting, and close to home. Wonderful book.
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- Catarina
- 07-19-11
Like a walk in the forest
How is it possible that I haven't read Barbara Kingsolver before?! This book is beautifully read by the author and takes you to a small farming community, into families, into peoples' lives and most of all out in nature. Seldom have I read such beautiful portraits of women, described just like they are. And she doesn't take you where you necessarily want the story to go, annoying of course, but the story is bigger than that, and closer to life.
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- Michael Fink
- 12-02-16
Engaging and educational
I loved that the author was the narrator! You really get a true sense of intended inflection and tone that way.
It was a little slow to start, but picked up and plug me in and I was along for the ride!
Love the way the stories were interwoven delicately and firmly. The subtle hints of connectivity between the stories was appreciated.
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- Lynn
- 09-14-12
Amazing. Amazing read by author !
If you could sum up Prodigal Summer in three words, what would they be?
When I first saw it was read by author I worried bu she was perfect!
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