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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
Exquisite. The overall point is very simple, about how impossible it is to transplant a worldview into a completely foreign environment, yet the writing is extremely subdues and subtle. On a technical note, I have never read a story narrated by five alternated first person protagonists, and five out of five women at that. It is very unique and effective for this book. Telling the "wide" story of a country in revolution from the "narrow" perspective of an eleven-year-old girl is difficult, and [a:Barbara Kingsolver|3541|Barbara Kingsolver|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1350499031p2/3541.jpg] achieves it. I feel a bit bad for the father though, as he never has the chance to defend himself against an increasingly embittered family. And I don't at all understand the two-book, 150 page "epilogue" of an ending.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Masterful. Wow.
“Rachel informs me I’ve had my brains washed by a communist plot. She’s exactly right. I’ve been won to the side of school teachers and nurses, and lost all allegiance to plastic explosives. No homeland I can claim as mine would blow up a struggling, distant country’s hydroelectric dams and water pipes, inventing darkness and dysentery in the service of its ideals, and bury mines in every Angolan road that connected food to a hungry child.”
“Rachel informs me I’ve had my brains washed by a communist plot. She’s exactly right. I’ve been won to the side of school teachers and nurses, and lost all allegiance to plastic explosives. No homeland I can claim as mine would blow up a struggling, distant country’s hydroelectric dams and water pipes, inventing darkness and dysentery in the service of its ideals, and bury mines in every Angolan road that connected food to a hungry child.”
adventurous
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
First half dragged horribly, second half seemed to speed through so many transitions... Was there enough information regarding the changes (or otherwise) of the girls? Still, the writing was intriguing (once I got into the rhythm) and Kingsolver skillfully articulated the fears and desires of the Price girls/women. Had a lot of those moments where you realize "Hey, I've thought that!" but never knew how to say it.
Not at all what I was expecting... Thorough and deeply political, very currently relevant as well as fascinating history. A captivating account of life deep in the Congo, inexorably upsetting but unexpectedly endearing. Doesn't really end where it begins.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Overall, I did enjoy reading this book. I thought that the exercise of writing the book from 5 different perspectives was well executed -- there were definitely distinct voices, world views, self-awareness and levels of emotional/intellectual development that characterized each woman's chapters.
I enjoyed the way that Kingsolver played with language in so many different ways in this book - on the individual character level, there's the 5-7 year old little girl's voice, the presumed-handicapped girl who doesn't speak but who plays with palindromes and books like they are alchemy, and so on. The chapters are written from first person, so Kingsolver puts words in as they are heard by that character - when the littlest hears people talking about things she's not familiar with she hears "make amens" instead of "amends" and "Circus Station" instead of "circumcision." One girl corrects her sister repeatedly on her use of the wrong words - like "progeny" vs "prodigy."
Then there's human language -- the different languages spoken, Kalinga, English, French. There are people learning languages and even a bird who picks up a lot of language. There is emphasis on body language and the language of the way the women move and use their bodies in Congo (rewrapping & tying their skirts, for example).
Kingsolver's themes, however, come across a bit heavy-handed. For example - I can't help but think that the whole "twins" situation was a bit overplayed as a metaphor - for so many things: for the relationship of Orleanna and her husband, the relationship of the people of Congo, the relationships between nations. One starves the other, til, one day - the other wakes up and realizes her power and does what she needs to do to assert herself.
I found the treatment of racism less than subtle, as well - it was rather amazing to me that one of the daughters could be part of the same family and still be living in Africa and yet be of the opinion, 30+ years later, "Well there wouldn't be anyone we know left in that village..." and only naming off the white people who she knew had left or died.
It's as though Kingsolver is trying to excuse racism as a character trait/flaw - something you're born with, which is an intrinsic part of who you are regardless of your surroundings -- which I just refuse to believe. I don't think that racism is an intrinsic part of anyone's character, nor do I believe that it's a sign of low intelligence.
Since I got my MA in Latin American Studies, not African Studies, I can't really speak to the inaccuracies that might be reflected in the language, interpretation of events or anything else. However, knowing what little I do about that period of African history and current events - I can't help but think that the Price family lived in an extremely privileged bubble -- not just during the Mission period of the story but after, as well - not having suffered more than hunger throughout brutal civil wars and during a period when thousands lost their lives, they never saw the bodies and seemed to avoid all but the horror of their own dysfunctional family and righteous indignation of injustice.
I enjoyed the way that Kingsolver played with language in so many different ways in this book - on the individual character level, there's the 5-7 year old little girl's voice, the presumed-handicapped girl who doesn't speak but who plays with palindromes and books like they are alchemy, and so on. The chapters are written from first person, so Kingsolver puts words in as they are heard by that character - when the littlest hears people talking about things she's not familiar with she hears "make amens" instead of "amends" and "Circus Station" instead of "circumcision." One girl corrects her sister repeatedly on her use of the wrong words - like "progeny" vs "prodigy."
Then there's human language -- the different languages spoken, Kalinga, English, French. There are people learning languages and even a bird who picks up a lot of language. There is emphasis on body language and the language of the way the women move and use their bodies in Congo (rewrapping & tying their skirts, for example).
Kingsolver's themes, however, come across a bit heavy-handed. For example - I can't help but think that the whole "twins" situation was a bit overplayed as a metaphor - for so many things: for the relationship of Orleanna and her husband, the relationship of the people of Congo, the relationships between nations. One starves the other, til, one day - the other wakes up and realizes her power and does what she needs to do to assert herself.
I found the treatment of racism less than subtle, as well - it was rather amazing to me that one of the daughters could be part of the same family and still be living in Africa and yet be of the opinion, 30+ years later, "Well there wouldn't be anyone we know left in that village..." and only naming off the white people who she knew had left or died.
It's as though Kingsolver is trying to excuse racism as a character trait/flaw - something you're born with, which is an intrinsic part of who you are regardless of your surroundings -- which I just refuse to believe. I don't think that racism is an intrinsic part of anyone's character, nor do I believe that it's a sign of low intelligence.
Since I got my MA in Latin American Studies, not African Studies, I can't really speak to the inaccuracies that might be reflected in the language, interpretation of events or anything else. However, knowing what little I do about that period of African history and current events - I can't help but think that the Price family lived in an extremely privileged bubble -- not just during the Mission period of the story but after, as well - not having suffered more than hunger throughout brutal civil wars and during a period when thousands lost their lives, they never saw the bodies and seemed to avoid all but the horror of their own dysfunctional family and righteous indignation of injustice.