--- product_id: 7716574 title: "Prodigal Summer" price: "€ 25.47" currency: EUR in_stock: null reviews_count: 9 url: https://www.desertcart.de/products/7716574-prodigal-summer store_origin: DE region: Germany --- # 4.4/5 stars from 8,000+ readers deep ecological & organic farming themes 3 interwoven Appalachian stories Prodigal Summer **Price:** € 25.47 **Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock ## Summary > 🌄 Dive into Appalachian life with a novel that’s as rich and layered as the mountains themselves! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Prodigal Summer - **How much does it cost?** € 25.47 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Currently out of stock - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.de](https://www.desertcart.de/products/7716574-prodigal-summer) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **Critically Acclaimed:** Join thousands of readers who rated this novel 4.4 stars for its compelling storytelling and vivid detail. - • **Triple Narrative Depth:** Explore three unique, intertwining lives that capture the essence of Appalachian farm life. - • **Thought-Provoking Themes:** Engage with nuanced discussions on life, death, and the complex balance between nature and humanity. - • **Eco-Conscious Storytelling:** Immerse yourself in rich meditations on wildlife, organic farming, and environmental preservation. - • **Award-Worthy Literary Craft:** Experience a novel praised for its passionate narrative and detailed character development that holds your attention. ## Overview Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver is a critically acclaimed novel weaving three distinct Appalachian stories into a vivid tapestry of farm life, ecology, and human connection. With over 8,000 reviews averaging 4.4 stars, it offers a deeply immersive experience into organic farming, wildlife preservation, and the complexities of rural existence, making it a must-read for lovers of contemporary literary fiction. ## Description desertcart.com: Prodigal Summer: A Novel: 9780060959036: Kingsolver, Barbara: Books Review: Wonderful interwoven stories about Appalachian Life - I thoroughly enjoyed this book about farm life in the Appalachia. The stories start out as separate pieces, but then eventually start to intertwine just a little. There are a lot of other reviews that have done a great job summarizing the book so I am just going to leave some thoughts. I didn’t buy the Deanna and Eddie Bondo romance. The parts where she was having deep discussions with him about the importance of coyotes or when she was wondering the woods herself were so beautiful and detailed that I just loved getting lost in the book. However, I had a hard time believing that she would even want to be intimate with someone so against her personal beliefs. It did not make Eddie at all a very appealing person to me and it made me wonder how she could stand him being around. He was almost an intruder in my opinion and the story may have been more intriguing if he were. After Cole died, Lusa looks into putting together a goat herd to sell the meat to her family in New York City. I loved that Kingsolver had this character do something original. After having a long conversation about it with Little Rickie, you would think that she would need his help getting the goats. Instead, Kingsolver skipped over this and she just went and got the goats herself and it all seemed pretty seamless. It would have been interesting to hear more about the new challenges of raising goats; especially being an inexperienced farmer. I would have loved for Rickie to be 18 or 19 and Kingsolver blossoming that romance a little more. The introspective discussion after Eddie killed a turkey left me wishing I was there to say a few things. On page 325, Eddie kills a turkey in the woods. Deanna writes it off saying that it was a male and probably was old or sick enough that it would have made a meal for a bobcat or other predator on the mountain. Eddie teases her surprised she is not a vegetarian for all her talk about caring for the animals on the mountain. She says the concept of vegetarianism is not so simple, because to farm wheat a lot of animals get killed by the machinery. I know this is Kingsolver’s opinion being inserted here, but vegetarianism and veganism is not about purity, it’s about doing the least amount of harm in this world as possible. Much of the grains that are grown are to feed animals that are raised for meat. Less meat, less wheat, less mice and rabbits that are killed and probably more forests don’t need to be cut down. Also, earlier Deanna talks about cats being unnatural predators. I agree with this; however, in this discussion about the turkey, how are humans not also considered unnatural predators? Wasn’t she denying the bobcat or coyote a meal? The meditations on ecology, wildlife preservation, forests, and organic farming made me believe this was a better environmental novel than Overstory. I read Overstory and even though that book started out pretty good, it petered out for me as if the author got bored with the story and the characters. This book held my attention the entire time as if Kingsolver was in love with the story and all the details. This book deserved an award. Last, an epilogue would have been nice. I did not really like the last chapter of the book. I didn’t understand it. I would have loved instead for there to be an epilogue on what happens to these characters after ten years. If I could write it, Deanna and her daughter inherit Nannie Rawley’s farm and she continues to grow organic produce. Garnett’s grandchildren continue with the Chestnut farm and they achieve the beginnings of a grove that is free of Chestnut blight. Lusa and Rickie after a few years eventually do marry and start a family continuing the Widener name on the ancestral farm. I think the stories were all going in this direction, but it would have been nice to see the narratives through to the end. Review: great book - This book has 3 different character stories which I’m usually not a fan of that writing style but I loved each story as they were unique and interesting. This book makes you think a lot about life and death but not in a morbid way but from a curious standpoint. I feel the book ended on a cliffhanger, eager to see if the author will continue the character’s stories. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #24,060 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #210 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction #497 in Women's Domestic Life Fiction #904 in Literary Fiction (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars (8,065) | | Dimensions | 7.96 x 5.38 x 1.09 inches | | ISBN-10 | 0060959037 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0060959036 | | Item Weight | 2.31 pounds | | Language | English | | Print length | 464 pages | | Publication date | October 16, 2001 | | Publisher | Harper Perennial | ## Images ![Prodigal Summer - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/A1Bbh2v2HzL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Wonderful interwoven stories about Appalachian Life *by R***7 on July 17, 2022* I thoroughly enjoyed this book about farm life in the Appalachia. The stories start out as separate pieces, but then eventually start to intertwine just a little. There are a lot of other reviews that have done a great job summarizing the book so I am just going to leave some thoughts. I didn’t buy the Deanna and Eddie Bondo romance. The parts where she was having deep discussions with him about the importance of coyotes or when she was wondering the woods herself were so beautiful and detailed that I just loved getting lost in the book. However, I had a hard time believing that she would even want to be intimate with someone so against her personal beliefs. It did not make Eddie at all a very appealing person to me and it made me wonder how she could stand him being around. He was almost an intruder in my opinion and the story may have been more intriguing if he were. After Cole died, Lusa looks into putting together a goat herd to sell the meat to her family in New York City. I loved that Kingsolver had this character do something original. After having a long conversation about it with Little Rickie, you would think that she would need his help getting the goats. Instead, Kingsolver skipped over this and she just went and got the goats herself and it all seemed pretty seamless. It would have been interesting to hear more about the new challenges of raising goats; especially being an inexperienced farmer. I would have loved for Rickie to be 18 or 19 and Kingsolver blossoming that romance a little more. The introspective discussion after Eddie killed a turkey left me wishing I was there to say a few things. On page 325, Eddie kills a turkey in the woods. Deanna writes it off saying that it was a male and probably was old or sick enough that it would have made a meal for a bobcat or other predator on the mountain. Eddie teases her surprised she is not a vegetarian for all her talk about caring for the animals on the mountain. She says the concept of vegetarianism is not so simple, because to farm wheat a lot of animals get killed by the machinery. I know this is Kingsolver’s opinion being inserted here, but vegetarianism and veganism is not about purity, it’s about doing the least amount of harm in this world as possible. Much of the grains that are grown are to feed animals that are raised for meat. Less meat, less wheat, less mice and rabbits that are killed and probably more forests don’t need to be cut down. Also, earlier Deanna talks about cats being unnatural predators. I agree with this; however, in this discussion about the turkey, how are humans not also considered unnatural predators? Wasn’t she denying the bobcat or coyote a meal? The meditations on ecology, wildlife preservation, forests, and organic farming made me believe this was a better environmental novel than Overstory. I read Overstory and even though that book started out pretty good, it petered out for me as if the author got bored with the story and the characters. This book held my attention the entire time as if Kingsolver was in love with the story and all the details. This book deserved an award. Last, an epilogue would have been nice. I did not really like the last chapter of the book. I didn’t understand it. I would have loved instead for there to be an epilogue on what happens to these characters after ten years. If I could write it, Deanna and her daughter inherit Nannie Rawley’s farm and she continues to grow organic produce. Garnett’s grandchildren continue with the Chestnut farm and they achieve the beginnings of a grove that is free of Chestnut blight. Lusa and Rickie after a few years eventually do marry and start a family continuing the Widener name on the ancestral farm. I think the stories were all going in this direction, but it would have been nice to see the narratives through to the end. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ great book *by H***Y on January 4, 2024* This book has 3 different character stories which I’m usually not a fan of that writing style but I loved each story as they were unique and interesting. This book makes you think a lot about life and death but not in a morbid way but from a curious standpoint. I feel the book ended on a cliffhanger, eager to see if the author will continue the character’s stories. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ written by someone in harmony with nature *by R***S on October 23, 2025* I’m a fan of this author’s writing, and this is certainly one of the best. Well worth reading for its many insights into a world most of us city dwellers neither see nor know about. ## Frequently Bought Together - Prodigal Summer: A Novel - Flight Behavior: A Novel - The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel (covers may vary) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.de/products/7716574-prodigal-summer](https://www.desertcart.de/products/7716574-prodigal-summer) --- *Product available on Desertcart Germany* *Store origin: DE* *Last updated: 2026-04-22*