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Summary: engrossing and enlightening
Review: Kingsolver's THE POSIONWOOD BIBLE, is like nothing she's written before. Previously, I admired her for the wit and easy gait of her other novels and short stories, and the multifaceted knowledge she displays in her essays. THE POSIONWOOD BIBLE blew me away with its intense characterization and clearly researched (but feeling all the while inhabitable) Africa. Initially slow going, THE POSIONWOOD BIBLE picks up a third of the way through and becomes a heartwrenching, poetic tale of a family torn apart by religion, naivete, and cultural upheaval. Kingsolver's rich characterization of the four women, and her amazing gift at relaying the story in several distinct voices, makes for an enriching and rewarding read. What I specifically liked about this novel, was the fact that not only was I engrossed by the characters and the story itself, but I also felt like I learned a great deal about Africa. I think when someone tells a story that reaches out and grabs you by the lapels, and also gives you the opportunity to learn something about culture and history, without making it feel like a seminar, you've got the makings of a classic.
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Summary: Cultural differences
Review: What was it like in the Congo in 1960? Barbara Kingsolver's novel of a missionary family gives the reader an idea. The family consisting of the Reverend, his wife and 5 daughters go to the Congo without sanction by his church in order to bring religion to the natives. The difference in cultures is stunning, and something that people who have never thought about going to Africa may never have thought of. The story is built around real events during the Congo revolution for independence. The writing is wonderful - each of the daughters has a section describing the events that were occuring in that era, and each daughter writes very distinctively and around the age group that you would expect. I didn't hate this book, but it isn't one of my favorites. It has, however, peaked my interest about what happend in the Congo in the 60's and before. This has led me to order several other books on the Congo.
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Summary: Do you really need another review of this book?
Review: If you need any more convincing that this book is a work of genius, you might want to skip this review. It has simply become essential post-colonial literature. One of the few books that lives up to its own hype, The Poisonwood Bible is a beautiful, poetic, dark, troubling novel that is both dense and amazing readable. I lost sleep devouring this book, and it still sticks in my memory, more than a year later. It's great. Read it and join the modern era.
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Summary: Epic Of the Soul
Review: I have to admit that I am not a fan of the Oprah book club. I picked up this book because friends recommended it to me. And, now that I've just finished reading the book, I am amazed at how powerful it really was. It is an epic story about the human heart and the human condition. The Poisonwood Bible tells the story of family of missionaries that leaves America to go change the world of the Congo in 1959. The father, a religious fanatic, puts his beliefs before his family, something that will become highly fatal both for him and his family (his wife and four daughters). As their lives becomes entwined with the political situation of the Congo as well as with the lives and beliefs of the natives, their souls become drenched with despair and desire to return to their homeland. So it comes as a surprise to see the decisions these women make when they grow up and try to deal with the teachings of the Congo. The book spans over four decades, starting in 1959 and ending today, told from the point of view of the daughters of the mission priest. These girls are as different as night and day; the author gives each of them a very specific voice and tone. I have to admit that it takes time to get into the narrative (it took me about a 100 pages to really get into the book) and that the book does run on for a little too long near the end. But overall, The Poinsonwood Bible is an amazing book about the power of life. It tries to tell us that what we learn in life is invaluable and that we are each our very own individual that is defined by what we learn through our life experiences.
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Summary: "Night, day and the Fourth of July"
Review: This is an amazing book, one that everybody should read, for the following reasons. The prose is sublime - Kingsolver has this incredible natural feel for words. Her descriptions are mind-blowingly evocative, but it doesn't end there: even her more narrative passages are casually scattered with poetic gems. The "shifting POVs" style is challenging and interesting - each character has a distinctive personality, a soon recognizable individual style of writing. I've read some reviews complaining that Nathan Price is never given a chance to speak, but I think this is intentional and works in favour of the book. His voice is not denied, as it is he who has the say in the family - and the fact we never hear any "soliloquies" from him adds to his imposing presence in the book, leaving you to make up your own mind. I've read criticisms of the Rachel character too - I too wished she could have matured more, but also think that the author's decision to let her keep her self-absorbed and jingoistic POV was deliberate, to question what kind of maturity she really achieved and to suggest many more adults take her view - which is absolutely true. Then you have the politics. Ah, the "politics" - a dirty word in our apathetic culture. Leah does get a bit didactic towards the end, but if you think of Kingsolver's "Leah" writing style as being deliberate (reflecting Leah's personality instead of an all-knowing objective narrator), than think of it this way. Leah can't help but think about the implications of what she knows - and neither should we. This book made me feeling ashamed of myself, feeling massively angry and helpless about the West, and feeling a huge need to learn more. Both angry and scared at how easily most of us (including me) tend to brush "political, depressing" things under the carpet. The book is uneven - springing erratically through time, through descriptive and narrative passages, through a thousand myriad and even self-contradicting conclusions about life that characters such as Leah and Adah make. Some sections are almost like a stream of consciousness, and the general uneven impression seems suitable for the book's exploration of life, which is essentially uneven and contradictory. The last section of the book speeds up time, something that spoilt the otherwise great "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" but which is pulled off with much more skill and meaning in "The Poisonwood Bible". In the end, this book reminds me of nothing so much as a poem. It flashes with moments of sheer brilliant meaning, as well as with complex introspection and confusion - any flaws are just totally outweighed. Its unconventionally uneven structure suits its message perfectly ("Evol's dog! Dog ho!"). And, like the best poems, it crystallises knowledge, understanding, emotion in such perfect words that even after turning the last page, you still feel the force of the book pushing on - hopefully moving me a little bit closer to doing the right thing.
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Summary: The heart of Africa
Review: I have two friends, who are not well-acquainted with each other, and who both spent a year in Africa. Both of them have told me, at different times, that they wanted to write about what it was like to go to Africa to return to the United States and then try to sort out what their experiences had actually meant to them. When they each read The Poisonwood Bible, both commented to me that they probably did not need to write that book themselves, since Barbara Kinsolver had written it for them. I think that is a very important endorsement of this book. I have not been to Africa, but it has become one of the personal "filters" that I use when I think of Africa, recent African history, and evangelical Christianity, all of which are major topics in this novel. It is very different than Kingsolver's earlier novels, and it has places where it drags or is repetitive, but I think it is an excellent, thought-provoking book.
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Summary: Excellent
Review: Kingsolver is a brilliant writer, and this is a beautifully written novel. The reviewers who write that the last few chapters of the book were "boring" have, in my opinion, failed to appreciate the meaning of those chapters. They are entirely relevant (and neccessary) to the story.
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Summary: Enlightening and inspiring
Review: Maybe the story of the driver ants is a tall tale (I wouldn't know), but this novel about the Belgian Congo (turned Zaire turned the Democratic Republic of Congo turned Congo, most recently) was utterly fascinating--all 550 pages of it. I would never have thought that a novel about Africa would have interested me, but now I want to read as much as I can about this embattled country. Like other readers, I felt a little short-changed with the last quarter of the book. It seemed like an editor must have been looking over Ms. Kingsolver's shoulder and whispering in her ear as she wrote it--"get to the end already." Even though I wished the pace wouldn't have sped up in the last part of the novel, I was still in tears by the end. One thing I was hankering for throughout though: more of Oleanna's perspective. I loved her voice and the poetry of her words. I will definitely read more Kingsolver. I can only hope that her other books are as rich and inspiring as this one.
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Summary: great story
Review: This book was one of those you can't put down. It made me apprecitate how life in the USA is alot easier than in Africa. The end kind of got slow, but overall, I would recommend this book.
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Summary: Kingsolver is king of words!
Review: The Poisonwood Bible held me in rapt attention for days. Five voices tell the story in different, and equally important ways. I don't know of another book that tells a story so strongly throught the eyes of a cast of women. It was interesting, foreign, new, exciting, and significant. Additionally, Kingsolver is a master of language. I must add that the political portions of the book toward the end were a bit in the grandstand-ish vein, and maybe more toward the side of a judgement on western culture than part of the story. Still 100% worth the time to read. Emotional and important.
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