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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I loved this book! Such a riveting, compelling story. I highly recommend it. I am growing more impressed with Barbara Kingsolver with every book I read!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Poisonwood Bible is written from 5 different viewpoints. Orleanna Price and her four daughters: Rachel, twins Leah and Adah, and Ruth May. And I've read very few books that pull of 5 distinct voices more effectively. By the end of the book, when Rachel, Leah and Adah are riding together across Africa and arguing, the reader is given the complete picture of three individuals and is familiar enough with each of their histories to understand, if not agree with, all of them.
The character development in this book is amazing. Even the family member with no voice in the book - Nathan Price - is amazingly well developed. His revisionist personal history and profound cultural ignorance has you guessing he'd go to his grave never having been wrong if you ask him, and an insufferably arrogant jackass if you ask anyone else. And that's exactly what he does as nearly as any of the others find out in the end.
"Brother Fowles" is attributed this gem about midway through. He's discussing the relevance of Christian theology to Africa, specifically that it's as close to the desert culture from which it came as you could ask for and still a pretty forced fit.
"'Many parts of the Bible make good sense here, if you only change a few words.' He laughed. 'And a lot of whole chapters, sure, you just have to throw away.' 'well it's every bit God's word, isn't it?' Leah said. 'God's word, brought to you by a crew of romantic idealists in a harsh desert culture eons ago, followed by a chain of translators two thousand years long.'" p. 247
And though Fowles' character is a lot more sympathetic than Nathan's you can still see here the vain and arrogant attempt to force feed Africa a culture that simply doesn't make sense for them.
I find Leah's character the most compelling, and her life with Anatole Ngemba gives a pretty clear-eyed vision of the Mobutu regime beginning after the assassination of Patrice Lumumba anchoring the story in history. (The main characters are all fictional of course). The book as a whole is a really good illustration of how those in power (US, Belgium) are willing to play games with the lives of those without in order to secure their power and wealth. And how easy it can be for a comparatively benign regime (Lumumba) to be replaced with a more corrupt one (Mobutu) in order to secure the natural wealth of the region. The juxtaposition between Leah and her native husband Anatole's thoughtful political activism and Rachel with her thinly veiled racism and political ignorance really makes the book great in my opinion.
If I could, I'd give this book 6/5 stars and it makes the short-list of books that I'd save from a burning building. Not only does it hold up to a re-read, but the foreshadowing (Ruth-May isn't scared of snakes) and myriad other masterwork plot devices and subtle hints makes it better the second time around.
2024: Still a masterpiece. There's more here with every re read
The character development in this book is amazing. Even the family member with no voice in the book - Nathan Price - is amazingly well developed. His revisionist personal history and profound cultural ignorance has you guessing he'd go to his grave never having been wrong if you ask him, and an insufferably arrogant jackass if you ask anyone else. And that's exactly what he does as nearly as any of the others find out in the end.
"Brother Fowles" is attributed this gem about midway through. He's discussing the relevance of Christian theology to Africa, specifically that it's as close to the desert culture from which it came as you could ask for and still a pretty forced fit.
"'Many parts of the Bible make good sense here, if you only change a few words.' He laughed. 'And a lot of whole chapters, sure, you just have to throw away.' 'well it's every bit God's word, isn't it?' Leah said. 'God's word, brought to you by a crew of romantic idealists in a harsh desert culture eons ago, followed by a chain of translators two thousand years long.'" p. 247
And though Fowles' character is a lot more sympathetic than Nathan's you can still see here the vain and arrogant attempt to force feed Africa a culture that simply doesn't make sense for them.
I find Leah's character the most compelling, and her life with Anatole Ngemba gives a pretty clear-eyed vision of the Mobutu regime beginning after the assassination of Patrice Lumumba anchoring the story in history. (The main characters are all fictional of course). The book as a whole is a really good illustration of how those in power (US, Belgium) are willing to play games with the lives of those without in order to secure their power and wealth. And how easy it can be for a comparatively benign regime (Lumumba) to be replaced with a more corrupt one (Mobutu) in order to secure the natural wealth of the region. The juxtaposition between Leah and her native husband Anatole's thoughtful political activism and Rachel with her thinly veiled racism and political ignorance really makes the book great in my opinion.
If I could, I'd give this book 6/5 stars and it makes the short-list of books that I'd save from a burning building. Not only does it hold up to a re-read, but the foreshadowing (Ruth-May isn't scared of snakes) and myriad other masterwork plot devices and subtle hints makes it better the second time around.
2024: Still a masterpiece. There's more here with every re read
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Grief, Religious bigotry, Colonisation
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, War
Minor: Slavery, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Pandemic/Epidemic
challenging
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
So...I guess I wasn't a huge fan of this book. It was good, and quite "epic", but...I found it long. And not in the good way, where I'm loving every second. It told a good story & I enjoyed it overall upon finishing the book - I found a story about sisters very interesting, since I am one of 3 myself - but I just couldn't get myself emotionally invested in the characters, was the problem, I think. I liked their distinct personalities and the way the book was written by each in turn, but I have to say, I didn't even cry at the one point in the book where you think one really should. That says a lot to me.
I thought the concept of the story was brilliant & I learned a lot about the Congo and the history of that time period, but I just didn't think it came out well, for whatever reason. Kind of how I felt about One Thousand Acres (Smiley) - it was a great idea, but unfortunately not one I could get passionate about, in the long run. I need to be able to love the characters of a book for the time that I am reading it; I really felt nothing at all for the Price family at any point. It was somewhat disappointing.
I commented to my mother that if we're going crazy-father-who-drags-his-family-into-the-wild, I vastly prefer The Mosquito Coast (Theroux) over this.
I thought the concept of the story was brilliant & I learned a lot about the Congo and the history of that time period, but I just didn't think it came out well, for whatever reason. Kind of how I felt about One Thousand Acres (Smiley) - it was a great idea, but unfortunately not one I could get passionate about, in the long run. I need to be able to love the characters of a book for the time that I am reading it; I really felt nothing at all for the Price family at any point. It was somewhat disappointing.
I commented to my mother that if we're going crazy-father-who-drags-his-family-into-the-wild, I vastly prefer The Mosquito Coast (Theroux) over this.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes