Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book; in awe of Ms. Kingsolver's talent
Review: WOW! This is a beautiful book. I could read it several times and still not "get" all of the subtle wordplays and hidden meanings. I agree that towards the end it lost something; another reader said it should have ended with Ruth May's death and I agree. However, it WAS satisfying to know what happened to the characters after they left the Congo - how the experience of 17 months there changed their lives forever. (This would have been the case even if Ruth May hadn't died.) Overall, this was just a terrific read. Can't wait until Ms. Kingsolver writes another one.
Rating:
Summary: A Magnificent and Poetic Saga
Review: A testimonial to the strength of women and condemnation of blind faith to interpretation of the bible with limited practible universal application. A triumphant work supporting worship and acceptance of a universal religion, of nature and the cycle of life and death.
Rating:
Summary: Been there, done that
Review: I spent 8 years('62-'70)on a mission station in Zimbabwe and this book brought back memories of Africa. Barbara Kingsolver has captured Africa, the cultural clashes and the Americans who try to bring America with them. One reader complained that there was "very little contact" between the Africans and the Americans; the whites and blacks lived very different lives there, even on a mission station. I lived in Africa for 8 years and never learned the local language. I played mostly with other missionary kids, not the African children. My brother, who was younger (like Ruth Ann) interacted best with the local children. Another complaint I read was this: where was Nathan while his family starved? Africa is full of remote villages and many missionaries spent a lot of time away from their families travelling to these villages. Things happened while they were gone. Most of the criticism I read about this novel seems to be by Americans making assumptions about life in Africa and complaining because this book didn't live up to what they expected. I've been there and this book describes it all: the land, the people (Americans, Africans and "Europeans" or white Africans),the cultural misunderstandings and the political turmoil perfectly. I knew all the characters in this book. They were my family, my friends, my neighbors. As for the complaints about a political slant, she writes as it was: Communism and Socialism sound different in a country where very few (white people) have it all and very many (black people) have nothing, and democracy is hollow when democratic countries back the enemy. A must-read for anyone who has lived in Africa.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtakingly beautiful
Review: This the best new book that I've read in a couple of years. The characters are wonderful and so well portrayed that I felt as if I knew them personally. As a visual person, I immensely enjoyed all of the word pictures and symbols that Kingsolver used to make Africa come alive for me. If the last third wasn't as good as the first two thirds of the book, it still remains a truly great book that haunted me and that I will carry around for some time to come.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books I have read this year
Review: The book was a fasciniting insight into the conflict between the arrogance of the westerner who always knows best and the indiginous population who actually do know what they are doing. The conflict between the two was clearly outlined. This was relected in the internal conflict present within the family structure. The use of the females family members to narrate the story gave it a slant which would not have been possible if the father had been narrating. It could even be said that the males are for the most part described in less than flattering terms. I noticed that the official reviewer found the 'malapropisms' of one daughter annoying. On the contrary, I found that if you think about the word mistakenly used in context with its surrounding thoughts, that quite often one could see a meaning just as relevant yet totally different from the surface meaning. Please look again! All in all, this was one of the most riveting books I have read in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece in first person narration
Review: This novel is one of the finest I've read this year. The characters and their voices are so distinct, so compelling, their actions so believable, that I could not stop reading. The players move along in a doomed grace that is hilarious and tragic and haunting, all at once. No, it isn't a perfect book. Great books are rarely perfect, as they are far too ambitious for gem-like perfection. The first part of the story is tense and interwoven, as threatening and inexorable and the Congolese jungle. The last thirty years sprawl around, untidy and unfocused, and at times the later story is more a political complaint than a narrative. It reminds me of the narrator in Canada at the end of Owen Meany. I can live without lectures; illustration of the conditions through plot action is far more telling. I know that other readers needed to hear what happened to this family and are happy for the last section. I wish this had been done in a sequel. I could have happily read another, more gently unfolded book about these women.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, wonderful book!
Review: What a beautifully written book! I found myself rereading parts of it just for the pure pleasure of it. We hated the father and got angry with the mother but the book was a real joy to read.
Rating:
Summary: Best book I've read this year - and it's already October
Review: READ THIS BOOK! The writing is straightforward (don't look for a poetic masterpiece in this book), but WOW! What a great story. I enjoyed the storyline a great deal, but I also liked the way all of the characters suffered from deprivations, some physical (lack of food, shelter), some spiritual, some intelligence. These were contrasted in such a way that made me think about all of the things I take for granted every day and what my basic needs really are. Barbara Kingsolver is a consistently good writer. Don't miss any of her works. I am and will continue to be a big fan.
Rating:
Summary: true, gritty, unforgettable
Review: I opened this book with trepidation, having talked to someone recently who wasn't overly happy with it. It is a wonderful, heartfelt, and too real picture of the quintessential evangelical hyper-religious family. A beautiful portrayal of Africa, too. My only qualm, and this is a minor one, is that like a fantastic Beethoven Symphony (pick your favorite) the plot is developed, the characters are rich and complex, the setting perfect, every note, in fact, brilliant, and then the ending is dimmed by a too-long farewell. It seemed to end. Then end again, and again. But "the girls" who tell the story deserve the attention: they are the brilliance sparkling through the red dust of Africa. I own and love all of Kingsolver's works, and will no doubt read this one again. It is so precise in voice and tone and characterization it could be used as a text book in a writing class. Truly inspiring to those of us who also try to write.
Rating:
Summary: Inconsistent, but I like it
Review: I'm almost done with this book, and unfortunately, I have to agree with the people who say it unravels a little at the end. I'm not saying I don't want to know about this period of African history, just that when the female characters decide they've finally had enough of Nathan and literally walk away, Kingsolver seems to abandon character development in favor of endless political commentary. Everything sort of shifts, from a story about a domineering preacher's relationship with an African village and his own family, to an essay about how the U.S. has wronged the Congo. Two characters suddenly become so one-dimensional it's annoying: Rachel becomes even more shallow and self-serving, while Leah becomes so self-righteous it's harder and harder to root for her as the novel goes on, even though intellectually I agree with what she's saying. My favorite characters are Adah, who remains complex and brooding but also mature and clever, and Orleanna, who doesn't get as much "air time" as her daughters in the second half of the book. Now, don't get me wrong, these are important issues and someone should write about them. I believe Americans often take for granted what they have and often have the attitude that "third world" countries wish they could be like us. But I think that Kingsolver is trying to write two books at once here. Maybe she would have been better off writing a novel about a preacher's family AND a book about this period of history. All that said, this is still an interesting and absorbing book and Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors. I would consider it worthwhile reading for just about anyone.
|
