Rating: 
Summary: Good, not great
Review: I enjoyed this book up until about 80% through it. Basically, I thought at first that I would completely hate it since it was about religion and about Africa - both of which frankly don't usually interest me. However, I found it captivating and intriguing. I was addicted and read it non-stop. ... That is, until the main story ended and the "aftermath" story began. Then, the book lost it's magic and lost what made it so captivating to begin with. The first 80% of the book was tremendous - deep, beautiful and just grand. The different conflicts that were going on - between husband and wife, children and parents, and community and preacher are just terrific. Some other reviewers call this book "male bashing" - I don't quite see that one. I guess the antagonist happens to be male and a wife does battle her husband, but I don't think I would characterize it as "male bashing." My recommendation is to read the book. However, be aware that the interest may be lost after a certain time.
Rating: 
Summary: Stuck on page 438
Review: Eventhough I enjoyed the chapters individually, I had a hard time following this narrative as told through the eyes of Nathan Price's wife and his four daughters. The book as a whole is not better than the sum of its parts. Disjointed I'd have to say...but oddly interesting. Some day I will finish the last 105 pages...but I am in no rush as I am now reading Stolen Lives by Malika Oufkir (much better)...no I did not buy the book based upon Oprah's recommendation, I bought it in spite of it!!
Rating:
Summary: Quality work, but don't take its lesson to heart
Review: In my mind, the "Poisonwood Bible" is probably Barbara Kingsolver's best work. It's a lot deeper than her other literary accomplishments, and it manages to wrap a generally good theme around a half-way decent plot. On the same note, however, that theme is especially tainted. The reader should realize the Kingsolver never visited the Congo and could not fully grasp life under Mobutu's dictatorship, on which she becomes exceedingly vocal. If you intend to read the book, do not read it to get a better insight on African tribalism and political nature, for you will only come away with a Super-PC viewpoint of anti-Western interventionism. Kingsolver fails to incorporate the many successes of Western intervention in Africa, especially in the modern-day context, and even portrays many missionary organizations that were particularily helpful in immunizing children in Africa as "agents of the West." Understandably, it is not possible for a fiction book such as this of an "Oprah's Book Club" caliber to sensibly endeavor in Africa's political system. Although some of her descriptions are justifiably legitimate, her own agenda toward non-intervention is increasingly clear throughout the novel. ...
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful book with many layers.
Review: I enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible very much. The narrative style of writing, in which the mother and each daughter told their story was excellently done. Each woman/girl had her own distinctive way of writing, and it wasn't long before I could tell which was writing just by the style of writing. This book makes you think, yet it is not heavy-handed. There is just enough politics to let you know what was going on, but it does not overpower the story. The timing was perfect, and there was just the right balance in the telling of the story. I found the descriptions, both physical and emotional, wonderfully done.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL
Review: If you don't like to study history or politics but wish you were more conversant in both, this is a good read. This is one of those excellent fictions that leave you wanting to know more. After reading this story set in Africa, I found myself picking up Time magazine and the Kansas City Star and devouring any information available on African policitics.
Rating:
Summary: a six star triumph
Review: So good I hardly know where to begin. OK page one. Here you discover you are in the presence of truly delicious prose. Kingsolver is always just right on- tough, poetic, ironic, angry - whatever it is, she finds the perfect way to say it. That's what it's like from the first page to the last. I did not want to stop reading it. Also this is a great big book about great big themes, about Europeans and what they have done (and are doing) to Africa, the inherent dignity of the people of the Congo, the rapacious greed of the West, the way we - yeah it's us- never question the assumption of our "superiority". Kingsolver does, and wickedly skewers the overbearing conceits- religious, political, or social that Europeans have always brought to Africa. All of this is presented in the context of a family saga that would by itself make this a great book- wonderful characters, perfectly drawn, impossible to forget. Move this one right up to the top of your list.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book
Review: First of all, I want to say that "The Poisonwood Bible" is simply the best fiction book I've ever read so far in my life -- let me tell you why. The detail that Kingsolver uses is so precise that you'll swear that you're in the Congo! Also, the plot is both fascinating and unique. The book begins when the Price family (Nathaniel, Orleanna, & daughters Rachel, Leah, Adah, & Ruth May) go on a missionary trip to the Congo. Nathaniel is a minister that is trying to bring Christianity into a third world country where it simply isn't wanted or needed. Nathaniel tries desperately to convert the villagers as Leah lusts after the local schoolmaster, Orleanna does the hut-keeping, Adah writes in journals, Rachel throws fits because she doesn't want to be in Africa, and Ruth May keeps getting into trouble. You'll swear that they'll never make it out alive, but you'll have to read it to find out! I have read this book three times and I seem to appreciate it more and more every time I read it. No other fiction book can compare to "The Poisonwood Bible." Its unparalleled beauty will capture your heart. If you read one fiction book, you should read Poisonwood. Besides, a free trip to the Congo is worth the price of the book. :)
Rating:
Summary: Ending Very Disappointing
Review: The beginning is boring and drags on. About 3-4 chapters are interesting and the ending is very boring.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a "feel-good" book
Review: If you like to escape in your books, this one definitely takes you "away". If you like a happy story, run far, far away. If you read books looking to learn anything of value, you'll be able to squeeze some life lessons out of it. If you had a strict or super-conservative upbringing, you'll identify with it.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read- Best in the Summer Heat
Review: Well articulated, deep, and paced. Ms. Kingslover has a knack for words that you rarely see in mordern writers. You can imaging the sights, the smells, the heat and the pain that each of these characters feel all throughout the unraveling of the family. Everything about this book is likely to make you forget which continent you are still on when you are reading it. You get as easily in the head of a mother of four daughters dealing with her over-zealous husband as much as you can follow the thought pattern of her 6 year old child and the palandrome thinking of her quietest twin. The characters are fully developed, (think of it as along the lines of Mosquito Coast, but better written, more intense and easier to follow and sympathize with), and the plot is amazingly realistic for fiction. It would be easy to imagine classrooms of the future (as it is already) using this book in their English classes to show how beautiful the written language can be, as well as provoke thought and discussion, plus give those with fully developed imaginations a sense of a country that they might not have visited yet.
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