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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Has been years since I read this book, remember I enjoyed it, would recommend it.
I read this book a few years ago, yet the story has stayed with me. The book underscores themes of hubris, perseveration of ideologies, and priorities. Barbara Kingsolver is a masterful storyteller. This is my favorite of her books.
One of my favorite writers
WONDERFUL read, EXCELLENT story set during a tragic period in history – in a place that was being torn up for its resources and manpower. Kingsolver did a great job of it, and I loved it.
Literary fiction at its absolute best. HIGHLY recommend this one.
Love, love, loved it!
This is one of the best books I have ever read. It was so informative and gave me much needed incite. Everyone should be required to read this! Marvelous!!
i liked everything about this book!!
One of my favorite books of all time! Absolutely captivating and well written. Kingsolver is a genius!
Great sadness and tragedy follow the wife and four daughters of a missionary in the Congo in The Poisonwood Bible. Set in the tumultuous changes in the Congo, we follow these women, their views of the events and their own transformations.
Stunning in its execution, this could be a university course in literary use of first person point of view all on its own as it moved from one character to the next. It blew me away, and I was an English major/English teacher/high school librarian. This was SO not my usual reading–I was in a book club only to get in-district credit for salary …
Poisonwood is beautifully written with well developed and complex characters. The story is rich and instructive. The culture clashes expose the motivations and ill conceived expectations of ignorance.
I have read this at least 4 times, and I take away something different each time. One of the most thought provoking books of all time.
On my favorite books of all time list.
The Poisonwood Bible is an embarrassment of riches. There is a rare depth to this novel. The prose is thick and full of life. The characters so well developed that they bleed off the page–Rachel misusing just the right word was staggeringly shrewd.
I mark up, take notes, and have conversations with the books I read. Ink and insight on the page. …
Captivating. Made me think. Loved it!!!
Love this author. Believe I have read all her works.
Read it years ago. I remember I could not put it down. I cried and gasped and prayed for the characters. A real eye-opener. A must-read.
Excellent –
An all time favorite!