Rating: 
Summary: AN ENGAGING SAGA OF HUBRIS, HISTORY & HOPE
Review: Kingsolver in my view is one of the most thoughtful and daring of modern writers.This feisty opus from her is set against one of the most dramatic political chronicles of recent times: Congo's fight for freedom from Belgium, the gruesome murder of its first prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the sordid progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy. Sound familiar? That engaging backdrop alone is reason enough for me to recommend this treat of a read. The narrator's first person voice is fascinating and indelibly colored by her own losses and unanswerable questions. Also narrating the story, by turns, are her four sharply observant daughters, each of whom must strike her own separate path to salvation, a path paved with moral risk and personal responsibility. For its audacity in setting up a fascinating literary scaffolding (with the intertwined narratives) or for its politically charged backdrop, or for the sheer worldly wisdom packed within its many pages, The Poisonwood Bible offers twin pleasures of being a dark comedy of human failings as well as the breathtaking possibilities of human hope. I couldn't recommend this book highly enough.
Rating:
Summary: Best
Review: The Poisonwood Bible is a wonderful story about how four daughters deal with moving to the congo, and deal with their father who believes in nothing but the baptism of all those within the world. Barbara Kingsolver does a masterful job of seeing through eyes of Ruth May, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Orleanna Price as they deal with moving to a different continent and different culture as Nathan Price tries to convert all the Congo to christianity. The author really does a brilliant job going into the differnt minds of the charecters. It was interesting to see how different people reacted differently to different events that occured. I've never read a book like this before, i hope to run accross another brilliant work like this soon.
Rating:
Summary: Still a fan
Review: I've always liked THE BEAN TREES and always will--it's one of my favorite books in the world. So I was worried about picking up THE POISONWOOD BIBLE. I didn't want to be disappointed. I shouldn't have worried, for Kingsolver gives us an equally good story in this book. With a plot about a Baptist minister who sets out for the Congo to save lost souls, only to find that "life is what happens when you had other plans," the power and drama of this novel is reminiscent of McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD or possibly some of Pat Conroy's books (though their subject matter is completely different). The writing is sheer poetry, and Kingsolver's handling of the material is masterful and sure--something like Walker's THE COLOR PURPLE. But I'm only making comparisons for the sake of attempting to get other readers to try and understand how good this book is. If I had only two books to recommend this year, this would be one of them. Also recommended: Jackson McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD--A Tour of Southern Homes and Gardens
Rating: 
Summary: Insightful and Creative Masterpiece
Review: This is Barbara Kingsolver's masterpiece, for sure. This epic follows the family of an idealistic Southern Baptist preacher as he moves to the Congo to save the world from damnation. What makes it so lovely is that the story is told completely from the perspective of the wife and four daughters in the family, each of whom suffers her father's self-righteousness as the situation in the Congo turns from bad to worst. The story is not only one of the girls' struggle to free themselves from an overbearing father, but an allegory for the attempt of Africans to free themselves from their "benevolent" European colonizers. But unlike other post-colonialist diatribes, Kingsolver does not attempt to belittle Western values. Instead, she focuses on the wrongheaded assumptions the West has made about the delicate and ancient tribal culture of Africa. In these days of cultural clashing, the moral of this soulful story could not be more important. And there is perhaps no better story since Conrad's Heart of Darkness to warn would-be conquerers against riding the high-horse.
Rating:
Summary: I wish there was 4.5 stars level!
Review: This was an excellent book. As someone who has lived in third world countries, I felt it did a fairly good job describing life under such circumstances.
Rating: 
Summary: The poison wood bible
Review: At the begining I found the book to be boring and hard to follow becuse I couldn't pay attention. After I got passed a few books then it started to actually get good. The beining is just a lot of background information, of corse is necessary but i don't like all that. So if you have the patients to wait to get into a book then i'm sure you'll enjoy it, other wise if you're like me and you like a book to jump right to the point then i would suggest reading something else.
Rating:
Summary: Epic and Moving
Review: I read The Bean Trees in high school and, though I enjoyed it, I found it forgettable. When I read Animal Dreams, I was struck by the poetry and wonder with which Barbara Kingsolver writes America. She brings a child-like hope to the adult reality of her story, which impressed upon me an optimism which is atypical on a big-city college campus. The Poisonwood Bible is, in my opinion, Kingsolver's masterpiece. Everything that I loved about Animal Dreams reaches its heart-shaking zenith within these pages. It reads like a dream, capturing my imagination and my breath every time I pick it up. Though it is set in Africa, it is a vivid portrait of the American family. Part of her gift is her ability to transform the typical (characters like an overbearing father, a vapid teenager, a mother struggling to control her inner strength) and make it magical, moving, and profound. This novel was a joy to read. I've recommeded it a dozen times, partly out of the self-centered desire to discuss it with others. You won't regret time spent ingesting this book.
Rating:
Summary: The Poisonwood Bible: Palindromes and Parasites
Review: I see "The Poisonwood Bible" not as a political book so much as a philosophical one, albeit an unflinchingly honest philosophical book which relates historical events as they were regardless of whether the truth offends American sensibilities. Kingsolver, who spent some of her youth in the Congo, was deeply affected by it. The four daughters and the wife of the missionary Reverend Nathan Price, all of whom relate parts of the story, are able to give voice to impressions that Kingsolver must have had when she arrived there, as she lived there, and after she left there. (When one daughter returns to the United States she is stunned in the way Peace Corps volunteers report that they are upon arriving back here.) The story of how the United States and Belgium deposed Patrice Lumumba after he was elected is truthful. For me the discussion of the history brought back memories of the names Lumumba, Tschombé, and Mobutu and of studying a map of The Belgian Congo in the fourth grade. I do not think my teacher knew then the role that President Eisenhower had in deposing and murdering Patrice Lumumba, but that has come to light since then. If what the United States did to Patrice Lumumba reminds us of other things the United States has done (Salvador Allende in Chile, anyone?), Kingsolver is not to blame. She is merely the messenger that some would like to shoot lest she deliver her message. Kingsolver's thesis is that Africa, due to its climate, is not conducive to the cultivation of crops on a wide scale and that that has influenced its history. She probably believes that Africa would have been better off had Europeans never gone there. Yet she is loathe to blame individuals within the Price family for its sorrows or any one nation for the misery of Africa. The irreverence of Adah Price who writes in palindromes and refers to the Reverend Price as Our Father made me laugh and her betrayal by her entire family on one fateful night made me cry. Leah's bravery loyalty, and stubborness inspired me. Only Rachel Price appeared more caricature than person. I found the book riveting; I stayed up late reading because I didn't want to put it down. And has no on yet said, "love story"?
Rating: 
Summary: Liberal Bias
Review: In this book the portrayal of the characters generally follow this unfair pattern; if your a woman you are good. If you live in a third world country you are good. If you are a white male you are bad. That's kind of it in a nutshell. Also, this book attacks the United States. Personally, I'm tired of this kind of hatred directed at me and my country. In this book the US can do no good, no matter what. Negative, negative negative. This books political viewpoint is very, very one sided. And not for me. I did finish the entire book, for my wife.
Rating: 
Summary: Didn't Finish
Review: Right of I just wanted to say that I didn't finish this Book. I found it hard to get into and I was periodically skiping lines to try to get to something good that might be in the book. In my opinion, if you can't wait untill you're in the 300's before you get into a book, then you should not be reading this book. The reason I did not like this book is because it was continuously repetitive. Narrators changed throughout the whole book but the story kept on repeating itself.
| 
