Item Description
Oprah Book Club® Selection, June 2000: As any reader of The Mosquito Coast knows, men who drag their families to far-off climes in pursuit of an Idea seldom come to any good, while those familiar with At Play in the Fields of the Lord or Kalimantaan understand that the minute a missionary sets foot on the fictional stage, all hell is about to break loose. So when Barbara Kingsolver sends missionary Nathan Price along with his wife and four daughters off to Africa in The Poisonwood Bible, you can be sure that salvation is the one thing they're not likely to find. The year is 1959 and the place is the Belgian Congo. Nathan, a Baptist preacher, has come to spread the Word in a remote village reachable only by airplane. To say that he and his family are woefully unprepared would be an understatement: "We came from Bethlehem, Georgia, bearing Betty Crocker cake mixes into the jungle," says Leah, one of Nathan's daughters. But of course it isn't long before they discover that the tremendous humidity has rendered the mixes unusable, their clothes are unsuitable, and they've arrived in the middle of political upheaval as the Congolese seek to wrest independence from Belgium. In addition to poisonous snakes, dangerous animals, and the hostility of the villagers to Nathan's fiery take-no-prisoners brand of Christianity, there are also rebels in the jungle and the threat of war in the air. Could things get any worse? In fact they can and they do. The first part of The Poisonwood Bible revolves around Nathan's intransigent, bullying personality and his effect on both his family and the village they have come to. As political instability grows in the Congo, so does the local witch doctor's animus toward the Prices, and both seem to converge with tragic consequences about halfway through the novel. From that point on, the family is dispersed and the novel follows each member's fortune across a span of more than 30 years. The Poisonwood Bible is arguably Barbara Kingsolver's most ambitious work, and it reveals both her great strengths and her weaknesses. As Nathan Price's wife and daughters tell their stories in alternating chapters, Kingsolver does a good job of differentiating the voices. But at times they can grate--teenage Rachel's tendency towards precious malapropisms is particularly annoying (students practice their "French congregations"; Nathan's refusal to take his family home is a "tapestry of justice"). More problematic is Kingsolver's tendency to wear her politics on her sleeve; this is particularly evident in the second half of the novel, in which she uses her characters as mouthpieces to explicate the complicated and tragic history of the Belgian Congo. Despite these weaknesses, Kingsolver's fully realized, three-dimensional characters make The Poisonwood Bible compelling, especially in the first half, when Nathan Price is still at the center of the action. And in her treatment of Africa and the Africans she is at her best, exhibiting the acute perception, moral engagement, and lyrical prose that have made her previous novels so successful. --Alix Wilber
Product Details
- Author: Barbara Kingsolver
- Publication Date: 2005-05-31
- Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
- Product Group: Book
- Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Modern Classics
- Binding: Paperback, 576 pages
- Features:
- ISBN13: 9780060786502
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
- Package Dimensions:
- Dimensions: 800L x 520W x 130H
- Weight: 100
- List Price: $14.99
- ISBN: 0060786507
- ASIN: 0060786507
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Customer Reviews
Average Amazon User Rating: 
Wow!
2010-02-26
Reviewer: M
I read this book several years ago, and I still remember it vividly. It's a great view into colonialism in Africa in the 1960's and a family of white people trying to deal with the fact that they're pretty much cut off from the world as they settle into an African village because the father (Nathan Price) is such a religious fanatic and thinks that it's just fine to uproot his entire family and place them at risk (and several tragedies do occur)
The descriptions of the family's reactions (told from the mom and the 4 daughters in their own POV's) especially bring the story to life as each person tells their own view of things and their reactions and interactions with the villagers as well as their tyrannical, authoritarian father (or in Mom's case, husband). I don't want to say too much else, in risk of spoiling the story, but it definitely has some nice twists and turns, as well as a bittersweet and mostly satisfying (but very realistic ending. Definitely a great book and not one to be missed.
Vivid, moving and ultimetely redeeming.
2010-02-24
Reviewer: Mi
Beautiful descriptions of a Garden of Eden-esque setting which refuses to be tamed, and furthermore refuses to yield, teaching it's inhabitants harsh survival lessons. Thought provoking, lyrical and poetic, a book that reminds us of our own place on Earth and the things we take for granted. A gem.
Haunting....
2010-02-21
Reviewer: Elizabeth
"Beto nki tutasala? What are we doing?" quote from Page 523......and...I asked myself that question throughout the book as the Price Family continued with their missionary work and all the hardships and heartache the family endured.
The Price Family...Father Nathan, Mother Orleanna, and their four daughters pack for their mission in the Congo trying to figure out what they should take...not knowing that most of the things they take will be useless and not knowing what is in store for them in terms of day-to-day living. While they are there, the country fights for its independence from Belgium.
Nathan Price is a very controlling, mean person....he treats his wife and his daughters like second-class citizens while he preaches to the people of the Congo. He is oblivious to what he is putting his family through. The family endures the hardships of a third world country while enduring the abuse from Nathan.
It was interesting to see how the people in the Congo live. I definitely wouldn't want to live there for even a day....no niceties of life at all. I know the book was about more than the family's living arrangements and treatment of them by Nathan Price, but that encompassed all of it for me. :)
I enjoyed the Price family...all except the father...the daughters made some life decisions that definitely had their father's influence.
The book is superbly written......you won't want to put it down. You also learn that your childhood and what you learn does follow you throughout your entire life, influences your decisions about career and spouse, and that you are like your parents no matter how much you may not want to admit it.
A definite must read...it will haunt you long after you have completed the last page
Shame to give this a low rating
2010-02-11
Reviewer: Discerning Reader
It is re-assuring to see so many positive reviews of a wonderful book. But disappointing to see many readers were unhappy, especially with the second part of the book. All the comments made about part one give a true reflection of the quality of the author's work. So we need to concentrate on the other part.
It is true that the second part is written in a very different style, but then the context has changed. For me there are some wonderful aspects in the second part. The way these are handled demonstrates not only the depth of research done by the author, but her understanding of the complexities where different cultures meet. Those readers that see the book as two separate novels are actually missing the point- the second part is a result of what happened in the first part.
For instance, it was fascinating to read how the children, who had all gone through the same experience in the Congo, ended up being so different. Leah the daughter who absorbed and appreciated so much of the local African culture decided to stay in Africa and become fully integrated. The eldest daughter, Rachel, who remained absorbed in her European upbringing, lived to benefit from having money and enjoying a lifestyle, as if still in colonial Africa. The third daughter, Adah, was not really able to settle into any of the cultural worlds she had experienced. But when she was back in America, she was a still a part of the her African past.
This is a wonderful book for those who want to understand the complexities of different cultures making contact, and the intricate interweaving of religious, political, and economic as well as cultural factors.
It is a must.
The Poisonwood Bible
2010-02-10
Reviewer: mary adkins
I ordered this book from Amazon and was very pleased on the quick shipment and packaging for delivery. This is a wonderful book that is a must read. I loved it.
