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Summary: An all time favorite of mine
Review: This is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. It really caused me to think about how different life can and is in other parts of the world. It also reminded me that happiness does not lie in god, your possessions, or even where you live, but happiness comes from within. I was reminded that when we help others, we should truly be helping with what they need and not with what we want to give. I felt as though I myself have lived in Africa after having read this book. I learned what it was like to be truly poor and desperately hungry. It was one that I could not put down. I recommend it to everyone who loves to read, male or female. No one has been disappointed yet! I was enriched by reading this.
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Summary: A Must Read!
Review: This story wonderfully demonstrates how misguided the best intentions are. Faith is a wonderful thing and it's shown how it's best served. External pressure for faith is examined with its unexpected results. The depth of faith is also shown in the main characters. I loved how each told their story from their perspective. Don't let your faith, or lack of, prevent learning from the many aspects of this book. The views and actions of this Country are also brought to light. While the ending seemed a bit too long, this book comes highly recommended.
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Summary: Poisonwood
Review: For those who have been asking since Sept. 11 why so many people in the world hate Americans, The Poisonwood Bible gives several compelling reasons. Kingsolver gives a stark picture of U.S. involvement in Africa, how we have tried to impose our religion on others and how the U.S. government and western countries have historically exploited the natural resources of third-world countries without, in turn, helping them to improve their lives. The story is entertaining and a wonderful study of perspective--told through the keen eyes of four daughters and a wife of a Baptist missionary who are sent to Africa to "save the natives." I heartily recommend this book.
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Summary: A book with an anti Christian perspective.
Review: I had to read this book for a literature class in a public University. I am persuing english writing as my major and enjoy both reading and writing my own stories. I, also, happen to be a very devout Catholic.The good points of this book is that the characters are so well rounded. The author does a brillant job at presenting what she wants to present. Its been awhile sense I have read it, but I can say that it can be slightly offensive in a Christian perspective. This author's viewpoint of Christianity is very apparent as her characters slowly abandon their faith for this new perspective of the world that the Congo has given them. I can only say that I was sad when the most devout girl in the book lost her book. However, part of the problem was that her faith was based on more of her love for her father and trying to gain his favor. As she sees his flaws through growing up, her faith deteriorates. For a person with a weak and questioning faith, this book could destroy that person's faith. And if you're discussing this book in a very secular class and still hold true to your faith, after the book is done being read, expect that your peers won't be too happy with you. I'm sorry I have more to complain about that class than anything else.
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Summary: Amazingly hidden poetry and witty thoughts.
Review: This book, for me, was read for a book report, and I can honestly say, it was such a pleasure to read. Though a bit long for one my age, it was worth it. I admit, I ended up spending [dollar amount] for it, and that isn't something I would normally do, but this was quite worth it. I loved the shy, but quick Adah and how I could pretend to despise Rachel. The book has showed how people in general try so hard to hold on to what they are used to when they have to change. You, will be changed by this book as I was. She, Ms. Kingsolver, has become my favorite author even compared to the magical Ms. Rowling. Ms. Kingsolver shows a great amount of diversity in the Price family and shows how people will grow. It was a pleasure to watch that family grow, despite the fact they do not exist. I was captured by the book and thrown into the Congo with that family. I ran from the ants with them; defended myself from diseases; attempted to tolerate Rachel; and pulled through a mental and physical sense of self with Adah. Leah learned to let go, and Ruth May to always stay happy, but most of all, I learned from Orleanna how you can be crushed under someone else's wishes, and not even notice; and from Nathan, not to ever forget your family, because they won't always be there. Please read this book. I learned as much as you will. I treasure it always.
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Summary: amazing saga
Review: sure, this book has its flaws, it's 'mindless prose' but damn if it isn't a wonderful read and amazing story, following the lives of four daughters and a mother as they are brought to Congo in the 60's for a missionary salvation. I highly recommend it for a fantastic read.
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Summary: Journey to the Land of the Belgain Congo
Review: A fictional novel and a New York Times Bestseller, the Poisonwood Bible tells a story of the Price family. Nathan, Orleanna,and their four daughters Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May are all on a journey to the Belgain Congo from their home in Bethlehem, Georgia. The year is 1965. Nathan, a Baptist missionary and "soldier of God" has set out to transfer his family and himself from their ingenuous Bethlehem, Georgia to the African jungle. The purpose of the move is for Nathan to preach the Word of God to the people of the Belgain Congo. Even from the moment that the family steps off of the plane in Africa, interventions, obstacles, and encroachments seem to interrupt the missionary work that is intended to be done. Some of these obstacles include: King Leopold, the democratic elections, a military coup, and the interests of the wealthy Westerners. Although these things stand in his way, Nathan will stop at nothing to pursue his intended mission. "We came from Bethlehem, Georgia bearing Betty Crocker cake mixes into the jungle." This statement spoken by Orleanna forshadows the events that will later occur and that more is in store for the Price family than just cake.
Nathan is an immodest, sanctimonious man of God. He tends to look upon the Price women shamefaced and feels these women are insignificant "hens" in the way of his mission. Although he's the central character of the novel, he never narrates. Everything is written through the views of the Price women. The chapters are arranged in order to show the wide variety of personalities and perspectives of each of the Price women.
Orleanna is the most patient, has longativity, and fortitude. She often tells the reader of her expectations. She is also very secluded and is "bitterly wise."
Rachel is the eldest daughter of the four. She is overly concerned with her appearance and oftentimes imagines herself a beauty queen. Her biggest worry is surviving the jungle on her sixteenth birthday where no boys or records exist. The Congo isn't somewhere she prefers to be.
Leah is strong and proud as her father. She idolizes and imitates his ways. She is fourteen years old and has a twin sister, Adah.
Adah is a quite different character from the others. She was born with a disease called hemiplegia. Her brillant mind and constant anger show through her "uneven, braun body."
Ruth May is the baby of the family. She is all sweetness and curls on the exterior, but is very determined and defiant for a five year old girl.
Kingsolver's brillant masterpiece has a mission of its own to take on. Her work is set to show writers that being firm in moral or political beliefs is important to writing. The carefully crafted characters are a wonderful contribution to the book and each person is sculpted with differing qualities. Orleanna is shown through her unanswered questions and striken losses. Leah is shown to embrace Africa the entire course of the book contradictory to the other Price family members. Adah is seen as the "darker presence" seeing all the horrors of the Congo. Kingsolver releases her inner pains and the complexity of her life because of disease. She sees the world through palindromes. Rachel is the vain, contemptious girl who is filled with humerous malaproprisms. She is captured in her "feminine tuition" and materialistic possessions. Ruth May is described by Kingsolver as the typical child, innocent and adventurous. Leah is resolved to be simply idealistic. Lastly, Nathan is shown to be shaped by the traumatic effects of World War II that the reader learns that he was in. The multiple voices that Kingsolver constructs is done to convey the "enormity" and "complexity" of the journey.
An interesting point that should be mentioned is as follows: Barbara Kingsolver, herself went through an experience like the one she writes about. At age seven, her family moved to the Congo. Here, she learned ethnicity and discrimination because of her skin color. This novel of post-colonial Africa brings all to observe what Kingsolver saw and came to understand as an adult. The vulnerable humanity is revealed in this novel and she keeps a keen eye for the details to describe life in its most intricate aspects.
This well crafted and interesting literary work is definitely grounds for a bestseller list (as it already has been). Kingsolver's endless explanation of every complex subject and vivid detail of the atmosphere and characters was well worth the wait to the ending of the novel. The most beautifully crafted work is done when the writer themself has seen their story in living color. Barbara Kingsolver's New York Times Bestseller The Poisonwood Bible is one of the most enthralling, entertaining novels that has come to life in a long time. The picturesque scenes and words through which the story is told will forever live in the mind of the reader penetrating down to the last impulse
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Summary: Absolutely Amazing
Review: I can't even put into words how spectacularly amazing this book was. It is "I took off a couple days from work" amazing. It's "I finished it in 4 days" amazing. It's "I bought ALL the rest of Kingsolvers books and finished THOSE in a few days" amazing. There were a few slow spots but none that I had trouble getting thru. I want more of this family - I want more of their live. I crave these people like I crave more Ya-Ya Sisterhood stories. (If you've read Ya-Ya Sisterhood and loved it like I did you'll know what I mean!!!)
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Summary: Review of The Poisonwood Bible
Review: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is a very good book that captivates its audience. It may begin a little slow, but after the first chapter, it begins to become more interesting. It keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, wondering what will happen to the Price family.
The story is told by the four daughters (Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May) of Nathan Price who is a Baptist Preacher. His family travels to the Congo where they go to spread their religion. They take what they believe to be all of their necessities, but find that they really do not need them as much as they thought. The people living there are not used to such things and must live without them, as the Price family must also do.
This story is about the Price family's struggles and hardships throughout their time living there. While they are there, the Congo begin to fight for their independence from Belgium.
Throughout the story, we see how Orleanna Price feels and the hardships that she has faced. She is always seen second to her husband and she is tired of her feelings and opinions being disregarded. It also portrays the story of her four daughters. Rachel is the oldest and somewhat self-centered. The twins Adah and Leah are alike in many ways but differ in that Adah is crippled. Ruth May is the youngest. Their father is extremely strict in his religion, parenting, and views.
Throughout the story,the Price family also learns to deal with their preconceived notions of racism. They go to the Congo thinking that the people there are different, but after awhile, they find that they are not really so different. They have different customs and such, but when a child dies, they weep at the injustice. As everyone else, they feel things the same.
One reason why The Poisonwood Bible is so good is because it is telling one story through the eyes of five different people. Every chapter is told by a different person. This makes it more interesting. Barbara Kingsolver uses a different writing style and vocabulary for each different character, making it more realistic. This book captures the audience in the hardships of the Price family and how they overcome their problems. This is one of the reasons why it is so good.
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Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This novel took my breath away. The writing is exquisite, the characters are alive and real. But most of all, this book offers an insightful view into the inter-relatedness of all life on earth... how even the smallest action has a reaction. While telling a compelling story, it also urges us to move through the world with greater sensitivity and understanding about the role we play and the impact we have. This book has it all -- beautiful writing, great story, insight into the human condition, and a thought-provoking view our our relationship to the earth, the world and to each other. This is a "must read" book.
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