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susburg's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
kylelavallie's review against another edition
3.0
I genuinely enjoyed learning as much as I did about the Congo and the despicable actions of the US and other colonizers. The lenses through which I learned it all also provided interesting perspective as it relates to gender, race, ability, and religion. That said, what brought it to three stars for me was the pace. I felt like it crawled to the climax, then descended quickly to a slow pace. Ruth May and Adah are the only characters I liked throughout the whole book. Overall, very interesting book, just not my cup of tea.
hakin628's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
marci_in_maine's review against another edition
5.0
I first read this book maybe 13 years ago, before I had children. It became one of my all-time favorites. I recall that I cried at the end and I was so sad because I felt these people had become part of me. The second reading, even though I knew what happens, was no less amazing. The language is incredible and the intimacy of the five points of view connects you so tightly to them. The book is so full of life that its hard to believe it is merely words on a page. And now having my own children I think the book touched me in an even deeper way. Those feelings of connection and guilt and longing and self-preservation...what mother had not lived through all of those, although perhaps a lesser degree than Orleanna.
I highly recommend this book.
I highly recommend this book.
bookishbetty's review against another edition
5.0
This book highlights the horrors of colonialism. It also shows how damaging and abusive organized religion and mission work can be. I can understand why some may have been offended by these truths. Because they don't want to admit these are truths. Basically, I feel if you didn't like this book, it's because you are of the conservative, pearl-clutching persuasion.
All that aside, this book spoke to me on many levels. SPOILER ALERT ----- Child loss being one of them, as I lost my first born two years ago.
The story telling is fantastic, it is by turns poetic, irreverent, gut wrenching and funny.
All that aside, this book spoke to me on many levels. SPOILER ALERT ----- Child loss being one of them, as I lost my first born two years ago.
The story telling is fantastic, it is by turns poetic, irreverent, gut wrenching and funny.
joborn's review against another edition
4.0
The beginning was much stronger and full of complications
The ending was very spread out and seemed distant
The ending was very spread out and seemed distant
aa2q7's review against another edition
5.0
I tried to read "The Poisonwood Bible" once before, when I was younger. I didn't finish the first chapter before I was bored and put it back on the shelf. I've kept the book since then, though, and thank goodness, because Barbara Kingsolver is amazing.
I must not have been trying that hard before, because I couldn't put this book down when I picked it up again last week. The story, which spans 30+ years, is hauntingly beautiful.
Kingsolver follows the Price family as they move in 1959 from small-town Georgia to Kilanga in the Belgian Congo. Nathan Price is a fire-and-brimstone Baptist preacher trying to convert the "savage" natives, and he is joined by his introspective wife and their four daughters — Rachel, twins Leah and Adah, and Ruth May. The three older girls are in their early teens, while Ruth May is still a chid and innocently so.
The story is told in flash-backs from the alternating perspectives of the four girls, and an introduction to five of the seven contained books is narrated by their mother, Orleanna Price, back in Georgia. As Congo becomes an independent country, the family struggles with community dissension and Nathan Price's increasingly damning religious intensity.
I love how Kingsolver takes her time to describe scenes and explore the sister's innermosts thoughts and fears. Each voice is distinct and strong. At times, I felt passages seemed to drone on, but later in the book, I came to relish the descriptions of each place and person. I especially liked the scene described as driver ants invade the village in the middle of the night, eating chickens by sheer force and biting at the heels of the people trying to escape. I watched YouTube videos of driver ants for 30 minutes after reading that chapter.
"The Poisonwood Bible" is lengthy but worth every page.
I must not have been trying that hard before, because I couldn't put this book down when I picked it up again last week. The story, which spans 30+ years, is hauntingly beautiful.
Kingsolver follows the Price family as they move in 1959 from small-town Georgia to Kilanga in the Belgian Congo. Nathan Price is a fire-and-brimstone Baptist preacher trying to convert the "savage" natives, and he is joined by his introspective wife and their four daughters — Rachel, twins Leah and Adah, and Ruth May. The three older girls are in their early teens, while Ruth May is still a chid and innocently so.
The story is told in flash-backs from the alternating perspectives of the four girls, and an introduction to five of the seven contained books is narrated by their mother, Orleanna Price, back in Georgia. As Congo becomes an independent country, the family struggles with community dissension and Nathan Price's increasingly damning religious intensity.
I love how Kingsolver takes her time to describe scenes and explore the sister's innermosts thoughts and fears. Each voice is distinct and strong. At times, I felt passages seemed to drone on, but later in the book, I came to relish the descriptions of each place and person. I especially liked the scene described as driver ants invade the village in the middle of the night, eating chickens by sheer force and biting at the heels of the people trying to escape. I watched YouTube videos of driver ants for 30 minutes after reading that chapter.
"The Poisonwood Bible" is lengthy but worth every page.
mloessiiee's review against another edition
4.0
Wauwww wat een indrukwekkend boek! En ik ben blij dat ik doorgelezen heb. Nooit bewust geweest van wat en hoe het eraan toe ging in Congo.. maar nu more eager om er meer over te weten. Mooi hoe de personages hun verhaal vertelden en zich ontwikkelden.
Dit is zeker een favo!
Dit is zeker een favo!