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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I am still reeling over this book. I thought stepping away from the end of it to eat dinner would help me digest it better, but I am still trying to find the words for this novel. Honestly, holy crud, what a story. It is filled with such hope, kindness, darkness, sickness, and all the wonders and horrors of humanity that it was hard to believe that it could end.
The Price family, white southern Baptists with a pastor as the head of their household, travel to the Congo in the 1960's to establish a mission and bring the light of Jesus into the heathens. First of all: white southern Baptist family in Africa. That should say enough. There is the father, the pastor, so filled with the righteousness of his mission that he ignores any dangers that come to his family, stating that it is all God's plan. Then there is the mother, a dutiful housewife who fell in love with a WWII veteran and ended up having four children with him. This leads us to the children, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May. The former three all teenagers and the last being five years old. All following their pastor father into the jungles of the Congo on the eve of revolution and political upheaval.
I believe the absolute beauty of this novel were the daughters, especially since each chapter was from their own individual perspectives. Rachel was a quintessential dumb blond who thought she was better than everyone else. Leah absolutely adored her father until she finally woke up to all of his horrors. Adah, born with a brain defect that left her physically crippled as well as the most brilliant one imaginable with her mind working in a way the others simply could not understand. Then there was Ruth May who just danced to the beat of her own drum. The true hero, however, was Orleanna, their mother. Coming from a broken family myself, one where my father went a bit off his rocker like their's did, I saw so much of my own mother in Orleanna. Every sacrifice she made and every action she took was for the sake of her children. Not once did her husband think of their children in the same way and he payed for it. But Orleanna made sure that her children survived as the Congo became even more unsafe for them that it already was to begin with.
Again, there was just so much to this book. I think I am having a hard time writing it out simply because what lies in these pages is meant to be felt, not necessarily spoken. There is a raw emotion that comes from these women who braved the impossible. Each of them grew and became their best possible versions over the course of all that came to them. Well, everyone except Rachel. Gods I hated her. Anyway, not every character is meant to be liked. In the end, this novel made me entirely grateful to still have my own mother and sister in my life.
The Price family, white southern Baptists with a pastor as the head of their household, travel to the Congo in the 1960's to establish a mission and bring the light of Jesus into the heathens. First of all: white southern Baptist family in Africa. That should say enough. There is the father, the pastor, so filled with the righteousness of his mission that he ignores any dangers that come to his family, stating that it is all God's plan. Then there is the mother, a dutiful housewife who fell in love with a WWII veteran and ended up having four children with him. This leads us to the children, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May. The former three all teenagers and the last being five years old. All following their pastor father into the jungles of the Congo on the eve of revolution and political upheaval.
I believe the absolute beauty of this novel were the daughters, especially since each chapter was from their own individual perspectives. Rachel was a quintessential dumb blond who thought she was better than everyone else. Leah absolutely adored her father until she finally woke up to all of his horrors. Adah, born with a brain defect that left her physically crippled as well as the most brilliant one imaginable with her mind working in a way the others simply could not understand. Then there was Ruth May who just danced to the beat of her own drum. The true hero, however, was Orleanna, their mother. Coming from a broken family myself, one where my father went a bit off his rocker like their's did, I saw so much of my own mother in Orleanna. Every sacrifice she made and every action she took was for the sake of her children. Not once did her husband think of their children in the same way and he payed for it. But Orleanna made sure that her children survived as the Congo became even more unsafe for them that it already was to begin with.
Again, there was just so much to this book. I think I am having a hard time writing it out simply because what lies in these pages is meant to be felt, not necessarily spoken. There is a raw emotion that comes from these women who braved the impossible. Each of them grew and became their best possible versions over the course of all that came to them. Well, everyone except Rachel. Gods I hated her. Anyway, not every character is meant to be liked. In the end, this novel made me entirely grateful to still have my own mother and sister in my life.
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
The Poisonwood Bible is such a lush book, with complex characters and a nuanced take on the colonization of the Congo. There doesn’t seem to be anything I could say about this book that hasn’t been said before. It is truly incredible. I loved each of the girls’ stories and the perspectives they represent. The cycles of oppression and the different ways everyone internalized Nathan’s abuse was so captivating to read. I was not ready for this book when I was assigned it in high school but I’m so glad I read it now.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
adventurous
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4 stars = Fantastic and easy to recommend.
“Poor Congo, barefoot bride of men who took her jewels and promised the Kingdom.”
It feels like I may be the last person alive to read this one, but here we are finally. For 13 years this book has lingered on my TBR shelf as Kingsolver has been a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed her memoir but was supremely disappointed in Flight Behavior, which made me reluctant to pick up another fictional work by her. Thankfully, I listened to all my trusted bookish friends that recommended this one, because it was a memorable read.
“Alive, nobody matters much in the long run. But dead, some men matter more than others.”
It is about a missionary family composed of an abusive father that is a pastor, the mother, and their four daughters, aged 5, two twins that are 15, and the eldest who is 16. It follows their adventure of moving to Congo for a year in 1959 towards the end of the country’s colonization by Belgium, where the Baptist father intends to build a congregation and convert all the heathens. Most of the book covers what occurred during that year, but the last 20% follows the characters for over three decades, providing a quite satisfying epilogue for closure.
“The hardest work of every day was deciding, once again, to stay with my family. They never even knew.”
The multi-POV story is narrated by the mother and each of the four daughters. The five of them have very different personalities and even though the chapters are clearly marked as to who is narrating, you know who is speaking right away due to their distinct voices. Only the father is missing and for that the reader is thankful. He is a loathsome man consumed by bigotry, self-righteousness, and misogyny. His heart is so filled with judgement and insecurities that he has no love to give to his family.
“ “Sending a girl to college is like pouring water in your shoes,” he still loves to say, as often as possible. “It’s hard to say which is worse, seeing it run out and waste the water, or seeing it hold in and wreck the shoes.” ”
The writing is quotable with vivid characterization and a plot driven narrative. The themes covered are centered around the complexities of religion, politics and colonization when two cultures clash together, as well as dysfunctional family dynamics and the absurdity of society’s rigid gender and racial expectations. The book shows how some individuals manipulate religion into a weapon that they use to harm others, even when confronted with compelling examples of others practicing the same faith in a healthier, more beneficial manner.
“I could never work out whether we were to view religion as a life-insurance policy or a life sentence.”
This is an easy book to recommend to a broad audience. It offers an evocative and transportive experience that takes you into the heart of Africa, interwoven with accurate historical events. Readers that appreciate stories about dysfunctional families, the enduring impact of colonization, discarding beliefs that no longer serve you, and overcoming guilt will find this novel to be compelling.
“Their eyes looked happy and sad at the same time, but unexcited by anything, shifting easily off to the side as if they’ve already seen most of what there is. Married eyes.”
-----
First Sentence: Imagine a ruin so strange it must never have happened.
Favorite Quote: To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals really know. In perfect stillness, frankly, I’ve only found sorrow.
“Poor Congo, barefoot bride of men who took her jewels and promised the Kingdom.”
It feels like I may be the last person alive to read this one, but here we are finally. For 13 years this book has lingered on my TBR shelf as Kingsolver has been a mixed bag for me. I enjoyed her memoir but was supremely disappointed in Flight Behavior, which made me reluctant to pick up another fictional work by her. Thankfully, I listened to all my trusted bookish friends that recommended this one, because it was a memorable read.
“Alive, nobody matters much in the long run. But dead, some men matter more than others.”
It is about a missionary family composed of an abusive father that is a pastor, the mother, and their four daughters, aged 5, two twins that are 15, and the eldest who is 16. It follows their adventure of moving to Congo for a year in 1959 towards the end of the country’s colonization by Belgium, where the Baptist father intends to build a congregation and convert all the heathens. Most of the book covers what occurred during that year, but the last 20% follows the characters for over three decades, providing a quite satisfying epilogue for closure.
“The hardest work of every day was deciding, once again, to stay with my family. They never even knew.”
The multi-POV story is narrated by the mother and each of the four daughters. The five of them have very different personalities and even though the chapters are clearly marked as to who is narrating, you know who is speaking right away due to their distinct voices. Only the father is missing and for that the reader is thankful. He is a loathsome man consumed by bigotry, self-righteousness, and misogyny. His heart is so filled with judgement and insecurities that he has no love to give to his family.
“ “Sending a girl to college is like pouring water in your shoes,” he still loves to say, as often as possible. “It’s hard to say which is worse, seeing it run out and waste the water, or seeing it hold in and wreck the shoes.” ”
The writing is quotable with vivid characterization and a plot driven narrative. The themes covered are centered around the complexities of religion, politics and colonization when two cultures clash together, as well as dysfunctional family dynamics and the absurdity of society’s rigid gender and racial expectations. The book shows how some individuals manipulate religion into a weapon that they use to harm others, even when confronted with compelling examples of others practicing the same faith in a healthier, more beneficial manner.
“I could never work out whether we were to view religion as a life-insurance policy or a life sentence.”
This is an easy book to recommend to a broad audience. It offers an evocative and transportive experience that takes you into the heart of Africa, interwoven with accurate historical events. Readers that appreciate stories about dysfunctional families, the enduring impact of colonization, discarding beliefs that no longer serve you, and overcoming guilt will find this novel to be compelling.
“Their eyes looked happy and sad at the same time, but unexcited by anything, shifting easily off to the side as if they’ve already seen most of what there is. Married eyes.”
-----
First Sentence: Imagine a ruin so strange it must never have happened.
Favorite Quote: To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals really know. In perfect stillness, frankly, I’ve only found sorrow.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A big, complex, ambitious book examining trauma and the dynamics of those subject to family and religious abuse in the context an American evangelical missionary family in the Congo. One of my favourite reads of the year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Colonisation
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
I enjoyed learning about the history of the Congo but this book was so slow and long.
dark
reflective
slow-paced