Review: The Prodigal Summer

The Prodigal Summer
by Barabara Kingsolver
Published by Harper Perennial
Released October 2001
Purchased Used

From Goodreads:


Barbara Kingsolver's fifth novel is a hymn to wildness that celebrates the prodigal spirit of human nature, and of nature itself. It weaves together three stories of human love within a larger tapestry of lives amid the mountains and farms of southern Appalachia. Over the course of one humid summer, this novel's intriguing protagonists face disparate predicaments but find connections to one another and to the flora and fauna with which they necessarily share a place.

My Thoughts:


I loved the book. It now holds a place on my list of favorite books ever. The imagery and landscape in this novel is amazing. I've had this book on my "want to read" list for a year but I was saving it to share with my book club. I'm so glad I did. I think we all enjoyed it. Set in a small town tucked away in Appalachia, there were only a few clues here and there to let us know that it was set in the modern day. The practices of the neighbors could easily let you believe that this novel was set in a time when people lived off the land and socialized with their neighbors instead of computers.

This novel, told from the point of view of three very different people, shows how we are all connected to one another, through our communities, and also through the very earth we live on. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys vivid imagery and colorful characters.