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Summary: Unbelievable!
Review: Truly remarkable. Kingsolver uses a brilliant writing style to tell the story of an American family on mission to the Belgian Congo. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character (a woman and her four daughters. Even though this novel peaks two-thirds of the way through, it is marvelous to the last page. Kingsolver takes her characters far beyond the mission trip, elongating the story to several decades! Political overtones run high in this story, but do not necessarily overshadow it! Brilliant story, brilliant writing = BRILLIANT NOVEL!
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Summary: Heavy message to the reader about life
Review: This was a very good reading. I can strongly recommend to anyone who has any desire to deeply think about life. This book is addressing the issue of the fact that neither good nor bad are absolute categories.Also, a good starting point to think about overusing natural resources in modern societies knowing that one day we'll be out of them...
Rating: 
Summary: Trite, predictable little parable from Berkeley
Review: Oh, the evils of white Christian men! This radical-chic screed leaves no cliché unturned--Phil Donahue could have written it if Marlo had given him permission. Couldn't finish it, but why bother? It was clear from the first page that this would be an object lesson in all the bad things about people Kingsolver fears and despises. Oh, bad bad man. Poor victimized women and noble Africans. Trés boring.
Rating:
Summary: Liked it
Review: I really liked this book. Fascinating to read. I liked that the story was told by all memebers for the family except the Rev and to me that signaled his out of touch approach about the whole venture. Perhaps a bit long at the end. The portion in Africa where the girls grow up is really the story
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Summary: Kingsolver at her pulpit
Review: I loved Animal Dreams, but this book comes across as a mean-spirited tirade against missionaries and the Bible.
This book is a story of a missionary family, and their inability to fit into the culture of Africa... or rather, mold African culture to fit them. This is a potentially rich basis for a book. The story goes aground, however, in it's unrelenting ridicule of the father, who is a very poorly developed character in the book. Kingsolver adopts the device of telling each story from the point-of-view of one of the family members, with the exception of the missionary father. By ommitting the father's perspective, she avoids having to explicate the most interesting part of this story: the struggle of imperfect people to act on what they see as spiritual truth. Graham Greene wrote masterfully on this topic in 'The Power and the Glory'. If the father's perspective had been given, then we might have some sympathy with his personal pain and humanity, which is clearly not the author's political objective with this book.
Ultimately, Kingsolver attempts too much in this book. She derides American cultural imperialism, capitalism, the Bible and traditional Christian traditions, & European and American political exploitation of Africa from Angola to South Africa. All this heavy-handed lecturing weighs down the story. Very little attempt is made to balance the narrative by introducing fully developed, "good" white people. And after 500+ pages, the story ends with all the major characters cynical and disillusioned (or dead).
Hopefully most readers will realize that most missionary men do not beat their wives, or have contempt for the people they serve. This isn't true today, and I don't believe it was generally true in 1960 either.
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Summary: poisonwood bible
Review: Without exception the most heartfelt fiction of supreme craftsmenship I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: The best recent American novel I've read in years!
Review: This is the finest recent American novel that I've read in years. The characters are wonderfully realized. There are wonderful poetic qualities about the prose, especially in the character of Adah. It's fascinating history; I remember when these things were going on as a child, and I appreciated this view from within by a sympathetic Westerner. There are occasional places where I think it may need editing, but it's such an ambitious project, and such an admirable search for the truth about Africa and about the human condition, that I still must give it five stars. I had never read Kingsolver before, and now I'm avid to read all her other works.
Rating:
Summary: I loved it
Review: I was totally engrossed in this book and enjoyed it tremendously. Along with a wonderful story, I learned a lot about the Congo during the 50's. I HIGHLY recommend this novel.
Rating:
Summary: On my top 5 all time favorite list
Review: I loved this book. The characters are wonderful and the history is interwoven magically. Barbara Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors. This book tops Animal Dreams, which, for those of you who liked Poisonwood Bible, is highly recommended, although completely different.
Rating:
Summary: Uggh...Shoot Me Now
Review: This was the worst book I have ever read. By about the 35th page, I was simply lost in a confusion of boredom. Poor characterization, and lack of steady plot forced me to only be able to read about 50 pages at a time. If you want to retain your will to live, do not read this book.
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