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meghankg 's review for:
The Poisonwood Bible
by Barbara Kingsolver
I have sat with my thoughts on this one for several days trying to figure out how to explain my reaction upon finishing a book I have heard so much about for years and that is clearly very loved and respected by so many other people. After much contemplation, I have come to two conclusions, either 1) I have completely missed something in Kingsolver’s novel or 2) I have simply read too many similar stories to make this one seem groundbreaking. I am inclined to believe it’s the latter. Let me be clear, this was a good book that I was largely invested in while reading, although I did find some of the narrative voices to be stronger (Adah and Orelanna) and more engaging than others (Leah and Rachel). However, I also found it to be a bit too familiar. I’ve read several other postcolonial books about various locations in Africa, so I think reading one from the perspective of a white, American family, even one that is highly critical of the missionaries and European/American politics at play on the continent, just wasn’t something I felt I needed. So, overall, I can see why my reaction isn’t typical and really shouldn’t be a reflection on the novel itself. This is one that I would highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t read much about “postcolonial” Africa and one that I would suggest be read in conjunction with some of the texts Kingsolver used in her own research, particularly anything by Chinua Achebe.