Prodigal Summer Discussion, part three (Chapters 21-31)

[SusanH]

You’ve finished! What did you think?

This is our last discussion thread for Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. (http://www.storknotes.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=29054)

If you haven’t posted on any of the discussion threads yet, but you have finished the book, feel free to post on this thread. We can also use this thread to discuss the last third of the book, chapters 21-31.

Here are a few questions you can answer if you like:

~ How was this book similar to or different from what you expected?
~ Has this book taught you anything new, or made you think about something you’d never thought about before? Explain.
~ Would you recommend this book to others? To a particular person?
~What future do you envision for the characters?

Thank you for participating in our discussions!

[SusanH]

~ How was this book similar to or different from what you expected?

I really had no expectations at all. I had never read anything by Kingsolver, so I didn't know what to anticipate in terms of style or subject matter. I had heard this was an enjoyable book, and I certainly wasn't disappointed.

~ Has this book taught you anything new, or made you think about something you’d never thought about before? Explain.

Hmm. It isn't something I never thought about, but it did make me consider environmental issues a bit more.

~ Would you recommend this book to others? To a particular person?

I was planning to recommend it to my sister the environmentalist, but she already read it. I would certainly give a general recommendation, as I thoroughly enjoyed it.

~What future do you envision for the characters?

I hope that Lusa and Deanna meet, as I think they would like each other very much. I hope that Crystal will find her place in the world. I see a detente between Nannie Rawley and Garnett, possibly even friendship. Maybe not romance, as she's so lively and he's pretty crotchety, lol.

It was hard to let these characters go - I wanted to know everything that happened next!

[Paula]

~ How was this book similar to or different from what you expected?

I started reading this book without any expectations. I've never read any of Kingsolver's books.

~ Has this book taught you anything new, or made you think about something you’d never thought about before? Explain.

The topic of predator and prey has me thinking. Particularly the insect part. I really don't like spiders (particularly in my house), but the idea of increased number of their prey is disgusting too.

~ Would you recommend this book to others? To a particular person?

No one in particular, but I would recommend it .

~What future do you envision for the characters?

I think that Garnett and Nannie will get married (Garnett is too God-fearing to have a relationship without being married) and move in his home. Although Nannie is very independent, she will agree because her home will go to Deanna and her child. Garnett will stop being such a curmudgeon because of his relationship with Nannie and his grandchildren. Lusa will develop a friendship with Deanna and Nannie because they have similar values.

A comment in general: I have to mention that I just laughed at the vision of Garnett and the scarecrow. :D

[Ursula]

You’ve finished! What did you think?

Basically, I didn't like it.

~ How was this book similar to or different from what you expected?

I didn't know what to expect.

~ Has this book taught you anything new, or made you think about something you’d never thought about before? Explain.

No. I felt like I was being preached to, though, and despite agreeing with the author's ideas, I disliked the dialogue in this book. I felt the dialogue was poor and preachy, like a school lesson. Someone was always teaching about Muslims, Goats, Balance in nature. I know that stuff. Ugh! I'm so irritated with that book right now. I liked the style in some parts, but I didn't care about the characters and hated the dialogue, of which there was a lot. I think that's why I liked Garnett best. He spent a lot of time thinking rather than talking.

Here's a strange thing, I usually don't find sex scenes titillating in books, but I found Eddie Bondo very sexy.



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Ursula
Me: 36, Dh: 35 (1989)
<font color="#FF850B"><font size=2pt> Dd: May 2001</font></font>
20 Months
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[Macewan]

*jumping in*
I lurk at TFM pretty infrequently, but saw recommendations for this book and got it from the library, so I guess I'll just jump in!!!

How was this book similar to or different from what you expected?
I had no expectations
~ Has this book taught you anything new, or made you think about something you’d never thought about before? Explain.
I really enjoyed the environmental slant...I work in the environmental field ( but a different area) and I really enjoyed this perspective
~ Would you recommend this book to others? To a particular person?
No one in particular, but I'd definitely recommend it as I really liked it.
~What future do you envision for the characters?
hmmm. Garnett and Nannie have a relationship, Nannie enjoys having Deanna and the baby around, Garnett renews relationship with his grandkids, Deanna and Lusa meet.
I definitely wanted to know what happened next!

[Caryl]

~ How was this book similar to or different from what you expected?

I expected the stories to come together sooner, and to have a few scenes at the end with the characters from each of the three stories combining to make new stories. Otherwise, the book's writing style and story were very similar to what I expected.

~ Has this book taught you anything new, or made you think about something you’d never thought about before? Explain.

I loved learning details about nature and farming from the characters. Lusa, Deanna and Nannie Rawley are good teachers! :) I knew some things, but they definitely had much to teach me.

~ Would you recommend this book to others? To a particular person?

Yes, I think I will lend my copy to a friend who recently moved to live on a farm. She is the person in my life who reminds me the most of Lusa. Several of my friends and my mom have already read the book; otherwise I'd recommend it to them, too!

~What future do you envision for the characters?

A less solitary life, for all of them. I loved how the book ended with the point of view of the coyote, with similar statements from the beginning of the book:

Solitude is a human presumption. Every quiet step is thunder to beetle life underfoot, a tug of impalpable thread on the web pulling mate to mate and predator to prey, a beginning or an end. Every choice is a world made new for the chosen.

Love that.

[Lisa Jo]

ugh, I spent half an hour waxing poetic about this book and Natalie crawled under my feet and turned off the computer. :( I did actually finish the book back in January.

I loved this book! This was the second time I have read it and I've recommended it to more people than I can remember. Barbara Kingsolver has a gift for creating characters and stories that are interesting, complex and insightful. The way she describes the physical world makes her settings come alive for me.

I would love to meet and know all three of these women, though I can't say I directly related to any of them. I just enjoyed following their stories and watching their lives unfold to bring them toward one another. (BTW, I have always enjoyed ensemble books and movies that slowly show you how all the characters and plotlines intertwine.) I enjoyed watching Garnett slowly come to appreciate Nannie's "crazy" ideas and grow fond of her. Nannie was probably my favorite character, and I did have an odd sense of actually "knowing" her, though I haven't figured out why.

My only complaint is the heavyhanded dialogue in getting her points made. The conversations between Deanna/Eddie, Lusa/Little Ricky, and Nannie/Garnett seemed a bit stiff at times. Still, I loved her message and didn't find it detracted at all from my enjoyment of the book. Did I learn anything? I knew nothing about coyotes before reading this book. It was interesting to see them portrayed sympathetically. In an overall sense, I enjoyed learning more about the intricate relationship between predator and prey.

The future I envision for the characters: The women will all become close friends and help raise Deanna's baby and Jewel's kids. Garnett will live to see his beloved chestnuts re-introduced; he and Nannie will be good friends, possibly lovers. ;)

(Edited for grammar and typos)