Rating: 
Summary: An all-around wonderful book and a great read!
Review: In The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver has painted a broad and deep fictional portrait of a family of innocents abroad in a very real world they neither control nor - at least initially - understand. She has also painted a very clear picture of that world as it actually existed and unfolded. Although it is possible to quibble with certain aspects of the telling of this story, I nevertheless found this to be compelling and deeply satisfying reading. The author tells the story of a rural American religious missionary whose personal demons lead him to drag his family of five women (a long-suffering wife and four young daughters) off to the African interior (the Belgian Congo) in 1959. The story is told through the women's voices, and very distinctive voices they are. One is intentionally obtuse and materialistic and consistently quite irritating, the others varied, interesting and generally quite perceptive in their own ways. The history of the world in which the characters find themselves is itself at least as complex as any of the characters themselves, and is - in my moderately educated opinion on the subject - true to the actual course of modern African history. The novel, in fact, pulls no punches in describing the nature and consequences of Western (and especially American) involvement in Africa through much of the period from first contact through at least the mid-20th Century, and this is likely to stick in the throats of readers who like their history sugar-coated. Ms. Kingsolver has brought recognizable and articulate American sensibilities to a clear-eyed story of private and public betrayals of trust and, in so doing, has done her readership a real service. She has also told a wonderful story. If some of her readers are uncomfortable with that, then so be it. Thank you, Barbara.
Rating: 
Summary: The Importance of "Things"
Review: I have never before read any of Barbara Kingsolver's books but was drawn to the title and subject of this book. It was not a book that kept me up all night (the reason mainly for my rating), however, it kept me thinking. She does an excellent job using the different views of the characters to portray the expierience of living in the Congo and being a minority in that area. There are many lessons to be learned from reading this book. The most important I found to be the lack of need for material things. "Making do with what you have." I also found myself VERY appreciative of the ease with which we can cook and buy food. I could go on and on, but perhaps you ought to pick up the book yourself. I will not take food for granted after reading this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Very different from her other books- well written
Review: This book was not easy to read but well worth the work. The different perspectives add much to the telling of the story and had quite distinct voices. I am still processing the book -- there were so many levels to consider -- the history, the relationships and the personal growth of all of the female characters. This definitely did not contain any strong or growing male characters. The good ones were one demensional and the bad ones were evil women haters. I was moved to tears, thought, outrage and to read the book again.
Rating:
Summary: memorable for both strengths and flaws
Review: I agree wholeheartedly with the reviewers from Southern Indiana. Also a strong Kingsolver fan, this novel needed more time to be written. Although I'm very glad I read it, it was sometimes an ordeal. Chief among its stylistic flaws was the dreadful job done with the grammatical and stylistic eccentricities of the 'thought prose' of various characters at various ages. Granted, tracking the changes in grammar & style of five different women across a range of years presents an awesome challenge,~ but why take the challenge on if it cannot be met? Also, as some professional reviews have noted, some of the puns and other wordplay in that prose was excruciatingly self-indulgent. intelligence, backbone, and wit of her various women characters. Where her men appear intended to be 'good guys', they nonethless simply serve to dress up the scenery around the women characters. Perhaps Kingsolver is trying to demonstrate how tiresome any form of sexism is. f so, she has succeeded admirably.Sadly, this novel reinforces a recurring pattern in current American writing, art, and film, a pattern in which artists approach greatness but, evidently for the sake of getting things done quickly, fall short.
Rating:
Summary: Lush prose and carefully crafted characters -- a must read!
Review: This book is unbelieveably powerful. Kingsolver's description of the Congo is dark and, at the same time, reverential. She really celebrates the cuture and traditions of the Congolese people, highlighting how the struggles for political freeedom take a long time to trickle down into everyday life, if indeed they ever do. I found this to be a novel that spoke to me on a number of levels, from the relationships between the sisters who are the primary narrators, to the problemtatic relationship between the daughters and their extreme Baptist father. The end does drag a little bit, but it is still very powerful and moving. This is a book that I will read again and again.
Rating:
Summary: A visceral novel of sibling reactions to family tragedy
Review: Having Read "Animal Dreams", I somehow thought Poisonwood would be the same light hearted, albeit well-written, brain candy. What a terrific surprise! I almost couldn't believe it was written by the same author. Kingsolver captures the heavy equatorial atmosphere of Africa perfectly, and describes the uneasiness of living in a country on the verge of total political breakdown without any dry political ranting. The directions these four characters go in towards the end are surprising, and unique, and written in such a way that you still see the scars from a traumatic childhood. Without giving too much away, some of the issues in the book are resolved a little too cleanly. Some of the resolutions are downright miraculous. But overall, the book was a great read.
Rating:
Summary: One of this Decades Best Novels
Review: As the Poisonwood Bible unravels its tale there is no mistaking the magnificent genius that is Barbara Kingsolver. Like her other novels Bible gives us strong and clear pictures of people who are striving to find fulfillment, love, and a sense of self. Unlike her other novels this story cuts close to the bone offering a seering portrait of colonial missions and zealous and misguided Americans who's only idea of God is defined by the U.S. culture. Bible not only serves as a wonderful story it shows the complexities of a government in turmoil and the people who fight for peace and understanding. I highly recomend it. A
Rating:
Summary: Simply marvelous.
Review: As the daughter of missionaries to south east asia I can say with confidence that Kingsolver hits painfully close to the truth in this book. Like her, I was lucky to have moderate parents who knew how to work well with the communities in which they lived, but there were always the Nathans around and there was always some thread running through the book that spoke to the experiences I had as a child. Although it was sometimes an emotionally difficult book to read, I can't thank her enough for writing one version of our stories. Oddly enough, many of my MK (missionary kid - although most of us are far from kids) peers dislike the second half of the book, and many have commented that the characters become unreal. I truly enjoyed the second part, but saw it as deliberatly unreal. The women were taken and used as pure examples of several different consequences of their experiences and their environment. Whatever the authors intention she created a book that, for me, was alternatingly difficult, glorious and hysterically funny.
Rating:
Summary: Kingsolver just gets better & better
Review: An engaging, beautifully written novel, with as much poetry as prose woven through its subtle tapestry. The best book I've read in the past year. It has a sense of depth and resonance that is only hinted at in Kingsolver's previous fiction, but the same charm we have come to expect from this very talented author. This tale of a family coming apart and together again under extreme conditions is even profound, and one I'm sure I'll come back to down the road. So many images and scenes I'll never forget... When you're finished with this one, if you haven't read her other books, get your hands on "The Bean Trees" and "Animal Dreams."
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written...
Review: I would recommend this book to anyone who's interested in an historically accurate, heart wrenching tale of women and their struggle to be whole. What seems a hostile environment at first, slowly reveals itself to be quite friendly but only after extreme sacrifices from the misplaced family. Great book!
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