2001 PB. Prodigal Summer weaves together three stories of human love within a larger tapestry of lives inhabiting the forested mountains and struggling small farms of southern Appalachia. From her outpost in an isolated mountain cabin, Deanna Wolfe, a reclusive wildlife biologist, watches a den of coyotes that have recently migrated into the region. She is caught off-guard by a young hunter who invades her most private spaces and confounds her self-assured, solitary life. On a farm several miles down the mountain, Lusa Maluf Landowski, a bookish city girl turned farmer's wife, finds herself unexpectedly marooned 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 of a future neither of them expected.
Over the course of one humid summer, these characters find their connections to one another and to the flora and fauna with whom they share a place. Prodigal Summer demonstrates a balance of narrative, drama and ideas that is characteristic of Barbara Kingsolver's finest work.
From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "I absolutely loved this book, I didn't want it to end. Three threads that eventually intertwine, just gorgeous."; "On one hand, I'm spending more time outside because of her wonderful writing. On the other, I'm now constantly aware and terrified of invasive species all around us. FIVE STARS!!!"; "Heart warming and such a genuine book. The book has changed my entire outlook on nature and I now welcome bugs into my life! The themes around love and loss are beautifully done in this book and the imagery is quite amazing- makes me miss my home state of Virginia so much! I didn't want these character's stories to end and truly felt sad when I got to the last 50 pages knowing the end was near. If you're looking for a feel good book to change how you view the world around you this is it!"