The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Book Summary

BOOK SCORE
4.5
TOTAL RATINGS
836
BOOK PRICE
$14.99

New York Times Bestseller • Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize • An Oprah's Book Club Selection

“Powerful . . . [Kingsolver] has with infinitely steady hands worked the prickly threads of religion, politics, race, sin and redemption into a thing of terrible beauty.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

The Poisonwood Bible, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, established Barbara Kingsolver as one of the most thoughtful and daring of modern writers. Taking its place alongside the classic works of postcolonial literature, it is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in Africa.

The story is 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 everything 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.

The novel is set against one of the most dramatic political chronicles of the twentieth century: the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy. Against this backdrop, Orleanna Price reconstructs the story of her evangelist husband's part in the Western assault on Africa, a tale indelibly darkened by her own losses and unanswerable questions about her own culpability. Also narrating the story, by turns, are her four daughters—the teenaged Rachel; adolescent twins Leah and Adah; and Ruth May, a prescient five-year-old. These sharply observant girls, who arrive in the Congo with racial preconceptions forged in 1950s Georgia, will be marked in surprisingly different ways by their father's intractable mission, and by Africa itself. Ultimately each must strike her own separate path to salvation. Their passionately intertwined stories become a compelling exploration of moral risk and personal responsibility.

The Poisonwood Bible Book Details

Book Name The Poisonwood Bible
Genre Literary Fiction
Author Barbara Kingsolver
Published 13 October 2009, Tuesday
Price $14.99
E-Book Size 3.38 MB

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver Book Reviews

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Smitch87

Memories. My mother and I used to read this book together when I was younger. It holds a very special place in my heart. It will forever be the best book I've ever read

Emdoll1979

Great book!. Beautiful writing. You feel as if you are in the plot. Creative and complex characters. I have read the book several times over the years and always enjoy it!

Macmi01

Excellent!. I bought this book to listen to while at the gym. It was enthralling from the minute I turned it on. We follow the lives of a single family starting with their adventure to the congo. Each member has a different perspective and each are amazingly interesting. I loved the reader and found the story to be insightful and interesting.

Ami_with_an_i

I love this book!. A must read.

RunBikeWine

Great review of history and story. Fictional book but based on true history and politics. A great read. Very long!

Lisa Barton

Epic novel to be cherished. I read a great deal during my day and when this over came across my radar, I wasn't disappointed. Typically, Oprah pics are involved and are usually about rape or blacks' rights or deformed people, however ,this book is literally a "Bible" to our humanity. Even though this book took 30years in the making, it is pure genius, what kingsolver wrote spoke to me and clarified emotions and general life experiences in a philosophical way. The book was never dull, or too religious in delivery even though it's about a preacher. But don't let that deter you. Realistically, it's an epic novel about the lives of the Price family and how they managed to survive the Congo. It was very real and the writing , didactic in creation. A must read for anybody trying to make sense of this world. Great characters , also . Read it, I wish I never did so I can read it all over again.

BonitaDude

Fantastic. This book is amazing. The only book I've read three times.

Srormy1

Poisonwood Bible. Excellent, thought provoking book. Beautiful story about life, family, and compromise. Sad in may ways but the author has a comical way of presenting tragedy through the eyes of many different personalities one of the best books I have ever read!

SuzThomsen

Poisonwood Bible. Riveting. Early portions of the book were amazing. Last couple sections moved a bit slower but overall quite amazing!

You don't need 2know my name

Not so great.. It had potential to be a good book but I didn't find it interesting at all. It had a slow start and I thought it was going to get better but it never did. There is nothing that happens that grabs the readers attention. It is also very long for a book where nothing happens. I can't even reach the end. Love the author but not this book.

CrazyWifeFarm

Rare and unforgettable. A rich experience of Africa, the failure of American imperialism and the arrogance of white people, narrated by a mother and her four daughters. Brilliant and disturbing. Beautiful and heartbreaking.

Gfcohen

This book was life changing for me. This book had an important effect on my life. It is about a family that has a great deal to Learn, from people whom they have come to teach. One that you'll never forget.

Rockandknit

The Poosonwood Bible. Well written. Sad that there could be such missionaries.

Adam Koebel

No Please. This book is really just awful. I am sorry, Oprah, but it's true. I hope never to read a book this dull and heavy handed ever again.

Bethw2u

Wow in many ways. I read this a few years ago and recall not only an inventive and interesting story, but also some very fine writing. It inspired me to read several other books by Barbara Kingsolver. I enjoyed many, realizing literature should be enjoyed for both content and creativity...

Chi1216

I love it. I love this book. This is my second time reading it. :)

Psychreb

Love this book!!!. This is one of my all time favorite books! I have read it more than once and highlighted so many lines. Love the perspective of chapters being written by each daughter and the haunting early chapter from the mother.

Srtco2

The Poisonwood Bible. By far one of the best books I’ve ever read. And one of the only books I again and again over the transom.

Furfulppleater

Worth the read!. It was a difficult and slow start, but there's so much info that must be portrayed to get the big picture. I'm glad I got through the difficult and confusing beginning! The book draws you in to understand each character better and the situations each go through. Many places I disagree with the biblical contexts, but there are people like these in the works and each is rightly represented. Happy to have read it!!

Wintersurf

Great book. I admit I wasn't hooked at first and it was a little slow, but thankfully I stuck with it and have read it 3 times now. I've read most of kingsolver's books and am a big fan of hers.

Lalamegan

Phenomenal!. I had to read this book for school last year, and it is one of my favorite books ever. The writing is flawless, the characters are interesting, complex, and entertaining, and the plot is riveting. Such a good read which taught me something as well!

Murpmarie

Reading Again, Reading Renewed. In 1998 I read The Poisonwood Bible as a wife and mother of young children. I just finished an almost mystical re-read, possibly as a completely different person now: a grandmother and a divorced woman (who recognized, finally, what abuse really is). Rarely will I read a book again as there are too many great books, too little time. I’ve surprised myself with my resolve to reconnect with favorites by going back to Barbara Kingsolver’s books, this is the fourth one and I feel compelled to recommend it as something very special to experience. The emotional and intellectual depth of this beautiful yet terrifying book is astonishing... reading it again on my iPad with the ability to immediately reference the time and place and politics was certainly something that added depth to the experience. I can honestly say this is my favorite book of all I’ve read; please allow me to recommend it to read once again and experience with new eyes.

Thesoulofjapan

fiction. I was prepared to purchase this book but read it was fiction. If this was a true account then I would have downloaded it.

Ashtay15

Five stars. I may be young but I've read my fair share of books. This the first to make me cry. It's a thought provoking page turner that I would recommend to anyone

River091

You need to read this book.. Had to read it for high school. Was not really looking forward to it. But this book was honestly one of the best books ever written. It's pure and raw. It touches every motion. Learned that too of anything even religion can be harmful. Good book.

KNRH

The Poisonwood Bible. One of the best books I have read. I found the characters fascinating, the descriptions of Africa and it's people mesmerizing. Great book from cover to cover.

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Barbara Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible Comments

5 Books like The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)

About Author "Barbara Kingsolver"

Barbara Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, essayist, and poet. Her widely known works include The Poisonwood Bible, the tale of a missionary family in the Congo, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, a nonfiction account of her family's attempts to eat locally. In 2023, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for the novel Demon Copperhead. Her work often focuses on topics such as social justice, biodiversity, and the interaction between humans and their communities and environments. Kingsolver has received numerous awards, including the Dayton Literary Peace Prize's Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award 2011 and the National Humanities Medal. After winning for The Lacuna in 2010 and Demon Copperhead in 2023, Kingsolver became the first author to win the Women's Prize for Fiction twice. Each of her books published since 1993 has been on the New York Times Best Seller list.Kingsolver was raised in rural Kentucky, lived briefly ....

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