Prodigal Summer Audiobook By Barbara Kingsolver cover art

Prodigal Summer

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Prodigal Summer

By: Barbara Kingsolver
Narrated by: Barbara Kingsolver
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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. Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Small Town & Rural Heartfelt Ecology Fiction

Critic reviews

"Readers will be seduced by [Kingsolver's] effortless prose." (Publishers Weekly)
Beautiful Writing • Interconnected Storylines • Soothing Voice • Well-developed Characters • Rich Descriptions
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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.

Perfection!

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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.

Don't usually like authors to narrate, but,

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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.

I’ve thought about this book for years

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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.

Timely story

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The author writes well, reads poorly with childlike voice. Had to give up. As far as I could go, the story is interesting

Not a good listen

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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!

Fun book!

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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.

timeless

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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.

Like a walk in the forest

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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.

Engaging and educational

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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!

Amazing. Amazing read by author !

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