First of all, let's get one thing straight: this isn't The Poisonwood Bible, Part 2. Don't expect it, and you won't be disappointed. Got that? Swell.
Prodigal Summer revolves around the events of several rural Virginia residents during one season of their lives. It is essentially three different stories that somewhat feed off each other. I'll do my best to explain.
As the book opens, we find Deanna Wolfe studying animal tracks in the Appalachian forest. For two years, she has been up here, maintaining the trails and studying the wildlife. Her only human contact is her fellow forest service employee who brings her monthly provisions.
This solitude changes when a hunter named Eddie Bondo discovers Deanna. Like a predator, he catches her with her defenses down, and she doesn't know how to handle this handsome young man, who also happens to be hunting the very animals she protects.
The human brain is a funny thing, Deanna finds, as she invites the enemy into her bed. They satisfy their animal urges while arguing over their own personal passions about hunting and saving wildlife.
Meanwhile, in the valley below the forest, Lusa Maluf Landowski wonders how she went from National Science Foundation scholar to farmer's wife. She's only been married to Cole Widener for less than a year. His family hates her because she's different, scholarly, and definitely not Zebulon County material.
Without divulging too much, Lusa suddenly finds herself alone. The farm, which has been in the Widener family for generations, is now hers. Yet she is a scientist by training. What is she to do with this farm? Will Cole's family ever accept her? Does she even belong here or should she go back to the big city of Lexington?
Down the road live two elderly farmers different as night and day. Nannie Rawley is an organic farmer who specializes in apples. She is a strong woman, yet her heart is sad for the little girl she lost so long ago. She is cheerful and friendly, though deep down inside, she still has trouble understanding God's plan, and why her daughter was born with so many defects lived such a short life.
Next door to Nannie is Garnett Walker III. Widowed 8 years ago, he spends his time trying to reestablish the American chestnut into the Appalachian landscape. He is a cranky man, angry at Nannie for growing pests and weeds with her organic No Spray Zone. What we find is that Garnett is really just a lonely man. He finds excuses to terrorize Nannie, and she knows that. However, it's really the only human interaction he gets. Garnett has his own pain in the form of a son he disowned many years ago.
To the reader of this review, these appear to be three separate stories told simultaneously in a single book. However, with further reading you will see that these stories are all related and its characters dependent on each other in one way or another. It doesn't take an overworked, underpaid English teacher to point out the symbolism here. Just like every other animal, vegetable and mineral, humans are dependent on each other for physical and mental survival.
Prodigal Summer is a story of nature, as this small section of the world develops over a single summer. Ms. Kingsolver spends a great deal of time discussing the landscape on the mountain and in the valley. There is extensive detail pertaining to the animals and insects of the area. As an added bonus, the end pages of the hardback version of this book are illustrated with they very bugs that are part of the story. It's an interesting detail, indeed. Credit for the illustrations is given to Paul Mirocha, and deservedly so.
I went into reading this book with an open mind, knowing enough about Barbara Kingsolver's work that this wouldn't be another Poisonwood Bible. What I did expect, however, was some of that dry, subtle humor that was in Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven. There was very little, and that was a bit of a disappointment.
What did exist was an intermediate lesson on nature and the food chain. The lecture was interesting to a point, and then it seemed to get preachy. I'll be the first to admit I am oversensitive, but I can only read so much about dead animals before crying "Uncle!"
Another disappointment is what I call a 2/3 development of the characters. There is a lot of talk about nature vs. progress in this story, and that took up some of the pages that should have been devoted to developing the characters. Actually, this is just my opinion. Perhaps the author's message was actually about nature and it's my timing that is off.
What did work for me in this book was Ms. Kingsolver's beautifully detailed description of the rural Virginia landscape. What a beautiful place to set a story. I've decided I must see the real thing before I die.
Should you read this book? If you are familiar with all of Ms. Kingsolver's works, I'd say yes. You'll probably like it. However, if you discovered the author from Oprah's golden list, you might be disappointed. Prodigal Summer and The Poisonwood Bible are completely different in story line and pace. That being said, I feel Barbara Kingsolver is a talented author and I wait patiently for her future novels.
