The Poisonwood Bible (MP3 CD)

The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them all they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it—from garden seeds to Scripture—is calamitously transformed on African soil.This tale of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction, over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa, is set against history's most dramatic political parables.The Poisonwood Bible dances between the darkly comic human failings and inspiring poetic justices of our times. In a compelling exploration of religion, conscience, imperialist arrogance, and the many paths to redemption, Barbara Kingsolver has brought forth her most ambitious work ever.

And in her treatment of Africa and the Africans she is at her best, exhibiting the acute perception, moral engagement, and lyrical prose that have made her previous novels so successful. More problematic is Kingsolver's tendency to wear her politics on her sleeve; this is particularly evident in the second half of the novel, in which she uses her characters as mouthpieces to explicate the complicated and tragic history of the Belgian Congo. Could things get any worse? In fact they can and they do. Nathan, a Baptist preacher, has come to spread the Word in

"A terrible story, told beautifully." according to MDeran. Whew! A terrible story, told beautifully. I struggled to start this book (I knew I wouldn't like the Reverend, I knew something horrible was going to happenmany, many horrible things, in fact), but once I began I couldn't stop. The best part for me was how the narrators changed - all the women in the story had a voice, and each was so deliciously different, I kept dipping my hand into the jar again to see what the next flavor of jelly bean would be like.An added benefit is that I thought the story was over, only to discover I was in fact only 60% done. (My Kindle tricks. Beautiful imagery Melanie D. Typaldos This is a beautifully written book with inspired prose and deep insights. It looks at Africa and Africans with open eyes and a sensitivity to their heritage and culture. It also examines the role of missionaries in Africa, some of whom are good and some terrible. It is not a book for the deeply religious who cannot stand to see their own beliefs challenged or to acknowledge that there are other belief systems out there that are held just as dearly by their followers.I would like to site some of my favorite passages.I could never work out whether we were to view religion. Hard to Put Down This book started slow for me, but it soon began to capture my attention. The characters are well developed and very complex. The story is engrossingthe struggles of a white mission family in the Belgian Congo in the 1950's. It is told alternately by the wife and daughters of an pious but abusive husband and father. It follows the characters over several years and describes the impact that time in the Congo had on their lives as some return to the US and others remain in Africa through the rebellion and beyond.