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Summary: Ms. Kingsolver should have done her homework
Review: As I read this book, I felt swept away in a different era of which I was totally blind. However, when Ms. Kingsolver began to trash the Baptists, I held a different view. First of all, Southern Baptists do not believe in infant baptism. A person has to know Christ in a personal way and make a commitment to be saved and turn from their sins - baptism is an outward gesture to the world that you have faith in Christ and are willing to make a commitment to follow Christ. Ms. Kingsolver clearly has no clue on the Southern Baptist faith. She should have done her homework!!! If she is so totally wrong on the issue of Baptist religion - One can only determine that she may not have done her homework on the political issues either!!
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Summary: My favorite book this year....
Review: I found this book to be riveting, from start to finish. Kingsolver's writing paints beautiful pictures of life in Africa. Her style of using a "voices" of each character in alternating chapters was a brilliant way to give the reader of graphic view of life in the Congo through many different eyes. I felt changed by this book and it's power. I only wish it had gone on another few chapters. It was really stunning. One caveat to readers who like "The Poisonwood Bible"-- I ran out and bought Kingsolver's other books immediately and found the writing disjointed and bizarre. (I read 3 others by her). This is clearly her best.
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Summary: You Will LOVE It!!
Review: This story absolutely filled me with emotions! At 543 pages or so long, I never wanted to put it down, I took it everywhere with me, I made mes amis read some of the especially good parts, and I want you to read it too!! You Will LOVE It!! :):)
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Summary: Office Mgr
Review: It was the best book I ever read. After reading the book I felt liek I knew the family.
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Summary: Stunning, descriptive prose
Review: I highly recommend "The Poisonwood Bible." Since so many other Amazon reviewers provided background information on the plot of the book, I'll stick to my overall impressions. Kingsolver's rich, metaphorical language is a joy to behold. I copied dozens of passages from the "Poisonwood" into my journal because I want to remember and savor them. Not only will you feel the oppressing heat of the Congo, not only will you want to check your bedsheets for bugs, not only will you feel the awkwardness and pain the Price women endure as the only white family in a remote Congo village, but you will walk away from this book with a profound sense of gratitude for whatever simple amenities you may have in this life. Kingsolver manages to obtain the reader's complete empathy for the Price women. By the time I finished this book, I began to contemplate the universality of suffering. Suffering knows no cultural boundaries, and it is often the only thing binding us together as humans. Orleana Price, the mother, represents all mothers who must endure the pain of losing a child, whether to death or physical separation. The passages in which she describes her feelings about motherhood are some of the most beautiful prose I've ever read. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention two criticisms I have of this book. Kingsolver made a haphazard attempt to give a unique voice to each narrator(chapters are written from the perspectives of the mother and the four daughters). For example, Rachel has the most unique voice with her constant use of 1950s-1960s "teenage" vernacular, but I would find it odd when a sentence would start out with this jazzy vernacular and then suddenly shift to the lofty, intelligent voice of the author herself. So, in a sense, there are often two voices speaking. Perhaps this didn't bother other readers, but I found myself wincing at this more often that I would have liked. Secondly, Kingsolver tries too hard to get the point across that the U.S. and Belgium should have left the Congo alone. In other words, the reader gets hammered a lot with political theory. Leah and Adah, the twins, have many passages that address the political issues in the Congo, and I never really felt that these comments were the products of their own mind. Again, the voice of the author is fighting with the voices of the characters. This isn't a book you'll want to read in a hurry. Savor the beautiful metaphors and unforgettable descriptions of the people and landscape of the Congo. Take your time with this one!
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing & unfair
Review: It took me quite awhile to get thru this book, because I thought it was depressing, and also quite unfair toward missionaries and Christians. The Price family and other Baptist missionaries combine all the mistakes and bad qualities of every missionary who has ever gone to Africa! Yes, all those mistakes have been made at one time or another, but are generally not concentrated all in one dysfunctional family. Furthermore, Kingsolver has not done her homework. At one point, she has Rev. Price telling women that if they had had their now-deceased babies and young children baptised, they would be in heaven. This is not Baptist theology! Baptists do not believe in baptismal regeneration but they DO believe in believer's (i.e., adult or children at age-or-reason) baptism. So in this area also, her premise is flawed. It's sad to think that some people will have their opinion of missions and missionaries formed by this book which emphasizes the worst of all possibilities. Every profession has its 'losers;' remember that the Price family is the exception not the norm in missionary work.
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Summary: Not perfect, but still a great read
Review: I couldn't put this book down once I got past the first 50 pages. I found all the characters fascinating, including Rachel. Several reviewers have complained about Rachel's incorrect usage of words, but my best friend really talks like this - she says things like "for all the cheese in China" - and she is an otherwise well educated person! I wish Barbara Kingsolver had allowed the reader to hear Nathan's inner voice. The last half of the book drags and I think it presents an oversimplified version of African politics, but the book has sparked my interest in African history. My husband and I rarely read the same books, but we both enjoyed this one.
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Summary: A Must Read
Review: The merit of this book is that while reading it, you realize the many things in your life that you take for granted. It's the THINGS that the family didn't take, the THINGS they wish they had, and the THINGS they lose that becomes engrossing. When you read about Ruth and her mother laying her on the table, if you are a woman, you will be moved to tears at how this mother, so far removed from everything she felt comfortable with prepares Ruth's body for viewing. I felt so much compassion for her but at the same time I was so angry with her for staying there so long with her girls. Why did she stay so long? When she left her husband I was both glad and sad. When I finished reading the book, I knew that I would do something I very rarely do-read a book over again.
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Summary: Simply Wonderful!
Review: I can barely describe adequately the immense pleasure I derived from reading this novel--I literally could not put it down! Kingsolver does a marvelous job of bringing the characters to life and truly creates a novel that is a joy to read.
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Summary: Poisonwood Bible
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. Not only was it a moving story but I feel like I have visited Africa at it's best and worst. I also feel as though I have known this family personally. I could not put it down.
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