Rating: 
Summary: this is a good book
Review: Succinct, Pithy, Honest, and To-the-Point. A triumph of eruditity! Life is hell is clear lesson to be learned from The Poisonwood Bible. No matter how hard we try to make it better, life will always suck. In addition to life, men suck. Religion also sucks. The suckiest thing of all is, therefore, life with a religious man. Of course, that summery of the main themes in the Poisonwood Bible hardly does the book justice.
Rating: 
Summary: Poisonwood Trifle
Review: I found it difficult to read a book about an orthodox Christian missionary family headed by an arrogant and neglecting father that traveled to a country unknown to them, with the notion that the native people were uncivilized, and that they were doing them a favor forcing their own beliefs upon them. However, I must admit that some of the plot was well conceived, and fairly interesting for it's part, especially the rising of the independent Congo, and how the Price family saw it. But for some reason I just could not bring myself to like it over all. The writing style was actually quite good in some parts, however much of the book struck me as unnecessary (especially the last 300 pages). However a lot of the book came off as sounding opinionated on the writer's author's part. Some of the characters were also quite boring. A good example would be Nathan, he felt quite underdeveloped. The question about whether the reader liked him or not was too black and white. There were few if any redeeming qualities about him, and he was not a complex character. He also felt unrealistic in that way. I doubt the existence of many people who are all that similar to him and I should hope there aren't any. That's the kind of perspective the book gives you of him. He's the bad guy. That's it, there's no underlying story with him no good qualities or even outstanding ones at that he was just bad. When reading this book I couldn't even help judging most of the characters as hopeless, on most of the characters. I mean they just seemed helpless. The only possible exception to that would be Leah, the one who seemed to have adapted the most and blended in with the Congo. And even then she was doomed to bear children and become helpless all over again. I say she's "doomed" to have children and that she becomes helpless again because Anatole is in jail half the time, and she can barley support her children and herself. I cannot say I would recommend this book to anyone, unless I strongly disliked them.
Rating: 
Summary: Poison-"woodn't" hurt
Review: Plot: The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, is an intriguing book about a family with a religious mission to better a Congolese community at the turn of the Congo Republic's independence. The story begins in 1959, when the family first sets out from the United States into the wilderness of the Belgian Congo. Nathan Price, his family, and his overly confident personality land themselves into a tragic turmoil of ignorance, dogmatism, and perseverance. At the same time, the Belgian Congo was adapting from their own struggle for independence. Ultimately, both groups of people adapted to the situations in unique ways.
Character: Orleanna is the mother of four daughters; Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May. Because her husband was controlling and strong-willed, whatever the father ordered was carried out. Because of his perseverance, the lives of the family were put into jeopardy, and at that same point, the perseverance of Orleanna ceased to exist. She packed her bags and moved away with her children, which eventually separated the rest of the family as well. She was the one who made the changes with good intentions for everybody except for the father. She also represents the mourner of the story. She takes care of a lot of the problems, but also takes the burden for many of the bad situations.
Style: The book takes on many of the characters' point of views. The reason for that is so that the reader can engage in a fully described, fully detailed story. It is depicted from almost every perspective, each character showing her individual interpretation of the situations. Every person had something in common, however: they weren't enjoying themselves in the harsh circumstances. Each perspective was a hardship.
Language: A lot of the wording in the book is descriptive and detailed down to each individual character, including the consideration for the vocabulary limitations or advantages. The learning/limited understanding of the local language of the Congolese. Overall, this is a very realistic, creative story of life, death, and the "Strangling their own kin in a struggle for...light (Page5)"
Rating: 
Summary: An epic story worth reading
Review: The Poisonwood Bible is definitely one of the most poignant and entertaining books that I have read within the last couple of years. The book tells the story of the Price family, who are brought to the Congo by their domineering Baptist father. Nathan (the father) decides to journey to Africa in the 1960's to help convert the native people to Christianity. Nathan also brings his wife Orleanna, and their four daughters, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth-May. The four children and Orleanna undergo severe culture shock upon arriving in the Congo, and must learn to adapt in their new surroundings. Surprisingly, life in the Congo turns out to be equally as difficult for Nathan. The people of the Congo have long been exploited by the Belgian government and do not openly embrace the idea of Christianity. After days of rigorous hardship and troubles, Orleanna becomes ill with depression. Overwhelmed by their mother's absence from everyday life, the girls must learn to fend for themselves. All the while, Nathan becomes more crazed with his missionary work and eventually goes insane. Ultimately, price family learns both difficult and valuable lessons while living in the Congo. I highly recommend the Poison Wood Bible, and enjoyed reading it.
Rating:
Summary: The bible according to Jesus
Review: I thought this book was interesting. it was really really really long, but it was also very good. I liked the way it was written through many peoples eyes and how each character was made so dynamic through their actions and personalities. I thought this book was a good read if you have a lot of time on your hands.
Rating:
Summary: good plot, bad characters
Review: 1.Plot: I at first didn't really think I could get into the plot. When I first read the back I didn't exactly leap for joy. I didn't want to read a book about missionaries because I don't like missionaries and I knew the book was going to go into religion. Although the book seemed like this at first, after awhile the plot started to pick up and I really started to get interested. The goals of the characters shifted to surviving this event in their lives and I found myself wondering what would happen next. I'd give the plot 8/10. 2.Characters: this is really the downside of the book. Each chapter being in the perspective of different characters was a great and creative idea, I just wish Kingsolver had come up with some better character. Rachael and Ruth May where very bland and stereotypical characters. Leah seemed to change back and forth between being "Daddy's little girl," to trying to become part of the Congo. I would have loved to see Orleanna's perspective on things, but I couldn't understand her! The only character I liked was Adah because she would sit and take everything in mentally in her own unique way. I loved the way she looked at things. Overall the characters don't really develop that much as the stories progresses at the end of the book Rachael and Leah seemed the same to me. The only characters that really develop where Orleanna, who doesn't depend on Nathan anymore, but still feels guilty about everything, and Adah, who stops think in her cool way and starts thinking in a more conventional way, I really did not like how Adah turned out and she was my favorite character too. I'd give the characters 3/10. 3.Overall enjoyment of the book: I would have to say that this was not an easy read. It was very hard to get into the book at first. The book didn't interest me at all and I hated the characters. The only thing that kept me from burring the book was the fact that I had to read it for school. After a while though the plot did become more interesting but at the same time the characters became more and more uninteresting. Due to the fact the whole book is centered on the characters, the fact that I liked the plot didn't matter much, because I didn't want to here what the characters thoughts were; their views where boring and uninteresting. Although I wanted to find out what happened next I didn't want to read the book to find out. I'd give the overall
2/10 Total: 13/30.
I honestly have to say this is the first book I can say I hated. I have not enjoyed books before but never hated a book before. I can't say I recommend it, but if you can get past the bad characters you may enjoy this book to some extent.
Rating:
Summary: I'm imune to Poisonwood
Review: The Poison Wood Bible written by Barbara Kingsolver, was beautifully written and illustrated with words, well described characters, and plot. The characters were illustrated in a way that made them easy to picture but at the same time hard to fully understand. The plot was full of rich stories inside stories and one adventure after another, bringing in partially true stories of political problems of the time. The language was bright and colorful, fitting each segment of the book with permission. The book had a story to go with every word which made it enjoyable and interesting.
Plot: The plot of PWB was well thought out and well described, never a bit vegue. The mix of fiction with non-fiction was inspiring, making a story that is completely fake have a true political problem that was from that time in history. The story of man vs. nature and man vs. man gave the plot a gripping feel to it that the reader could really understand and get into. The is probably one of the best ever written.
Language: The language in the book was vivid and colorful. Each word was an analogy to something that was happening at the time in the book, and each word was a story. The use of Congolese was wonderful and colorful, again painting it's own picture to go with the story. The author did a wonderful job to pick words that fit with precision into the story.
Characters: Each character ranging from Ruth May to Nathen, and Pascal to Tata Anatol, had been described down to the last detail. Each character was completely different from the next even Adah and Leah the twins. Leah being a follower of her father and Adah read and writing in palindromes gave the book a unique twist. The rage of the father was insane and scary. Ruth May has a hidden demon with in her that has portrayed her as a demonic child, even though this is not evident right away the child does say many things that are disturbing. The was kind and learned Anatole, vain Rachel, unhappy Orleana, and all the other natives to the congo with there unique ideas, bodies and unique way of talking. There has never been a book were the characters, even the minor ones, have been so well thought through.
Style: The style of the book was what helped everything along in the story of the family. The way Kingsolver had everything in the book detailed to a point where it could not be detailed anymore was a great way to make her book. The way it was written with narrations from each of the daughters and the mother was new and very interesting although it would have been nice to have the fathers narration in parts. All together the style was interesting and unique keeping the reader interested.
Rating:
Summary: Poisonwood Bible Review
Review: Overall, I thought that the Poisonwood Bible had a great plot, although I thought that the beginning was slow. It would have been nice to have a background on the Price family living in the US. It also would have been nice to see their reactions to their father's demands. I thought that each character in the book was excellently portrayed. No character was the same as another, and their emotions and feelings were obvious and realistic. I enjoyed the author's writing style. Although, sometimes it was boring, especially in the beginning. Sometimes she was too descriptive, and other times, she was not descriptive enough.
Rating:
Summary: zen and the poisonwood bible
Review: The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, is the story of a missionary family traveling and living in the Congo during the time of its independence. The story is told from the women in the family's point of view as they grow up and experience this new culture. Their lives intertwine with that of the new Congo as they become involved with the people and events that shape the future of the Congo, as well as the futures of the Price family.
The language of The Poisonwood Bible is what stood out most. Its beautifully crafted imagery made this a book worth reading. Ms. Kingsolver strung sentences together in such a way that it created perfect pictures in your mind of the Congo, the people, and the places. She switches styles depending on whose point of view she is writing from. For example, with Adah, the language is very observatory, and profound. In contrast, Ruth May, the five year old, is written in a very simple, inquisitive style. The language of the whole book makes the action around it so clear and easy to understand. Language aids in making the book a piece of art, rather then just a book.
The characters of The Poisonwood Bible are incredibly complex and contradictory, just like people in real life. The characters are very different from each other, and each has a distinct personality and thought process that Ms. Kingsolver creates for the reader. They have flaws, like every human being, and make wrong choices that affect their lives. The characters do not all have a happy ending, but realistically their lives turn out according to decisions they make. Each character acts her age, having genuine thoughts and feelings a girl or woman of their age would have. The characters also interact believably, and as a family, relate as truthfully as a real family would under the circumstances. Overall, the characters were well built, especially their thought process, which really created their personalities.
The style of The Poisonwood Bible is very wordy and description based. It focuses more on feelings then action; in fact there is little or no action to speak of. It is much more psychological then anything else, and explores the workings of everyone's mind, and how they react to the world around them. It is told from first person perspective, but with many different main characters. The book is very slow-paced, with no fast action or rapid storylines. It is something one must concentrate while reading, as it is a very complex book with many facets and stories going on at the same time. To sum the style of The Poisonwood Bible up, one would say it is exceedingly verbose and character-centered.
The plot is centered on the Price family in the Congo. Nathan Price tries vainly to convert the indigenous people to Christianity, while his family deals with the ensuing culture and psychological reverberations. The subplot deals with the Congo and its struggle for independence from Belguim, which mirrors the women of the Price family's fight to disconnect themselves from the authoritative, abusive Nathan Price. The story chronicles their lives from the time they enter the Congo, full of hope and possibility, to when they leave it, minus two family members, and as completely different people. It then proceeds to show where the Price family ends up, scattered across the globe. At times the plot can be terribly slow and uninteresting, but then it picks up again, and in general, the plot was enjoyable though long-winded.
Rating:
Summary: simple thoughts
Review: Plot: the main plot was fairly straight forward, but many plots on top of that. It was an exciting plot that kept my attention. It was a lot about emotions and family dynamics and those were sort of hard to read. Style: it was way too descriptive but very interesting. She described every detail about the Congo, which made me feel more connected, but slowed down the reading process Language: there was mostly straight forward language until it came to Adah I had to just ignore some of the things she said because I didn't get what they meant. That language fit perfectly for Adah because that is really how she is. Characters: the characters were very developed so I felt like I knew them personally. Most of the characters seemed neither male nor female which let guys connect with them as well as girls. all together it was a good read but takes a long time, even if you could read it quickly you would'nt get as much out of it.
|
