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davidrickert 's review for:
The Poisonwood Bible
by Barbara Kingsolver
This book was not what I expected. I assumed that it would be about the struggles of living in a harsh environment trying to convert a group of people who were not interested in what the Price family had to offer. And for much of the beginning of the book that's what it is: problems growing crops, ant invasions, sermons delivered to unbelievers by a stern taskmaster of a missionary who is ignorant that his goal to convert the Africans is not the best thing for them.
Then the tragedy happens, and I lost my emotional involvement with the sisters and no longer cared what happened to them because they all responded in ways that made no sense. Given what happens here, everyone should have gotten the heck out of Africa and away from their father for making them go there in the first place. Instead, one marries the man who can get her out but becomes a self righteous prig, another marries a man and stays there, and one somehow miraculously starts her life over by acting like an infant. Not metaphorically. Literally. Oh, and somewhere along the way we find out what happens to their father, almost as an afterthought. At no point do any of these characters seem remotely process what has happened, nor do they turn out to be better people. And I really struggled with in the end why these people felt they had to tell their story because I couldn't figure it out.
I have a love-hate relationship with Kingsolver. I think "The Bean Trees" is terrific, but I hated the smug condescending tone of "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." This one will go down as one I didn't care for.
Then the tragedy happens, and I lost my emotional involvement with the sisters and no longer cared what happened to them because they all responded in ways that made no sense. Given what happens here, everyone should have gotten the heck out of Africa and away from their father for making them go there in the first place. Instead, one marries the man who can get her out but becomes a self righteous prig, another marries a man and stays there, and one somehow miraculously starts her life over by acting like an infant. Not metaphorically. Literally. Oh, and somewhere along the way we find out what happens to their father, almost as an afterthought. At no point do any of these characters seem remotely process what has happened, nor do they turn out to be better people. And I really struggled with in the end why these people felt they had to tell their story because I couldn't figure it out.
I have a love-hate relationship with Kingsolver. I think "The Bean Trees" is terrific, but I hated the smug condescending tone of "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle." This one will go down as one I didn't care for.