Rating: 
Summary: Sound and the Fury-like
Review: I think, although the book was very long (narrative flow could have used some work) and Kingsolver has written more elegantly before, it had some really interesting aspects. The main thing that sticks in my mind is the technique; Rev. Price, the man around whom the story turns, is described obliquely by the people who surround him. This is a very effective way of telling the story, as it emphasizes the unbridgeable gap between the minds of the Prices. This is the same way that Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury works, by weaving a story around Caddy Compson. While Kingsolvers book is not as cleanly written as Faulkner's, ultimately it is almost as devastating.
Rating: 
Summary: Kingsolver's Masterpiece
Review: The setting is the Belgian Congo as it approached independence; the characters are white baptists transplanting themselves in the jungle to spread "the good news". Although there is an adventure about all of this, the book is a commentary about many things:race,women,slavery(physical and psychological),men, cultures classing, politics, God and religion.Whether you agree with the commentary or not, it is all quite thought provoking. Although not as powerfully written as Toni Morrison's "Beloved", this novel is a more gracefull counterpart in the discussion of the human condition and human interaction.Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Ambitious but a failure artistically
Review: I admire Kingsolver's ambition in trying to write a mythic novel of Biblical scope. However, several problems interfere with its realization. First of all, separation of the narration into the five points of view isolates each character, minimizes action, and saps the story of energy. If the characters had a more unique vision or insights, it wouldn't be so bad. Also the novel suffers dramatically as the exposition is very lengthy and the denoument is 150 pages long! You would think that Independence would be a very dramatic event, but after a few hints of its coming, it arrives rather abruptly and the family is too concerned with its own dysfunction to notice much. The central scene of the snake bite is rendered very vaguely, not dramatically.Kingsolver tries to cover these narrative deficiencies with inventive language, but much of the time it is overwrought or gimmicky. The African setting is superficial with very little interaction between the missionaries and the natives. Put this together with a mythic structure that seems contrived and which peters out in the last half of the book along with stereotyped characters, and there isn't much left to maintain interest. Kingsolver reminds me of a straight A student who is smart enough to recognize that Rachel is very shallow, but doesn't see that Leah's tendency to see the world in black and white is just as bad. The author is very talented, but she needs to spend time with a good editor and she needs to temper her own righteousness just as she criticizes Nathan Price for his.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful story and a great read
Review: It has been a long time since I had a book that I couldn't put down, but this one took care of that. I loved the style in which the author chose to tell this powerful story. I had my favorites among the daughters and looked forward to their chapters and point of view. I recommended this to all my friends and to their bookclubs.
Rating:
Summary: Mighty pen that speaks the demise
Review: I've found out a lot of things, practically the entire different view I've thought of. Democracy for instant, the majority wins is a concept I longed as the best system in the world. Poisonwood bible shook me out of it, telling that it only stands on two legs! Which come to think of it, a very true and wise word.But it's not just that part, the allegories each characters represented in such true manner you want to shout out telling the world about what's wrong with everybody around us! It's a true gift to experience her novel, in such short notive, I've finished the book with delighted ideas and much more mature thinking. Ever wonder why Christianity failed in Africa? Because it's a complete different thing, same as how we could not accept their beliefs. Try this book. I think it's worthy to understand Africa much more complex system than we ever know of people dancing around naked doing the Ooga-ooga.
Rating:
Summary: Needed Advice on When to Stop
Review: Overall the book is excellent but other then a diatribe against Western policies toward Africa, the second half really did not add to the book, it just made it longer....She should have wrapped up the book with an epilogue or a couple of summary chapters on how things turned out....Nonetheless, a fine book
Rating: 
Summary: Navel Gazing at It's Worst
Review: Somewhere in the middle of these 550 pages is a wonderful story of about 250 pages trying to burst forth. However, slogging through the muck and mire of these pitiful preachers of political correctness and philosophical nihilism was not worth finding the diamond in the rough. The narrative was hopelessly broken by the use of too many voices. The word games that are to help define each character are unconvincing and self indulgent. Nevertheless, the worst sin of this Bible is endless navel gazing. African history was interesting. The plot was interesting. These women were not interesting. Pitiful - pit is full - lluf si tip. The heart of this novel began too late and ended too early. Out of respect for their time, it will not be recommended reading for my friends, family and co-workers.
Rating:
Summary: A superb novel
Review: Barbara Kingsolver explores many issues in this wonderful novel. Though some might take issue with the various threads, I wallowed in the intricate structure (5 viewpoints) and the detailed backgroud given to the setting. The political involvement of the U.S. is sure to be a hot button with some readers, but the research rings true--It really opened my eyes to "contemporary" political objectives. Though the characters are sacrificed somewhat to the theme as the book progresses, it remains engrossing to the end.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: Pick up this novel only if you've got time to commit to it; by the time I was halfway through it, I often found myself staring at my computer screen at work, thinking about "The Poisonwood Bible" instead of the reports I was supposed to edit. Kingsolver is a master at snaring you slowly and gently, though her detailed, straightforward, and factual prose seems to belie any trickery. Well-researched, informative, fascinating; a story of the decay of an American family, a struggle to come to terms with religion and women's place in the world, and surprising insights on race relations and democracy -- that somehow manages to give an astonishingly full worm's-eye view of the civil wars in the Congo.
Rating:
Summary: This is Barbara Kingsolver at her best. A gripping story.
Review: This is Barbara Kingsolver at her best. A fascinating story told through the eyes of 4 young girls and their mother. Kingsolver knows her subject - the Belgian Congo in the 60's - and is a master at keeping the reader's interest piqued while at the same time showing us history. Often we see the same scene through different eyes and this is when the novel is most compelling. The author's skill keeps each chapter in perfect voice of the character who's eyes we are using. I loved this book and can't wait until until Kingsolver treats us to another novel.
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