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The Poisonwood Bible

Kingsolver, Barbara. Book - 1999 Fiction / Kingsolver, Barbara, Adult Book / Fiction / Historical / Kingsolver, Barbara None on shelf 4 requests on 4 copies Community Rating: 4.7 out of 5

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Genesis -- Revelation -- Judges -- Bel and the serpent -- Exodus -- Song of the three children -- Eyes in the trees.
The family of a Baptist missionary begins to unravel after they embark on a 1959 mission to the Belgian Congo, where they find their lives transformed over the course of three decades.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

Summary / Annotation
Table of Contents
Fiction Profile
Excerpt
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Love this Book submitted by Lea on July 5, 2011, 1:43pm One of my all-time favorites! Epic feel, love all the characters and setting, and how the chapters are in different voices. Highly recommend this book!

All my friends' favorite book submitted by chloelovellroot on July 25, 2011, 4:03pm Deep and disturbing, yet funny and relatable... this is by far the best of Kingsolver's books, at least the ones I've read. It's a great window into the political history of the Congo in the 60s, but is even more about conflicts of culture, religion, personality and family. Although it offers a poignant critique of colonialism, it does not dehumanize the colonizers, but instead depicts a sad and complex interaction between missionaries and the Congolese community they seek to convert.

Missionaries in Africa submitted by Jen Chapin-Smith on August 30, 2013, 8:56am A Southern Baptist family from the United States travels to a remove village in the Belgian Congo shortly before the nation's independence in this novel set in the 1960s through the 1980s. "The Poisonwood Bible" tells the story of the family's four daughters who each experience the move differently and talk about it in their own voices. The book particularly points to the hubris of American missionary and charitable work. For example, the preacher never really leans the local language well and so mistakenly uses the word "poisonwood" when he means to say "holy." He just assumes that the local people will follow his lead and convert not only to his religion but to all aspects of his culture.

The book also examines the US government's condescending attitudes towards Africa as the US tries to build the new nations in its own image, uses them as part of the Cold War fight against the USSR (without the African countries seeing any benefits) and pushes an economic policy that benefits Americans but not Africans. Attitudes about race and gender show up as each daughter narrates the events from her own perspective.

I found the book fascinating and highly recommend it. The only part that is problematic is the part about the one daughter being "cured" of her disability, as if it were just a temporary, fixable problem and not a core and perfectly acceptable part of her identity.

In my all time top 5 submitted by Lucy S on June 25, 2014, 5:13am A favorite works of fiction. Kingsolver writes this amazing story very well from 5 completely different points of view. This is a book I re-read every few years and find something new each time.

Leaves you thinking submitted by Sunny29 on July 15, 2014, 10:12am This is the first book I've read by Kingsolver in many years, and I was not disappointed. Following the lives of a Southern Baptist missionary family in the Congo, Kingsolver does a lovely job of representing each family members view. Kingsolver continues into the political, social and economic strife of the Congo through the 80's, so be prepared for some existential evaluation! Great read.

A Great Book submitted by Helen Bogan on June 16, 2015, 4:23pm I was too weak from chemo to look for a book, and the librarian recommended this book to me. It is one of my most favorite books. It takes you to another time and another continent. The relationships between the characters are well developed and change over time. It is beautiful, heartbreaking, and joyous all at once.

Great Book submitted by Hades on June 18, 2015, 7:35pm This is one of my all time favorite books. I love the way she uses the different voices to tell the story from different perspectives. I read this when it first came out and it still resonates with me all these years later.

Kingsolver!!! submitted by krathje on July 30, 2016, 10:51am Kingsolver is more than an author -- she is an anthropological artist. She studies people, gets inside their skin, and tells their story. This story is both mesmerizing and heart-breaking. I've read it several times.

PB submitted by crp on August 5, 2019, 11:22pm Stunning storytelling at its best

Top 10 for sure! submitted by oppliger on June 11, 2023, 1:51pm The of the best books I've ever read. I love how Kingsolver weaves so many threads into a beautiful blanket of story, with distinct voices for each character.

Great Read! submitted by ruthdarcher on July 11, 2023, 9:21pm This is a wonderful book. Kingsolver is a masterful storyteller. The characters are fascinating, and she does an excellent job of weaving in the history of the Congo. Throughout the epic drama, Kingsolver also writes laugh-out-loud observations and remarks from her characters. Highly recommend!

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PUBLISHED
New York : HarperPerennial, 1999.
Year Published: 1999
Description: 546 pages ; 21 cm.
Language: English
Format: Book

READING LEVEL
Lexile: 960

ISBN/STANDARD NUMBER
0060786507
9780060786502

SUBJECTS
Missionaries -- Congo (Democratic Republic) -- Fiction.
Americans -- Congo (Democratic Republic) -- Fiction.
Families -- Congo (Democratic Republic) -- Fiction.
Congo (Democratic Republic) -- History -- 1960-1997 -- Fiction.
Domestic fiction.