She and Cole were a biological cliché, was that it? A male and femaleįollowing their separate natures?'' But by the end of the chapter, Cole abruptly exits the picture, and Lusa finds herself in another stock situation - a city girl left alone to face down a pack of resentfulĭown the road, the complications of courtship continue. ''In many species of moths,'' she thinks to herself, quoting Darwin, ''the males prefer to inhabit more open territory, while the females cling under cover. Cole is out clearing honeysuckle from the barn while Lusa is inside reading and fuming. Practices are getting in the way of the pheromones. Management at the University of Kentucky, and he courted her ''with an intensity that caused her to ovulate during his visits.'' But after less than a year of marriage, disagreements over weeding The pair met when Cole was attending Lusa's workshop on integrated pest Meanwhile, down in the valley, Lusa Maluf Landowski Widener, a half-Palestinian, half-Jewish farmer's wife with a degree in entomology, is bickering with her husband, Cole. Of their own, falling on each other for a serious Gore-Tex-ripping mingling of gametes - the ''pursuit of eternity,'' biological style.

By chapter's end she and Eddie are drumming up some males drumming up business,'' Deanna explains. ''Every single thing you hear in the woods right now is just nothing but. The two eye each other warily and banter about the birdsĪnd the bees.

Eddie Bondo, a 28-year-old Wyoming hunter with a hatred of coyotes that borders on religion and a taste for middle-aged women with long legs and salty tongues.

Everywhere you looked, something was fighting for time, for light, the kiss of pollen, a connection of sperm and egg and another chance.'' By, Deanna has found her own chance ''Here and now,'' Kingsolver writes, ''spring Wildlife biologist on the far side of 40, is patrolling the woods on Zebulon Mountain, a wild patch of southern Appalachia where she works as a ranger. As the book opens, Deanna Wolfe, a reclusive Audio: Barbara Kingsolver Reads From 'Prodigal Summer'Īrbara Kingsolver's new novel is all about sex, and she doesn't waste much time on foreplay.Barbara Kingsolver's novel explores a variety of mating rituals.

Kingsolver's new book