Rating: 
Summary: A Masterpiece.
Review: Barbara has outdone herself with this one. Unlike her Animal Dreams series, (which I also loved!) this thoroughly engrossing novel covers the life and times of a family whose missionary Congo plants himself, his wife and his daughters in the midst of a country in turmoil. Told from alternating points of view of the wife and daughters, you come to hope for their physical and emotional survival in spite of their minister father/husband who refuses to move out when dangers closes in. A literary masterpiece of finely woven history and the human psyche. The only thing I would have changed was to end it when the story ended. Too much after-story writing was anti-climactic.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Books I have ever read
Review: The Poisionwood Bible was recommended to me by my mum and I was reluctant to try it because it was so long and I have very little free time in which to read. However, it took me no time to become immersed in this fascinating book. I just could not get enough of the suspense, the adventures, the characters, and the surprises in each chapter. I found myself relating to the characters a bit (especailly Rachel in her younger years). One flaw I saw in the book, though, is that it was bout 100 pages too long. It would have been fine to have stopped when the girls left Africa and if Kingsolver left the rest to the reader's imagination. After the family left Africa I felt that the best of the book was over; I didn't really care about the rest of it, but I read through it. I also felt the separate characters' voices for each chapter was "gimmicky" and a little hard to believe-- each character being defined as "just so" with their personality and manner of speech. I loved to hear Leah talk; Kingsolver really has a way with similies and metaphors. This book was wonderful and I spent all of my free time-- on the bus, during study hall, at breakfast-- reading this book. It really was a beautiful read and I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible beauty
Review: This book moved me. I hadn't expected to love it as much as I did -- I must agree with the reviewer who said they can't stop thinking or talking about it and are recommending it to everyone they know so they can discuss it.I read this in three days. Right from the first page, I couldn't put it down...and even though I agree that the ending wasn't quite as powerful or gripping as the beginning, it is still easily one of the best books I've read. Kingsolver kept me entranced with her prose and the vivid characters she drew for me. I don't think the novel suffered for its lack of a similar "voice" for Nathan. I think we're meant to know him only through the eyes of these women, as we see all the other happenings around them. I loved each voice in a different way: Ruth May's innocence and precocity; Leah's fierce righteousness; Adah's marvellous facility with language; Rachel's silly malapropisms (I didn't find them excessive at all!); Orleanna's quiet resignation. The story and characters kept me up late into the night even after I put the book down and I still think of it often. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing - not up lifting
Review: This book is long on words, and moves very slow. It is not a very up beat book. I found half way through, I skipped around and never even finished it.
Rating:
Summary: The Poisonwood Bible
Review: A book of biblical proportions, Kingsolver's "Poisonwood Bible" reads suprisingly quickly, probably mostly because the reader is quickly seduced by the scenes she sets so perfectly. I neglected friends and work for this novel, and Kingsolver made it all worth my time. Her characters are intoxicating, idiosyncratic, and undeniably realistic. With her characteristic storytelling ability, Kingsolver is more than capable of drawing the reader into the narrative. She uses the Price family as a window through which to tell multiple stories. At once, this is a story of colonialism and acquisition and of persistence and humanity. From the first scene, you know you're reading a train wreck of a novel--the idyllic CANNOT survive this saga of faith run amok. At times we lose focus of the intent behind each character's action, but Kingsolver is adept at tying loose threads together. While the ending is not poorly crafted, it can be a hearty shock to the reader whose heart was united with the young family early on. But that, in itself, is an act of purpose. In the traditional coming-of-age sense, this story grows up at the end when Kingsolver gives her characters lives that shadow the surreal, blank endings to malformed beginnings.
Rating: 
Summary: I missed the point
Review: Other people love this book and others say it's slow but stay with it. I got 170 pages in and found I was annoyed at the characters (what did they expect to find in Africa?) and didn't really care anymore about what happened. I know I'm one of the few who didn't like it but I didn't.
Rating:
Summary: Give it Time
Review: Unlike Kingsolver's other works, The Posionwood Bible takes a firm will at the beginning. It is a challenging read, starting off slow and building to a level of emotional and intellectual density that most novels never achieve. Her other novels require less commitment but as a reader you don't get the same satisfaction. When you put this one down, you'll want to join a book club; you'll ask everyone you know if they've read it and would they like to discuss it. If they have read it, they will want to talk about it. No novel in the past ten years has raised so many questions and conclusions in my mind. This is Kingsolver's finest work, telling not only the physical truth of a missionary's family life in Africa, but a deeper truth about the missionary spirit within us. On the basis of this book I anticipate only better and better novels from Ms. Kingsolver.
Rating:
Summary: Slow, but great writing
Review: Yes, it's slow.I thought I'd finish this book in 5-6 days, like I have many other books of this length. But, to my surprise, it has taken me over 2 months. Ironically, I've added it to my list of "All-time-favorites." BUY THIS BOOK. IT WILL TAKE A WHILE TO READ, BUT, FINISH IT.IT WILL DEFINITELY BE WORTH IT.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful and Dynamic
Review: I really, really enjoyed this book. The characters were interesting, and the multiple points of view kept things moving. The latter portion, after they leave the mission, seemed choppy and heavily didactic. I can't help but think that the author could have streamlined this portion of the book. And Rachel could have done with a few less malapropisms. Sure, a limited number fit with her character, but the device was definitely overused. Overall, though, I thought this was a wonderful book, and I want to re-read it.
Rating:
Summary: Slow start but worth it in the end
Review: I enjoyed this book. Very different from her earlier books, "The Bean Trees" and "Pigs in Heavan". The book is told from the point of view of the girls and their mother, and begins slow, but it picks up and is interesting to follow the girls as they live their lives. I was not sure I would finish it but am sure glad I did. Some sad parts.
| 
