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Summary: Enthralling story telling
Review: As the story of Nathan Price's family unfolds from the perspectives of his 3 daughters and his wife I really felt that the Congo was alive, and seeping through the pages into my life. It truly takes over while you read it, the beautifully strange way that Adah writes, the difficult awakening of Leah's sense of truth and justice and the innocent spirituality of Ruth May. It is a stunning story backed up by even more stunning characterisation. Brilliant.
Rating:
Summary: good fiction
Review: Having been a missionary I know that this is fiction, so keep that in mind. Overall, I found that the story was well written, developed strongly and stayed strong to the end. The characters do not grow much, but they are interesting and interact naturally. This is an excellent work of fiction that gives some real insight into the human heart.
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Summary: Should have been much shorter retrohs hcum neeb evah dluohs
Review: This book started out great. The subject matter was fascinating, and I enjoyed hearing the story from each of the four daughters' points of view. However, after about the halfway point, it just got boring, suddenly becoming almost solely about politics. If I wanted to read a boring, seemingly endless treatise on African politics, I'm sure I'd be able to find several in the nonfiction section, but I read for enjoyment, not to feel bad. I also found the mother's narratives to be very boring and hard to follow. And please, let's never again be burdened with another character whose mental tic makes her spell everything both backwards and forwards! You'd think Ms. Kingsolver was getting paid by the word.
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Summary: AN EXCELLENT, THOUGHT PROVOKING BOOK
Review: I love Barbara Kingsolver's writing, and have read all of her books. The thing that distinguishes Poisonwood Bible is that it is a work of deep, complex historical fiction and goes into some controversial areas. This is not a simple of tale of a missionary going into the Congo and "subjugating or converting the Natives" - maybe that was Nathan Price's original intent, but as is mentioned at one point, these "natives" like all human beings have had systems for conducting their lives for countless thousands of years before the missionaries came to teach them. I very much liked the way the book was written through the eyes of several different characters - 4 daughters and their mother - which was very interesting, as their personalities are quite different and well developed. I really liked how each of the characters evolved and took very different paths. There are some beautiful examples of the intermingling of different cultures and cultural conflict, and many surprises. I notice some people who reviewed the book feel that it doesn't do Christianity justice, but I think we all know, there are Christians and then there are Christians. Some with a good, pure, Jesus-like heart, and some with a self-righteous, egotistical agenda - this is no secret, and this distinction is well covered in the book. I also note that some people don't like how Barbara explores what they call her personal political views of what happened in the Congo - not sure I understand this, because as I read it, the things that happened were factual. Myself, I knew nothing about what happened in the Congo so found it both enlightening and disturbing - I guess we don't really like to hear about the arms of our country reaching into such dark places for such dark motives. Anyways, for me this book was a moving and very interesting read on many levels, that left me with much to think about, and it had a beautiful ending.
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Summary: Two books in one? Maybe not a bargain...
Review: This is one of the best works of fiction I've read in a while. However, parts of it could serve as good reading for a nonfiction book. Fiction written against true historical backgrounds is well and good, often teaching history in an entertaining way, thus making it more likely to stick. However, I must note that the fiction part of the book takes a back seat to the history and viewpoint of the author in the latter half of the book. In the first half, we are given an up-close-and-personal look at the characters and their trials in the Congo. As their lives tumble onward, it seems the author pulls back and wants to give us the 'bird's-eye view' of all the Congo and its place in history, rather than our characters' lives. I felt disconnected to the characters, as though they were all in a rush to finish the book as well as I, after the climax near the middle of the book. Every part of their lives that was told in detail in the earlier parts of the book was blurred together or skipped over entirely later on, perhaps in the interest of fitting it all together nicely and getting in quite a history lesson at the same time. The differing viewpoints of the characters served well to mix up the voices and continue the plot. However, some characters were written with some overly obvious bad speaking or writing habits, and others seemed to entirely lack such differentiating habits (something of a relief at times). While interesting initially, these habits got old. I believe the strength of the character's inner thoughts and personality (or lack thereof) could have served as well to differentiate them. My only other desire for this book would be that some of the minor characters (mainly Congolese) could have been more fully realized. These things said, I was terribly interested in the characters and the history imparted to me, and enjoyed reading the book immensely. The writing was wonderful and descriptive without ever overburdening the settings. The characters were all interesting, each with a very definite trial or trials, but each was also more than simply their trial and their eventual triumph or or defeat in light of it.
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Summary: The Poisonwood Bible
Review: This book is a superb read. I was immediately drawn into the struggle in the Congo while reading this book. It was like a vacation from life as I went along with the Price Family and seen through their eyes the strength of a people to survive in such devastating conditions. This book is poetic and insightful. I thouroughly enjoyed it. I would highly recommend The Poisonwood Bible.
Rating:
Summary: slow start, but overall a good read
Review: I really thought of giving up on this one. I had read all of Kingsolver's other books, and loved them. But, I'm glad I stuck with it. I really enjoyed her use of the different family member's 'voices' in the different segments.
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Summary: Engrossing and fascinating
Review: I read Kingsolver's earlier "Pigs in Heaven" and "Bean Trees." I picked up "The Poisonwood Bible" on impluse to read while on vacation. Once I started reading it, I found it hard to put down. I have never had much interest in African history, but this book made me want to find out more. Her characters, as in her earlier books, are very well realized and fascinating. The story begins with the arrival in the Belgian Congo of Nathan Price, fire and brimstone Baptist preacher, and his reluctant family. The family's story is told by Nathan's wife, Orleanna, and their five daughters - shallow teen-age Rachel, twins Leah and Adah, and five-year-old Ruth May. The voices of the characters are authentic and believable. Other reviewers are correct in their assessment that this is, in a sense, two books. The first is about Nathan's clumsy and ill-advised attempts to fit Africa to his fundamentalist beliefs, and the family's attempts to fit their lives to Africa. The second is about the way a family tragedy marks its survivors and the different ways events in Africa mark them as well. I don't agree that Kingsolver should have "stopped writing" at the end of the first part. I was absolutely spellbound by the way the voices changed and the way they stayed the same from the first to the last of the book. One believes in the characters, they change and grow as the book progresses. Other reviewers found Rachel grating, but I think that was the point. Her shallowness brought home the points that Kingsolver was making even more effectively than the earnest preaching by Leah. I got the sense that in her own way, Rachel understood the events perfectly well, but that she did not care. I felt very complete when I finished the book. It was a satisfying experience.
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Summary: Interesting read
Review: I had trouble getting through other books by Barbara Kingsolver, but I found this one really fascinating. I liked that she had four different viewpoints telling the story. And each of the voices was realistic and absorbing. I honestly felt for each of the characters and could easily see the damage the father/husband was doing to each of them-- and to the people in Africa. I also thought this book did a good job with setting. I knew pretty much nothing about the Congo and reading this book was almost like reading a history book. I did have one complaint, though-- I thought the book could have ended sooner. The last 100 pages or so were interesting but didn't add much flavor. The heart of the book was the time the family spent in Africa together and the eventual coming apart of the family.
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Summary: Must Read!
Review: I can't say much about this book without parroting word-for-word the glowing reviews of other readers on this page. What I can tell you is that I found this narrative of the lives of a family of missionaries in pre & post independance Congo/Zaire fasincating and masterfully written. The story was so engaging that I finished the mammoth book in two days. Although it is a work of fiction, Kingsolver sets it firmly against the real life history and culture of the Congo that left me wanted more. I think that for the first time I got a emotional understanding of the the devastation that Africa has endured by the hands of her greedy suitors. I was embarrassed by my lack of knowledge on the region and the level of involvment of the USA and Western Europe in the bloodshed. After I finished the book I quickly snapped up KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST and AFRICA: BIOGRAPHY OF A CONTINENT and I'm still reading! I highly recommend this book and although I realize this a departure from Kingsolver's usual genre, I look forward to reading more of her heartfelt prose.
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