[.ca] Poisonwood Bible, The (Unabr.) (Cd) (ISBN 159355950X)

From Amazon.com:
Oprah Book Club® Selection, June 2000: As any reader of The Mosquito Coast knows, men who drag their families to far-off climes in pursuit of an Idea seldom come to any good, while those familiar with At Play in the Fields of the Lord or Kalimantaan understand that the minute a missionary sets foot on the fictional stage, all hell is about to break loose. So when Barbara Kingsolver sends missionary Nathan Price along with his wife and four daughters off to Africa in The Poisonwood Bible, you can be sure that salvation is the one thing they're not likely to find. The year is 1959 and the place is the Belgian Congo. Nathan, a Baptist preacher, has come to spread the Word in a remote village reachable only by airplane. To say that he and his family are woefully unprepared would be an understatement: "We came from Bethlehem, Georgia, bearing Betty Crocker cake mixes into the jungle," says Leah, one of Nathan's daughters. But of course it isn't long before they discover that the tremendous humidity has rendered the mixes unusable, their clothes are unsuitable, and they've arrived in the middle of political upheaval as the Congolese seek to wrest independence from Belgium. In addition to poisonous snakes, dangerous animals, and the hostility of the villagers to Nathan's fiery take-no-prisoners brand of Christianity, there are also rebels in the jungle and the threat of war in the air. Could things get any worse? In fact they can and they do. The first part of The Poisonwood Bible revolves around Nathan's intransigent, bullying personality and his effect on both his family and the village they have come to. As political instability grows in the Congo, so does the local witch doctor's animus toward the Prices, and both seem to converge with tragic consequences about halfway through the novel. From that point on, the family is dispersed and the novel follows each member's fortune across a span of more than 30 years. The Poisonwood Bible is arguably Barbara Kingsolver's most ambitious work, and it reveals both her great strengths and her weaknesses. As Nathan Price's wife and daughters tell their stories in alternating chapters, Kingsolver does a good job of differentiating the voices. But at times they can grate--teenage Rachel's tendency towards precious malapropisms is particularly annoying (students practice their "French congregations"; Nathan's refusal to take his family home is a "tapestry of justice"). 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. Despite these weaknesses, Kingsolver's fully realized, three-dimensional characters make The Poisonwood Bible compelling, especially in the first half, when Nathan Price is still at the center of the action. 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. --Alix Wilber

one of the best:
As a student of political science with a boyfriend who happens to be taking me to DR Congo in July to meet his family, this book struck home. My parents own a bookshop and, having been exposed to literature all of my life, I do not honestly think I have ever read anything as good as this book. I'm trying to find a copy in French (or Lingala or Swahili or Malawiit!) for the boyfriend to read - if anyone can advise me I'd be much obliged. Yahoo is stef_s_87 :)

This one blew me away:
The family saga of the Price family in rural Georgia, this is one dysfunctional and southern gothic tale that you won't want to miss. Likened to 'The Bark of the Dogwood' for its power and disturbing scenes, it is well-written and one heck of a rollercoaster ride. I read somwehere that the author had been waiting her entire life to write this work, and it shows. Great style and pacing make this one a sure bet. Also recommended: Bark of the Dogwood---great fun, knock-your-socks-off disturbing scenes, and an ending you won't believe!!!

Outstanding!:
An engrossing, compelling story made all the more fascinating by its true-life historical context. Kingsolver is here proven to be remarkably talented, as evidenced by her ability to write in distinct and recognizable voices for six different characters (the four daughters, their mother, and the strange, stream-of-consciousness voice of omniscience that wraps up the story so well). The characters themselves are given much depth and insight; even Rachel, who some readers appear to see as unchangingly shallow and vain throughout the story, shows revealing cracks in her facade that make her a far more interesting and tormented character than she might appear to be on the surface. All in all an excellent read and one I can easily recommend.

I cried.:
I usually hate fiction (aside from the classics). I generalize most novels as a waste of my time. This was something I was forced to read for a World Civilizations class a few years ago and it has opened my eyes to other genres. This was a beautiful story and, years later, I still remember the story and the characters. In short; a heartfelt story.

A difficult start:
It took me three trys... but once I got into it , I could't put it down. I found this to be tough at the beginning ...not really the subject matter, just the way it was written. Eventually I got into the rhythem and it was great. A very good story.