The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: flawed but fascinating
Review: The first 300 pages of this novel, where we hear the voices of the four women as they try to live with their fanatical father, are a slow read indeed. It took me 3 months to get through the first half of the novel--this from someone who rarely spends more than 4-5 days reading a novel, no matter what it's length. It wasn't that it was so badly written, in fact, it's beautifully written (although the devices she uses to distingush between their voices become gimmicky after awhile). It's just that it's very difficult to read, I simply could not understand why they stayed. I don't think I'm spoiling the plot by giving away that they eventually leave--it's foreshadowed from the very first chapter. And for me, that was when the novel became interesting, to see how these women handled the shambles their lives had become. Although Leah is the one I admired most, I ended up liking Rachel in spite of her shallow political and racial views, simply because she was such a breath of fresh air after Leah's political fanaticism--which oddly echoed her father's religious obsession. And I found it fascinating that Adah had carried so much as the family scapegoat because of a deformity that existed only in the minds of the family. As another reviewer said, though, I would have liked to have Leah's thoughts (at the very end) about the gift she would give her father but if you stick it out this is the most rewarding book I've read that was published in the last 2-3 years.

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Summary: I can't breathe
Review: An avid Kingsolver fan, I found this book disappointing. I didn't love anyone in the book. Everyone was pathetic. Her agendas are quite clear about Christianity, the United States and men. That's okay, it's good to be constructively critical. But it wasn't convincing. Like another reviewer wrote, not one character becomes anyone I admire. It's a dark book with no hope. No hope for the Africans, no hope for the four women. No hope for the father. I had to plow through the middle of it just so I could breathe...looking for some hope. I don't want a pollyanna ending. But really, there are a lot better novels out there about women, Africa, missionaries and their effect on other cultures and visa versa...

Rating:
Summary: Amateur writing
Review: Sooooo disappointing; I saw all these wonderful reviews from so many newspapers and I thought it would be wonderful. I love stories set in Africa, regardless of the era. After the first 100 pages, the book seemed like it would never end. I felt it was a book written for children, from the point of view of 4 children. Definitely not a book for someone who enjoys good literature!

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Summary: the poisenwood bible, barbara kingslover
Review: this is the best book i have read in ages. why do you think the father never speaks directly to us?

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Summary: Skip the Valium and Read this Pap!
Review: I recently read half of "The Poisonwood Bible," which is on the top of the best seller lists and purports to be "literature." I had hopes of gaining real insight into African culture, and to experience a well-written female narrative (like the voices of Atwood and others). For the first time in 35 years of reading, I couldn't finish a book. Barbara Kingsolver's blathering feelings-oriented tome was, well, tedious, neurotic and sleep-inducing. By the middle of the book, I was hoping the Congolese would strangle the four female protagonists -- to put them out of their misery, for being such stupid pitiful "victims." The only victim, alas, was me the reader. The characters were one dimensional, and the tale of shoe-horned Western-Civ gone wrong too often told. Do yourself a favor, and skip this one.

Rating:
Summary: She should have stopped while she was ahead
Review: The first half of the book was excellent. I really enjoyed the different voices of the young women involved. After they finally leave the jungle, however, the novel falls apart. Leah just becomes an apologist for the independence movement. Rachel becomes a characature -- never appears to mature. Ada makes a miraculous recovery. I would like to have had more thoughts by the mother after they left. I also was a bit confused by Ruth May as a snake since in literature this is usually such a negative symbol and she was innocence personified.

Rating:
Summary: A Poisonwood Review
Review: Five stars for artistic merit ... I found the language in this book superb, although a lot of the imagery reminded me of a bad dream and there seemed to be little beauty in Kingsolver's Congo. On the other hand, I found myself wondering about Kingsolver's agenda in writing this book. It was a pretty thorough put-down of Christianity, Capitalism and the United States. In the concluding chapter, I believe the voice of the serpent in Eden becoming the voice of the Congo becoming the voice of Ruth May was a New Age exaltation of the occult.

Rating:
Summary: To boldly go
Review: In review I submitted last night, I mistyped Barbara Kingsolver's last name. Can you correct before it is posted? Thank you.

Rating:
Summary: To boldly go
Review: Kingslover walks into the jungle and off the page, daring herself to experiment with voice, language and structure. I applaud her for breaking the Kingslover mold, abandoning the happy predictability of her previous novels

Rating:
Summary: Poisonwood Bible
Review: If you want to learn about history, travel around the world, do character studies, or heighten your senses,reading Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible will allow you to do these things and more. She is to be commended on researching the politics,the wars,the inhabitants, the food, smells and strifes of a bygone Belgian Congo and the missionaries sent to change it all by coversion to Christianity as we know it. You are sure to identify with one character as much as you will dislike another. The journey into the heart of the story is slow but well worth the ride.