The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel (P.S.)

I, too, found this book slow going in the beginning, but as I read on, I found it to be a fascinating story. I know that throughout history, missionaries have done amazing work bringing Christianity to all kinds of peoples and cultures around the globe, but I also think it is presumptuous of them (us) to assume that people everywhere need to be force-fed the beliefs of those of us who believe...more

I, too, found this book slow going in the beginning, but as I read on, I found it to be a fascinating story. I know that throughout history, missionaries have done amazing work bringing Christianity to all kinds of peoples and cultures around the globe, but I also think it is presumptuous of them (us) to assume that people everywhere need to be force-fed the beliefs of those of us who believe in our 'one true God'. I say this as a Catholic. Is it really so impossible to co-exist in peace and harmony with people whose beliefs are different from ours? Do you realize that almost every war in history has been caused by one group, organization or country trying to force its beliefs onto 'their enemies?' Kingsolver shows the evils of trying to force not only our religious ideologies, but our political will on a people whose culture and politics don't conform to ours. Perhaps the current clashes in our world could be solved if we could all learn to live and let live. Think about it.   hide

I can't say enough about how beautifully this book is written. The story is told from five different points of view, and the voices for each character are consistent until the very end. This is a powerful story I won't soon forget. It tells the story of a family from Georgia who move to the Congo in Africa to do missionary work, and their struggle to survive, politically, emotionally, and...more

I can't say enough about how beautifully this book is written. The story is told from five different points of view, and the voices for each character are consistent until the very end. This is a powerful story I won't soon forget. It tells the story of a family from Georgia who move to the Congo in Africa to do missionary work, and their struggle to survive, politically, emotionally, and physically. The story is captivating, beautiful, harrowing, with vivid characters who will stay with you long after the book is finished.   hide

I tore through this book, and when finished, immediately began a search for more books by this author (Barbara Kingsolver). Boy, can this woman turn a memorable phrase! So many clever, funny, and unexpected ones too! I listened to the audio version, ...and it was exceedingly entertaining. So much so, that I may be talking with a Southern twang for a few weeks in homage. The narrator of...more

I tore through this book, and when finished, immediately began a search for more books by this author (Barbara Kingsolver). Boy, can this woman turn a memorable phrase! So many clever, funny, and unexpected ones too! I listened to the audio version, ...and it was exceedingly entertaining. So much so, that I may be talking with a Southern twang for a few weeks in homage. The narrator of this audio version really complimented the story, which was in it's own right compelling with very memorable characters. There was just enough of a history lesson to inform me about politics in the African Congo in the 60's, 70's & 80's, without making it ever seem like a school book. Just an excellent story (and author) that I highly recommend!! 5 Stars   hide

An excellent family epic in its own right but what makes this book stand out are the deeper political undertones. Shows the arrogance of western nations as they try to force their religious and economic beliefs on to an alien culture. The book comes together very well and the only criticism is that the last section should be much shorter after most of the characters have left the Congo.

This was supposedly the book that broke Barbara kingsolve into the mainstream despite the fact that she'd been brilliant for years previously. This is the story of the Price family, who are a missionary family working in the Congo on the eve and immediately after it gains its independence from Belgium. Only Nathan Price, the father and husband of the novel's narrators, is keen on the...more

This was supposedly the book that broke Barbara kingsolve into the mainstream despite the fact that she'd been brilliant for years previously. This is the story of the Price family, who are a missionary family working in the Congo on the eve and immediately after it gains its independence from Belgium. Only Nathan Price, the father and husband of the novel's narrators, is keen on the idea. And he is the only one oth family who wants to stay when all others are advised to leave. Naturally, being mere women, his family have to stay with them. This isn't as good as the novel immediately following it (Prodigal Summer) but it encompasses an epic storyline with intimate and personal stories as well as a realistic portrayal of a dysfunctional family dynamic. Deeply symbolic and literary (pay attention to all the character names) it rewards rewards you with the unravelling of the storyline. Read it and be thankful you grew up in a country that allows you to read reviews like this on the net. And be even more thankful you are able to read writers of this calibre.   hide

I agree with Aly on this one: I can't say enough about how beautifully this book is written. The story is told from five different points of view, and the voices for each character are consistent until the very end. This is a powerful story I won't soon forget. It tells the story of a family from Georgia who move to the Congo in Africa to do missionary work, and their struggle to survive,...more

I agree with Aly on this one: I can't say enough about how beautifully this book is written. The story is told from five different points of view, and the voices for each character are consistent until the very end. This is a powerful story I won't soon forget. It tells the story of a family from Georgia who move to the Congo in Africa to do missionary work, and their struggle to survive, politically, emotionally, and physically. The story is captivating, beautiful, harrowing, with vivid characters who will stay with you long after the book is finished   hide

I'd been pushed to read this one and finally gave in--I'm so glad I did. It's haunting. I spent the next few months after I'd read it trying to work out ways in which the family's terrible situation could have ended better, in a happier ending, tormenting myself with it as if this family was a living, real family. Kingsolver has delved into a realm of society not often tackled--missionary...more

I'd been pushed to read this one and finally gave in--I'm so glad I did. It's haunting. I spent the next few months after I'd read it trying to work out ways in which the family's terrible situation could have ended better, in a happier ending, tormenting myself with it as if this family was a living, real family. Kingsolver has delved into a realm of society not often tackled--missionary families and their impact on the community in which they work and witness. As a believer myself, this book touched me with how wrong everything went, but my sympathy was greater because of it. This story isn't terribly kind to missionary existence, but it does give the real and all too true consequences of culture clash, blind arrogance, and unthinking, reckless faith. Every potential missionary should read this book. The intense story-telling, the beautiful details, the lonely walk down to the river by the girls of the family, the amazing narrative shifts between the family members--all of it is amazing. I think Kingsolver could be the next Faulkner of this generation.   hide

In "The Poisonwood Bible," Kingsolver's use of separate and distinct personae as the tellers of the tale is very effective, particularly Adah's wonderfully slanted inner takes on the realities and her many palindromes. As is always the case with Kingsolver, the mothers, daughters, sis-siblings, and assorted other femmes are wonderfully portrayed as are their interactions; the...more

In "The Poisonwood Bible," Kingsolver's use of separate and distinct personae as the tellers of the tale is very effective, particularly Adah's wonderfully slanted inner takes on the realities and her many palindromes. As is always the case with Kingsolver, the mothers, daughters, sis-siblings, and assorted other femmes are wonderfully portrayed as are their interactions; the men are flat, foolish, and primarily incidental. Otherwise, I thought Kingsolver's transitions between her narrative fictional elements and the historical facts she researched and/or gleaned from other sources were a bit forced. It's an interesting time and take, but for me her shorter tales are better. And, as for "feeling" the reality of post-colonial Africa, I think Hemingway's "True at First Light" is vastly superior to this effort by Ms. Kingsolver.   hide

my favorite book. told from the points of view of the 4 different daughters of nathan price, a very single-minded baptist missionary who moved his entire family to a village in the Congo during its fight for independance from Belgium in the 1960s. the oldest daughter, rachel, is very shallow and constantly uses the wrong words and doesn't care. leah and adah are twins, leah loves her father...more

my favorite book. told from the points of view of the 4 different daughters of nathan price, a very single-minded baptist missionary who moved his entire family to a village in the Congo during its fight for independance from Belgium in the 1960s. the oldest daughter, rachel, is very shallow and constantly uses the wrong words and doesn't care. leah and adah are twins, leah loves her father and follows him around endlessly, and adah speaks in rhymes and backwards poems due to her hemiplegia, a birth defect. ruth may, the youngest, sees everything through a child's eyes and tells everything exactly like it is. the novel follows them through 3 decades, and explores how the same experiences affected the daughters in completely different ways. so interesting. read it so you can talk about it with me.   hide