If I could give this book a twenty, I would! By page 11 I was completely absorbed into the world of Zebulon Valley. Twelve Hours later I had finished the book! It reminds me a few books I read in the summer of 1996: The Joshua Tree by Robert Cabot and One Summer by James R. Osgood. If you enjoy Prodigal Summer I recommend these other books.

This is the second novel by Barbara Kingsolver that I have read, the first being The Poisonwood Bible. The venue for the story is an area I know fairly well; I worked for three years in Johnson City, TN, a stone's throw from the presumptive locale of her mythical Zebulon County. The beauty of the mountain woods along the ridgelines of the Appalachians from Spring through the beginning of Fall cannot be overstated, and Ms. Kingsolver describes them well. If you have never seen the magical carpet of wildflowers that covers the ground in Spring in the forest before the trees have fully leafed out, do yourself a favor and spend a day on the Appalachian Trail somewhere between the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and the north side of Roan Mountain during that season. The book takes as its continuous thread the return (if it is a return) of coyotes to the eastern mountains, filling the niche vacated by red and grey wolves, courtesy of humans, over 100 years ago. Kingsolver touches on the many other extinctions which have changed the Eastern forests: American Chestnut, Carolina Parakeet, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and various other insects, songbirds, fish, and mussels. She was, after all, trained as a biologist, and her knowledge of nature and its ecological systems informs the book. For example, she explains why broad spectrum insecticides increase the number of herbivorous insects after an initial application of the poison. But she also knows the people of Appalachia, and her rendition of their speech and habits rings true to me. Lusa, the outsider, is the foil who exposes their distinctive speech and ways through her ignorance of them. Deanna Wolfe is the mountain woman who, like Kingsolver, left Kentucky to attend college and then returned to Kentucky; it is through her eyes we learn about mountain ecology and specifically about coyotes. Her relationship with Eddie is a key part of the book, and without enumerating all the moving parts, Kingsolver does a good job portraying the various shifting alliances and attractions. I enjoyed the story and the message.

3 stories about love and emotion and humanity following wonderful characters in a beautiful and richly depicted setting. this was the perfect summer read: nature, love, sex, and a real hot muggy atmosphere made this book… and the last chapter’s perspective change??? consider me barbra kingslovers new seat fan

I have only read this once but I plan to re-read when I have the time to really sit and savor it. I read this over a couple of hot, sweaty summer afternoons in the shade of the trees by a lake, which I think was the perfect way to meet this book. Ultimately, I love the careful attention and dignity this book gives its women in a way I haven't noticed in a lot of other books. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who enjoys stories about the ways we relate to our loved ones and community and how they change as we grow older.

One of my favorites. I reread every few years.