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4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
Loved this book. I have started reading it several times without success... but this time, I couldn't put it down.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
A top ten book for me, and two others are by Barbara Kingsolver. So much to digest here, and I’ll be thinking about this book for a very long time. She tied together the natural world, religion, family dynamics, and politics into a story that resonates on so many levels. All tied up in forgiveness, which is the crux of Christianity when it’s all said and done. Just beautiful.
When I first read the Poisonwood Bible it took my breath away and I've called it one of my favorite books ever since. After reading Demon Copperhead last year I knew I had to revisit this wonderful epic again. I was not disappointed. Sweeping and magical, I want to be a Price sister but not live the horrors of their adventure in the Congo. Themes of the arrogance of modern culture, the assumption that one faith or one political structure is better than another, the dominance of blind fathers, the basic human need of survival. It's all here. Damn I love this book.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book makes you look equally as hard at the main characters as it does yourself, so worth the read!
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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
This book has been astoundingly popular in the States, which made me hesitant to read it. Yet once begun, it became nearly impossible to put down, and even more difficult to forget. Kingsolver inserts enough insight into the history and culture of the Congo to make the book more than an expose of American greed and human corruption, but I still found myself unable to connect with any of the Price family members.
Could’ve ended 150 pages sooner, but altogether a beautiful, poignant, important book that I rarely wanted to put down.
I finally read this book after having it on my “to read” list for years and I can’t believe it took me so long to get to it. This was an incredibly powerful book with well-developed characters that are built into a complex conversation on western arrogance and bias in international affairs, primarily in the context of colonial and postcolonial history. The progression is so well done. The story is told entirely from the perspective of the white women in the family, and as a result, there is a western gaze from which the entire experience is viewed. However, this gaze proves necessary in order to show change over time. I think what I most enjoyed is how each daughter was impacted and grew differently (or didn’t grow) as a result of their role in this colonial historical moment. It allows for real complexity in the conversation within the parameters of the novel. Highly recommend – especially for those interested in colonial and/or postcolonial history and theory.
I was warned that this book was quite tiresome to read. I quite enjoyed it though and only slept through the last hundred pages or so... pages not really necessary to the book.
Glad I gave it a go though! I wouldn't recommend it to a book group...too long winded and people will hate you for it :)
Glad I gave it a go though! I wouldn't recommend it to a book group...too long winded and people will hate you for it :)