Rating: 
Summary: Overall, good...but troubled by the politics of the author.
Review: This is the first novel that I have read by Kingsolver. As I described it to my wife, I would say that it was an enjoyable read but wouldn't strongly recommend it to anyone. I liked the way in which Kingsolver developed the characters and told the story from their various perspectives. I also found the historical events depicted in the novel to be an interesting background.However, at times it seemed like Kingsolver's politics might have been showing through a bit. Numerous times, the text took on a feminist, anti-American, anti-Christian, or pro-Africa/Communism slant. Certainly her right to do so, but I thought it took something away from the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Ms. Kingsolver's best book yet!
Review: I am an avid follower of Barbara Kingsolver's writing, and was thrilled by "The Poisonwood Bible". Lately, it seems that books have become smaller, and one has little time to get to know the characters or to follow them as they develop over a long period of time. This book allow us to get to know the Price Family and how Nathan Price's rigid, abusive character and the events of the book shaped them into separate individuals.. I gained a great deal of knowledge of and respect for the history of Zaire, and was fascinated by Ms. Kingsolver's descriptions of village life. (I must read "Things Fall Apart"). My reservations about the writing have to do with Rachel's character after she becomes an adult. She seemed to be a characture of herself and I found her selfishness and self-indulgence a bit overdone. Ms. Kingsolver often seems to say what I think. Her statements are bold an straight forward, and her criticisms of religion and American political policy are persuasive. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Keep Reading, It's Worth the Journey
Review: I had a hard time getting into this book because the style was a cut away from the Barbara Kingsolver that I've grown to love. Once I got into the rythm of the book though, I felt as if I was sitting with friends listening to them recount their fantastic voyages. Some books fade from memory as soon as you pick up the next novel, but this one will stay vivid in your memory for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, thoughtful, entertaining all at once
Review: Barbara Kingsolver's newest novel is far more ambitious - and even better - than her previous ones. Thoughtful but not preachy, it is deep and lively and provocative. I loved this book.
Rating:
Summary: Successful New Direction For A Talented Writer
Review: This is not another novel of familiar Kingsolver scenes and characters. Instead, it is a mature work of tremendous insight into the human soul and its world history. If you enjoyed the emotional and political themes of her previous fiction, you will thrill to read this deep and beautifully written book.
Rating:
Summary: Great job!
Review: Bravo, Barbara! You surprised me, and oh, what a thrilling surprise. I am moving you up one notch, among the truly "great" writers. Thanks.
Rating:
Summary: Worth the wait. One of her best books ever.
Review: I was born in Congo in 1953 and lived there until 1970 minus the years for furloughs and independance. Yes, my folks left during independance but we went back to a country still very much unsettled. This book has touched me so. It has brought back so many forgotten or faded memories. I could close my eyes and feel the rain, snuggle myself under a misquito net and gag on the quinine. Thanks to her descriptions you can smell the foods, see the forests, and experience the relationships with the natives and the characters. Although I knew no missionaries exactly like the Prices there were many that had bits and pieces of their personalities. I liked the new experience of hearing each character's "voice". Having been a child myself at the time it was good to hear different perspectives and slants on customs, rituals and just day to day life. I can say Ms. Kingsolver truly has left nothing out except the familiarity between missionaries and a boarding school experience. Her history recount unfortunately is true and heart rending. Thank you Ms. Kingsolver for bringing back a rich memory of my heritage and a love for a land and a people that is hard to get out of your blood. I have been a Kingsolver fan for years so was thrilled to find out her newest novel was about something so dear to me.
Rating:
Summary: Another successful novel - but no Bean Trees
Review: Like many of her fans, I have been hooked on Kingsolver since I read Bean Trees . I have anxiously awaited every subsequent book and have never been dissappointed yet. Poisonwood Bible was very different from her other works. Aside from the political commentaries that punctuate all her writings, I did not hear the Kingsolver that I have admired for so long now. The writing itself was poetic, characters well developed and the story an incredibly moving and heartwrenching work of art. But .... I have to say I missed her wit that really set her apart from so many modern women writers. I still laugh when I think of Sal Monelli at the salsa plant in B.T. Maybe the freshness or spontaneity was missing. After all, my expectations of Ms Kingsolver are higher than any other author I have read. I really enjoyed Poisonwood Bible and have lent my copy many times over. I just wish some of the magic of Bean Trees and of her shorts in Homeland had been here too. If you happen to read this Ms Kingsolver, no pressure, I will always be one of your most admiring fans.
Rating: 
Summary: A very disappointing over-reaching book.
Review: My wife and I are fans of Barbara Kingsolver, but the "Poisonwood Bible" seemed it should have gone through a much longer gestation. To us the shortcomings were in this order, from most serious to less serious. The characters voices are not very distinct and never seem very authentic. Adah seems the most consistent. Rachel is the most contrived, although her voice is the most real as she ages. Strangely, since he is the character most written about, Nathan remains obscure. He's all events. As tragic as the outcome is, the presentation of local and international politics seems superficial and naive, particularly to those of us who lived through this period. It gets increasingly annoying as the book moves along. What is the point anyhow? Is the politics there to give the characters some depth? Or are the characters simply there to present the politics: the American government and missionaries have done harm to Africa? A sense of place is never really created. It would be nice to go back to the original joy of discovering Barbara Kingsolver.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the best book I have ever read
Review: For me this was surely one of the finest works of fiction I have ever read. In every great work of art, be it music, painting, sculpture, architecture etc., flaws can always be discovered, but a masterpiece overwhelms its flaws and communicates so vividly that the receiver feels changed, challenged, and enriched. For me this work is a MASTERPIECE of human insight and conscience; a thought-provoking and beautifully crafted work of art. My nomination for every literary prize for fiction in 1998 goes to the Poisonwood Bible. ....The astounding portrayal of a woman's plight in the world. My heart ached in ways I cannot describe for the women in the book and for every woman because we each know these experiences to one degree or another.
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