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Poisonwood Bible

By Barbara Kingsolver

(85)

| School & Library Binding | 9780613221931

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Book Description

The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it--from garden seContinue

The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it--from garden seeds to Scripture--is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.

The novel is set against one of the most dramatic political chronicles of the twentieth century: the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy. Against this backdrop, Orleanna Price reconstructs the story of her evangelist husband's part in the Western assault on Africa, a tale indelibly darkened by her own losses and unanswerable questions about her own culpability. Also narrating the story, by turns, are her four daughters--the self-centered, teenaged Rachel; shrewd adolescent twins Leah and Adah; and Ruth May, a prescient five-year-old. These sharply observant girls, who arrive in the Congo with racial preconceptions forged in 1950s Georgia, will be marked in surprisingly different ways by their father's intractable mission, and by Africa itself. Ultimately each must strike her own separate path to salvation. Their passionately intertwined stories become a compelling exploration of moral risk and personal responsibility.

Dancing between the dark comedy of human failings and the breathtaking possibilities of human hope, The Poisonwood Bible possesses all that has distinguished Barbara Kingsolver's previous work, and extends this beloved writer's vision to an entirely new level. Taking its place alongside the classic works of postcolonial literature, this ambitious novel establishes Kingsolver as one of the most thoughtful and daring of modern writers.

Critics

  • The Poisonwood Bible

    This is a brilliant novel. It is intense, powerful and complex and deeply affecting. It is also very disturbing. I found watching the characters painful progress, waiting for the inevitable and hoping that they would somehow survive did not make for ... (read full critics)

    bookgroup published on Mon, 13 Sep 2010

  • The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver

    Barbara Kingsolver was a little girl of seven when she and her family left their Kentucky home to spend two years in the Congo. When she returned, the world looked totally different to her. "I understood the way we lived in my little corner of Kentuc ... (read full critics)

    bookpage published on Sun, 12 Sep 2010

13 Reviews

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  • 2 people find this helpful

    Received this as a gift, the tag 'recommended by Oprah' first made me want to put it on the shelf and forget it. Congo, missionary life, not really subjects I would seek out by myself. But this book truly fascinated me, and I learned a lot. Was especially taken in by little Ada.

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    Sengaia said on Apr 27, 2009 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 1 person find this helpful

    What I like about Barbara Kingsolver's books is her writing and storytelling. Her descriptive narrative flows and she delves into her characters and their settings. Not only do you learn the family history but also the history of the country where the book is set . I found the subject quite diffi ... (continue)

    What I like about Barbara Kingsolver's books is her writing and storytelling. Her descriptive narrative flows and she delves into her characters and their settings. Not only do you learn the family history but also the history of the country where the book is set . I found the subject quite difficult as I find stories concerning devout religion where it ends in family hardship quite distressing to read. Nathan Price for all his devout, Baptist evangelism does not live his life as a true Christian. He is extremely hard on his family, believes his word is the word of God and does not listen. Therefore he leads his family into difficulties, danger and poverty without a thought. Orleanna, the mother has a tough time learning the ways of the Congolese, bringing up her daughters, trying to keep them from danger while her husband goes out preaching and comes home expecting to be waited on hand and foot.
    We are given to understand that Nathan has changed on his return from the war and perhaps it is the fact he has seen and lived through terrible things that makes him so devout.

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    Booketta said on Apr 10, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • 1960. A white family of 6 moves from the state of Georgia USA to Congo for the greatness of God.

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    jelabino said on Jul 31, 2011 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Wow

    One of the most profound novels I have ever read. I could not put it down. Beautifully written. I read this book 6-7 years ago and have yet to find a book nearly as good.

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    Nicole said on Dec 9, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

  • Very good book, though I lost interest in the last 1/3rd or so. The first chunk of it was very interesting.

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    Deanna Kyre said on Sep 18, 2008 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

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