"Prodigal Summer" by Barbara Kingsolver

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

FIC KIN available at Beaufort, Bluffton, and Hilton Head

Large Print available at Hilton Head

Audio available at Beaufort

"I have had this book for four years, and the past four summers have gone by with me forgetting to read it. And I wanted to read it in summer, so finally I have succeeded! This one is not to be missed. Kingsolver beautifully weaves three stories set in the Virginia mountains of Southern Appalachia. The three chapter titles refer to each respective storyline. And you know they are all somehow related, but it isn’t until page 170 that you are given a clue; and these clues are dropped like pieces of a puzzle for you to put together. Each story involves naturalists, those who have a low-impact lifestyle and value all life forms, plant and animal, and respect their roles in the food chain and their right to survive on the planet, whether or not they are considered a threat to mankind. I was puzzled by the title, so I looked up “prodigal” to see if it gives any clues: wastefully or recklessly extravagant; giving or yielding profusely; lavish; lavishly abundant; profuse: nature's prodigal resources. From this I can see that there is a recurrent theme and view by all the protagonists that summer brings nature’s abundance and that it is resplendent in its weightiness and wonder. It is much more interesting to observe the goings on in the natural world around us than to occupy our time with, say, television. Reading Prodigal Summer will bring you close to that world where you can almost hear the sounds of bees buzzing and smell the honeysuckle as it travels in the breeze. Here is just one example of her beautiful writing; it has its own magical meter:

“After her first few hours [riding the power mower] she realized she had stopped thinking altogether. She was just a body vibrating like one of Heaven’s harp strings in the sharp, green-scented air.”

If you enjoy reading about biological wonders and how all living things are related to one another, you will love this book. The stories are poignant and seem so real that I was deeply moved by them. 4 ½ stars!"

Review provided by Brenda Beasley, Beaufort County Library (staff)