millinocket's Full Review: Barbara Kingsolver - Prodigal Summer: A Novel
I am right now filled with admiration, and truth be told, a kind of awe. You see, I recently finished Barbara Kingsolver’s Prodigal Summer. It’s as though she read my mind and wrote a book just for me. I have absolutely no idea how this book was generally “received” in the literary world, and I just plain don’t care. It has earned a place on my short list of all time favorites.
Prodigal Summer contains four storylines in the guise of three. The three human stories begin as quite removed from each other, although all take place in close geographical proximity. Predators tells the story of Deanna Wolfe, a woman who has secluded herself on Zebulon Mountain, deep in the Appalachians and overlooking the area where she was raised, for two years. An employee of the park service/ ranger service, her job is to maintain and patrol this protected area. She is there by choice, having escaped a bad marriage to revel in the beauty and complexity of the mountain. Her particular area of interest is coyotes, on which she is quite an expert. She has been waiting for their arrival on her mountain. She holds a strong view that predators are the most vital component of the natural ecosystem, and thus have a strong need for protection. Her solitude is broken by the appearance of Eddie Bondo, a man who will challenge her beliefs both about the mountain and about herself. He is a complication in every way.
Moth Love tells the story of Lusa Landowski, married not long to Cole Widener. Lusa has given up her work as an entomologist in the city to move to Cole’s very rural homestead where she is surrounded by the Widener clan. Her education and background set her apart from her new family, who are less than thrilled with her on all levels. She, in turn, is also less than thrilled with them. She is finding it difficult to adjust to the lifestyle all around her, despite the fact that she has always wanted to live in this type of setting. Her marriage is strained by circumstance and will, and the small town of Egg Fork does not welcome her city ways. She does, however, deeply love her husband.
Old Chestnuts tells the story of one Garnett S. Walker III, age 78. Grouchy, stubborn, and rigidly set in his ways, Garnett is deeply vexed by his neighbor, Nannie Rawley, age 75. Nannie epitomizes all that is wrong with the world as seen by Garnett Walker. She farms her apple orchard organically, wears short pants, lets her weeds grow, and to top it all off, had a child out of wedlock many years ago. The two have been neighbors for decades, but as time wears on, Nannie becomes more and more a focus of Garnett’s daily life.
These three human stories are superbly woven into the tapestry of the fourth, that of the flora and fauna of the town, woods, and mountain that surround these people and define their world. Kingsolver does a masterful job of slowly working all of the stories together with ample use of analogy and metaphor with the natural world. The character’s struggles often have multiple counterparts in the world around them, be it insect, plant or mammal. The book has a serious environmental bent (Rachel Carson – author of Silent Spring being mentioned more than once) with meticulous detail being paid to the life cycles of plants and creatures and the effect that one has on all. Each character learns about nature and from nature, as well as about his or her own strengths, weaknesses and needs. The human characters discover that they are as deeply entwined as the various elements of the land they inhabit.
The entire story takes place during a single lush, fertile summer. The undercurrent of sexuality and rebirth in the natural world is mirrored in the human characters. Kingsolver doesn’t shy away from this instinctive part of human nature, nor does she exploit it. She offers us beautiful descriptive language throughout the book, allowing the reader a unique and integrated look at these lives and this place. The book winds and spirals together without a lot of forced logic, and the characters are left at the end of the season. In some places there is a sort of resolution, but mostly, we are left to contemplate what the characters will do next in the never-ending, always fascinating, cycle of life.
Prodigal Summer is a beautiful blend of character, setting and a sort of tutorial. Flush with detail and rich in language, the book gives pause, making the reader think about the way things, both large and small, connect to form our surroundings. Each action has meaning, and this book looks lovingly at the whole created by the sum of these disparate parts. And while Prodigal Summer may be a tree huggers dream, it’s also chock full of well drawn characters and interesting stories. In short, it’s a wonderful book, and I thoroughly recommend it.
*For some reason, Epinions only listing for this book is the international Spanish/English edition. My copy is the straight up English version, widely available at bookstores.
In a beautiful hymn to wildness, Kingsolver celebrates the prodigal spirit of human nature and of nature itself. Over the course of one humid summer, ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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