The Poisonwood Bible

A Novel (Perennial Classics)

546 pages

English language

Published Feb. 9, 2005

ISBN:
978-0-06-078650-2
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Goodreads:
7244

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4 stars (9 reviews)

Barbara Kingsolver's acclaimed international bestseller tells the story of an American missionary family in the Congo during a poignant chapter in African history. It spins the tale of the fierce evangelical Baptist, Nathan Price, who takes his wife and four daughters on a missionary journey into the heart of darkness of the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them to Africa all they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it - from garden seeds to the King James Bible - is calamitously transformed on African soil. Told from the perspective of the five women, this is a compelling exploration of African history, religion, family, and the many paths to redemption.

13 editions

Brilliant!

5 stars

I read another Barbara Kingsolver book, The Lacuna, a while ago, and was in two minds about it as I enjoyed the depictions of lives and relationships but was then left cold as the second half descended into dry politics. I was concerned that the brick that is The Poisonwood Bible might go the same way, so was delighted to find that it doesn't. The then current situation in The Congo/Zaire is woven around the immediate story of the Price family but its intricacies are not thoroughly explored so if you're hoping for a more factual novel of the country's upheaval, this might not be the one for you. Instead Kingsolver has created a powerful portrait and caution against the insanity of blind faith and ill-prepared attempts to force one people to the will of another. Her creation of the out-of-their-depth Price family is inspired and I was interested to …

Review of 'The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This historical fiction novel deals with a subject matter that I hadn't ever looked into, and it actually made me read up on it a bit to follow the story better: the Congo Crisis.

We learn about this in the form of an American family of six who move to Belgian-controlled Congo in 1960 when Nathan Price brings his family there to work as a missionary in a small village called Kilanga. But this is not a book about Nathan. He's only mentioned in passing, a villain who is harsh and unforgiving to his wife and four daughters, and considers the Congolese to be nothing more than savages.

Our different points of view come from the mother, but mostly the four daughters: the baby of the family Ruth May, who adapts the easiest, the twins Leah, a tomboy, and Adah, who was born handicapped, and last Rachel, the least-adaptable one, …

Review of 'The Poisonwood Bible' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, has been on my TBR pile for such a long time that I'd almost forgotten about it. It was only when I heard Maureen Corrigan reviewing Kingsolver's latest book that I felt a sudden, dire need to read the first book. And shame on me, but I have two more novels by this author that I'd picked up years ago and haven't touched. I might be a hoarder.

Barbara Kingsolver's first novel is indeed riveting and thought-provoking. In 1960, Nathan Price, a Baptist minister from Georgia, takes his wife and four daughters on an ill-advised trip to The Belgian Congo, with the hope of spreading the word of Jesus. Unfortunately, Rev. Price is too arrogant to look and listen to what is going on around him. While his daughters and wife are picking up the local language and having life-changing revelations, he is stubbornly …

Review of 'The Poisonwood Bible' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A Baptist priest's family—father Nathan Price with his wife and four daughters—travels to Congo in Africa in the late 60's, on the priest's self-imposed mission to spread Christianity in a village in the then-Belgian colony. His quest is to change Africa, but Africa changes all of them instead. In his overly dominant, almost tyrannical way both at home and in church, father Price leads his family to destruction. When a tragedy strikes, the family falls apart, but by then Africa has a firm hold on all survivors and lives in them to the end.

Kingsolver's book is told in first person by all five female characters, alternating voices and picking up the tale from five different perspectives. It is at first confusing, but soon Kingsolver's masterful writing waves it all together and the reader lives through the hardships of the unprepared white family in the African village which accepts the …