Rating: 
Summary: BK's writing is to be savored.
Review: I have recently discovered BK and just finished three of her novels. "The Poisonwood Bible" is a masterpiece and pulls the reader inexorably into the Belgian Congo of 1959. I was first acquainted with this country's struggles through reading the fascinating work, "The Nun's Story" many years ago. Even though "The Poisonwood Bible" is fiction, the political upheaval and gross injustices perpetrated through foreign imperialism and religious naivete were very real and acquired greater urgency through the voices of the Price family. I could not put this book down and savored every page. Thank you, thank you, thank you for enriching my life and awakening my social conscience.
Rating:
Summary: A serious great read
Review: A compelling story with fascinating background. I found the mother the most compelling character--a woman completely under the control of a man, wanting to rebel but tied down to obligation, children, a notion of God perpetrated by her husband. So easy to say "just leave"--but Kingsolver convinces us of her struggle, even for women readers who find it hard to imagine being so trapped, 40 years and womens emancipation later. The book made me want to find out what the real story of the US in the Congo was.
Rating:
Summary: A beautifully written book. A piece of good literature.
Review: I can't believe this book wasn't a front runner for the National Book Award. Charming Billy was a tiresome book. The runner-up for the National Book Award, A Man in Full, by Tom Wolfe was trite...also ridiculous!
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful Read
Review: I enjoyed this book until the very end. I found the wrap up of all the girl's lives too quick and neat. It certainly gives a good history lesson on the Congo in the fifties.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: This book goes on and on and on and on. I couldn't buy into any of the characters. They had no substance. And the wife, move on already!
Rating:
Summary: This book is one of the masterpieces of English/American lit
Review: Kingsolver has written a true masterpiece. It is part history, part novel, part sociological study, a large part poetry - and all of it is saturated in a truth that is too seldom spoken. All of the viewpoints presented (the mother's and each of the daughters') ring true, and one wonders how one author's mind could have entered so convincingly into each of those beings. Kingsolver's great understanding of Africa in general - and specifically the Congo - puts all other studies in the shade. I feel my own understanding is greatly enlarged for having read it.
Rating:
Summary: An good understanding of Congo/Zaire
Review: From one who has been there and done that, (My parents were Missionaries to Congo.) I can attest that Ms. Kingsolver has done her homework and put human faces on the global issue of neo - economic colonialism. and done it very well. I could not put the book down.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, but a little boring at times.
Review: I just finished reading this book a few weeks ago and thought that it was interesting and educating, but could cause me to become bored more than a few times. It seemed as if nothing was going to come to somewhat of a resolution. It was great in the fact that it really got me fired up because their father was such a nut and that angered me that someone could be that passionate about their work, and create such chaos in the family at the same time. I would recommend it simply because of the knowledge you gain about the situations in Africa in the time of the story. I also like the level of character development. You become one with the girls and their mother.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly one of the best books I've ever read
Review: An incredible read: the kind of book you hope to pick up, but rarely do. A book to read slowly, to relish the wonderful language and insights. A book you don't want to end, that stays with you, so you want to get back to it to see where it is going, to be with the wonderful participants in the story. It rings so true. The unusually accurate voice of childhood, of thoughts and feelings long forgotten. It brought me insights into some of my own feelings and beliefs, in addition to a marvelous portral of Africa.I've read it flat on my back, recovering from surgery. It totally carried me away from my own pains, except when it moved me to laugh so hard my raw stitches hurt.
Rating:
Summary: I can't imagine reading a better novel this year
Review: Luminous prose. Thought-provoking without being preachy. Never loses sight of the forward momentum of its very compelling narrative. Places Kingsolver in the company of Roth, Delillo, McCarthy, hell, maybe even Faulkner...(Acid test: Can she pull it off again?)
|
