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

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 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

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

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

Kingsolver lyrically weaves her views on the superiority of pantheism over belief in a personal god and the conceit of our government forcing itself upon other countries. This takes place in the Congo during the the Eisenhower administration. Spoiler alert: So much for Eisenhower's warning of the "Military Industrial Complex" (my definition of this includes ordering the...more

Kingsolver lyrically weaves her views on the superiority of pantheism over belief in a personal god and the conceit of our government forcing itself upon other countries. This takes place in the Congo during the the Eisenhower administration. Spoiler alert: So much for Eisenhower's warning of the "Military Industrial Complex" (my definition of this includes ordering the elimination of the prime minister of the Congo). I believe his speech was the SAME EXACT DAY (Jan 17, 1961) as the assassination: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. "We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together." Dwight D Eisenhower   hide

On a personal level, I'm a bit partial to this story because the three sisters and their different personalities are in every way my sisters and I. We're such painfully different people, but we love eachother and we make it work. There's another review here on facebook that expresses disappointment in the one-sidedness of the father's character. While it's clear the father was...more

On a personal level, I'm a bit partial to this story because the three sisters and their different personalities are in every way my sisters and I. We're such painfully different people, but we love eachother and we make it work. There's another review here on facebook that expresses disappointment in the one-sidedness of the father's character. While it's clear the father was indeed that, I believe that's the point. He--and everything he stood for--is colonialism incarnate. His inability to grow or change, to even realize why his attempts to change an entire culture of people were failing so terribly. It was a perfect allegory. In the end he faded away into oblivion, leaving his daughters to live lives of their own. While unfortunately, the effects of colonialsm in Africa are still as present as ever. :/   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.

Definitely in my TOP FIVE FAVORITE books of all-time! It's hard to write a review without sounding cheesy or pretentious, and it's impossible to do this book justice, but...Setting: the Congo.The characters were so intense and well developed. I wanted to take a shovel to the dad's head. My heart swelled, identifying with the passion of sister, and cringed at the similarities to the...more

Definitely in my TOP FIVE FAVORITE books of all-time! It's hard to write a review without sounding cheesy or pretentious, and it's impossible to do this book justice, but...Setting: the Congo.The characters were so intense and well developed. I wanted to take a shovel to the dad's head. My heart swelled, identifying with the passion of sister, and cringed at the similarities to the shallow belle of the book.It's topics span from deeply political and cultural to the most basic: our connection or disconnection with the earth. And the most unnerving choice a mother could ever have to make: which child would you save?It's a multi-layered, complex and beautiful novel worth reading, regardless of one's taste.I normally shy from fiction. Poisonwood is so thoroughly researched, I hardly noticed the make believe.Read it. Love it.   hide

This is one of my all time favorites. It makes you consider how narrow minded religion can be and how much we try to place God in a box. While a slow start and can get long winded at times, there are moments of utter truth that reach out and grasp your heart. The biggest lesson I learned is how certain denominations do not truly value every human life the same and limit God's power to...more

This is one of my all time favorites. It makes you consider how narrow minded religion can be and how much we try to place God in a box. While a slow start and can get long winded at times, there are moments of utter truth that reach out and grasp your heart. The biggest lesson I learned is how certain denominations do not truly value every human life the same and limit God's power to their own meager understanding of who HE is. This was freeing for me religiously to realize God is more loving and more awesome than any church gives credit for. I can just BE in God without contrived routines on a Sunday morning.   hide