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Summary: Poisonwood Bible- Congo
Review: I have been thinking about this book since I finished reading it more than a month ago. It has really stuck in my conciousness because of the fascinating topic of Congo and the captivating characters that Barbara Kingsolver created. I have bought a book on the history of the Congo and have been paying attention to the current state of affairs because I was introduced to the story of the country and its people by this book. It took me a little time to get invested in the characters, but once I was I had to finish the book.
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Summary: It was hard to put down!
Review: I loved this book. The story was told from the perspective of each of the female characters. As a result, the reader gets a sense of the emotional impact of every event on the characters. You are able to see how each one of these women evolved into very unique individuals because of the madness of their environment. The story unfolds as a family of six travel to Africa as missionaries. The father seems to have only a delicate grasp on his sanity in the beginning and steadily loses it as time goes on.
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Summary: best long book ever
Review: Since this was an assigned book for school, I picked up this book with great trepidation. (Most of the books our school assigns are rather boring.) This book definitely broke the mold. This well-crafted story of Nathan Price, his dynamic daughters and submissive wife is entertaining as fascinating. The book was the longest book I have ever read, but the pages never stopped turning and I honestly had a hard time putting it down at night. Each character is exquisitely developed throughout the novel. The plot is unpredictable and memorable. You will hate some characters and fall in love with others. This tale of love, racism, politics, imperialism, abuse, and womanhood should be read by all those who enjoy a blend of genuine history and tantalizing fantasy.
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Summary: A bit of a snoozer
Review: Although I felt the book was well written overall it could not keep my attention. The book spouted off too much religous jargen and I cannot say I enjoyed the ending. As a matter of fact I had to force myself to read the ending.
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Summary: Worth reading
Review: A well written book about an American missionary family in the Congo (DRC) in the 1960s. Kingsolver is especially masterful in creating voices for the characters. She offers very realistic images of African life, as well as a portrayal of the negative effects missionaries can have. It loses its tightness towards the end, but is definitely a very enjoyable and educational read.
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Summary: 5 Facets
Review: It was a truly different reading experience. Learning about history of the African Congo from 1959 through to the 80's through 5 distinctly different perspectives. I could feel all of them pulling from my emotions, as a mother, as an angry tomboy, as a spoiled brat, an abstract intellectual, and as a innocent child. It was challenging to read and I find myself comparing it's content to current day events and viewing everything differently. It's a masterpiece of work from my perspective.
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Summary: Guilt, atonement, and redemption
Review: 1942. "That was the last I would ever hear from the man I'd married - one who could laugh (even about sleeping in a manger), call me his 'honey lamb,' and trust in the miracle of good fortune." So recent bride Orleanna Price describes her husband's letter home from a military hospital on Corregidor. Shortly afterward, the war dumps onto his shoulders a load of guilt that he spends the rest of his life trying to expiate.1959. Baptist preacher Nathan Price, determined to bring the Gospel as he believes it to the heathens (as he perceives them) of darkest Africa, arrives in the Belgian Congo with his wife and four daughters. He hasn't been trained to speak the area's language, or to comprehend even the basics of its complex culture. Nor do he and his family know the first thing about how to survive in an environment where the very laws of nature operate differently than back home in Georgia, where Orleanna Price and her girls long to be. With the Congo verging on independence, the Missionary League places the Prices there reluctantly and recalls them a few months later when the area becomes too dangerous. But Nathan Price refuses to leave. Although I'm aware of the author's pantheist beliefs, I honestly do not view this lyrical, hysterically funny, yet at times horrifying novel as a condemnation of Christianity and a hymn to natural law. Its characters are too well drawn and too individual for that. Too real for that, especially after tragedy strikes in a way that finally drives Orleanna from her increasingly irrational husband's side. After their daughters scatter, and the story's second half begins. For me this is a book about the choices we humans make, and how those choices interacting with the world around us - physical, natural, and political - lead to consequences none of us can hope to predict. The guilt/atonement/redemption theme runs through its chapters in a unifying thread. It's also one of the most genuinely feminist novels I've read, in its honest depiction of individual women's lives over a half-century of time and across a variety of cultures. These are not "types" of womanhood. These are fully fleshed people. --Nina M. Osier, author of "Love, Jimmy: A Maine Veteran's Longest Battle"
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Summary: poisonwood bible review
Review: The Poisonwood Bible, a historical fiction novel by Barbara Kingsolver, is a powerful novel about the unraveling of a family and individual souls' paths to moral justification and redemption. Kingsolver, an accomplished biologist turned successful author, weaves an unforgettable tale about the evangelical Baptist Price family and their mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. Kingsolver's travels through Africa and her extensive knowledge of the Congo's political turmoil gave her an edge in accurately describing life as it truly would have been for the Price family. This is a powerful, gripping novel that leaves the reader with a sense of having lived in Africa as well, along with possibly a deeper sense of the workings of his or her own heart.
Reverend Nathan Price, determined to baptize all of Africa into the Christian faith, drags his wife and four daughters from their home in Georgia into a completely foreign village in the Congo, with somewhat disastrous results. Completely absorbed in converting "heathens," Reverend Price fails to notice the needs of his own family. The story is told from the perspective of Mrs. Orleanna Price and her four daughters; Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May. Kingsolver accurately and vividly paints the town of Kilanga, where the Price family resides, in a way that causes the reader to feel that he or she were another, unspoken member of the Price family, viewing and experiencing every brilliant twist of the plot right along with the rest of the Prices.
Kingsolver effectively proves many points in her novel through the tribulations of a single family trying desperately to survive in an alien country while yet not sure of how to withstand each other. This book is a definite success, and Kingsolver's outstanding execution of the story leaves any reader gasping for breath once the plot unfolds, proving that love can endure even the most trying ordeals, betrayal can disintegrate nations and a single heart, and that forgiveness is one of the hardest yet most satisfying gifts to give and receive.
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Summary: One Extraordinary Achievement
Review: Barbara Kingsolver creates a work of art in her latest novel, The Poisonwood Bible. Kingsolver truly succeeds in opening the eyes of the reader to a new perspective on: important events in history, religion, culture, and several other uncomfortable issues such as racism, which many authors tend to shy away from. All of these issues revolve around the Price family - Nathan and Orleanna, and their daughters, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May, who move to the Congo in the 1960s. The book covers their trials and experiences, and the results of their time spent in Africa. To understand the book completely, one has to know a little background information about this time in history. The political scene in Africa was chaotic, with the ending of Belgian rule and the debate as to who would govern the newly independent country. Also, outside politics joined in the creation of the new government. This was the time of the Cold War, when the U.S. and the Soviet Union fought their battles in foreign lands and lent assistance and military aid to groups thought to be sympathetic to their interests. In effect, they wrought more trouble and misery for the Congolese people, just because of their petty disputes, which should have stayed in their own countries. This is the atmosphere in which the Price family landed and fought to survive in. The main themes Kingsolver touches upon are: religion, foreign intrusion, and racism. Religion is a key element in this novel - as one can see from the title. The imposed Christian religion is not depicted as a positive feature to the African culture, but rather a nuisance. Religion destroys Reverend Price because of his determination to convert the natives to Christianity, which made absolutely no sense to them whatsoever. Because of his persistence, a few children drowned or were eaten by crocodiles as he tipped over a boat in his never-ceasing attempt to baptize them in the river. This is the overall effect Christianity brought to Africa - destruction. Along with the missionaries came new governments and different cultures which were unwilling to adapt or accept the natives' way of life. Through Adah, Kingsolver tries to explain the impact of foreign intrusion. For example, when she is thinking about the foreigners who came to help the Africans raise the standards of their living conditions, even though they meant well, they ultimately did not help the natives' situation. "He meant to save every child, thinking how Africa would then learn how to have fewer children. But when families have spent a million years making nine in the hope of saving one, they cannot stop having nine. Culture is a slingshot moved by the force of its past. . .Overpopulation has now deforested ¾ of Africa. . ."(528). This quote fits the impact foreigners had on the Congo perfectly. Racism also plays a key role in this novel, which correlates to the time period it is set in. Leah marries Anatole, a native, and it seems wherever they go, either one or the other is facing the fact of what color their skin is. Anatole receives strange looks in Georgia, and Leah gets the same treatment in Africa, although partially for different reasons. "Never having known a white person before, they assume I must know Mobotu and all important Americans personally. In spite of my protests, I think they worry I'll report to someone that they had an orange to spare."(501) This is the reason why Leah is singled out and avoided - because the natives are not sure they can trust her. These issues of racism, foreign intrusion, and religion are the main themes where most of the weight of the book is carried. One area I thought was not covered very much was the happenings in America and the Soviet Union at this time. This might have made the book more effective in explaining the politics aspect, but it is understandable why she does not include this. She probably left this information out because she wanted to focus mainly on events taking place in Africa. This is partially why this book is so unique - it is so different than the history books one reads in a classroom. It tells the tale of these events from the inhabitants' point of view. Also, the use of several narrators instead of one is very distinctive from the average book which is written in standard form and follows the rules of literature. One reason why this novel is so convincing and effective is Kingsolver's utilization of tone. Because she portrays the story through five dissimilar characters' eyes, the tone changes continuously from person to person, which makes an interesting read. The tone of sarcasm is connected to Adah, desperation to Orleanna, and doubt to Leah. Tones such as these toy with the reader's emotions, and therefore makes a larger impact overall upon the reader. I love how each character is completely different from the next and each has their own language and attitude. Ruth May is the innocent little girl who talks in incomplete sentences with grammatical errors. Rachel is the girly teenager who talks like a valley girl and does not get the bigger picture - other than herself in the mirror. Adah is the half-brained sister who is mad at the world and pessimistic, yet sees the truth when no one else does. Orleanna is the desperate mother, trying to keep her family from falling to pieces, and her husband, Nathan, is the dominant, self-righteous male who hides behind his religion. Each character is different, but adds contrasts and twists to the story. Overall, this book is amazing. The Poisonwood Bible contains scandalous, untraditional ideas, which are actually very truthful. I liked this book, partially because I agree with most of her points she touches on. I would definitely recommend this book to those who are free thinkers and do not believe in everything they are told. This book unquestionably has balls! I'd give it 5 stars!
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Summary: An excellent but way too biased author
Review: There is no doubt that Kingsolver can write, and certain descriptions of Africa and the world are quite excellent.
However, she has the canny ability to show her political views with every character--a view that not all her readers may share.
All the far-lefts are warm and friendly people while the far-rights are cold and unbending.
I do not like the flatness of characters produced in doing so.
There are bad and good democrats just as there are bad and good republicans.
Adah, one of the daughters, is portrayed wonderfully. Definitely a perk of the book.
I think this book is worth it in the end but I wouldn't read any thing else by Kingsolver from now on.
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