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 … 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.
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Barbara’s a wonderful writer. The way she uses words is fabulous and just keeps me glued to the book!
A longtime favorite of mine and many others. She tells the same story from the point of view of four different characters. Very talented author.
One of my favorite books of all time.
Great, great book! One that will stay with you for a while, this book squarely identifies not right, not wrong, just different. The attitude of the father that his way was the only/right way is so common in our society- really makes you think of looking at things differently.
Great story telling and original presentation of a forgotten time in African history. Characters are well developed and the story is well written from many perspectives.
Off the charts great read!
Like just about everything from this author.
this book was disturbing on many levels….not sure why I was driven to finish it.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
One of my all time favorites!
Amazing! One of my top 10 books of all time!
I’ve heard so much about this allegedly fabulous book but I didn’t find that. It moves very slow, a lot of adjectives, and I couldn’t wrap around any characters. Only got about 1/4 the way through and couldn’t continue.
I love Kingsolver, most of the time. This one was famous and I read it long ago but the re-read was difficult. Just too much preacher stuff in the beginning and maybe too much family in the end.
Hard to follow in audio format. Printed work may have been better.
I love the portrait od Africa as it struggles with Colonialism. The four daughters are marvelous, and the authoe’s use od language is masterful. It’s characters evolve in very interesting and believable ways. Never got dull.
Interesting story about how different people look at the same adventure differently. I loved it.
I loved this book! I read it many years ago and still think of it often. I will certainly read it again.
This was my first book of Kingsolver’s. I always learn something and each book is original.
Read years agoo. Loved it
Rich in symbolism, this is a book for deep thinkers.