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Original Essays | November 9, 2009

Jesse Bullington: IMG Abash'd the Devil Stood

0 comments By Jesse Bullington

I don't believe in evil. It's a word I use, certainly, because words are shortcuts and we all take the short way round from time to time, but that's... Continue »
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    The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart

    Jesse Bullington

The Poisonwood Bible (P.S.)

by Barbara Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible (P.S.) Cover

Staff Pick

In The Poisonwood Bible, a Baptist missionary takes his family to the Belgian Congo in the late '50s, endangering the lives of his wife and four daughters. Alternating between the voices of the mother and daughters, Kingsolver successfully paints the emotional depth of their predicament and the insanity of the father and his deranged beliefs.
Recommended by Adrienne, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

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 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. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.

This P.S. edition features an extra 16 pages of insights into the book, including author interviews, recommended reading, and more.

Review:

"Powerful...Kingsolver is a gifted magician of words." Time

Review:

"Compelling, lyrical and utterly believable." Chicago Tribune

Review:

"Tragic, and remarkable....A novel that blends outlandish experience with Old Testament rhythms of prophecy and doom." USA Today

Review:

"A triple-decker, different coming-of-age novel, but also a clever look at language and cultures." San Diego Union-Tribune
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About the Author

Barbara Kingsolver's twelve books of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction include the novels The Bean Trees and The Poisonwood Bible. Translated into nineteen languages, her work has won a devoted worldwide readership and many awards, including the National Humanities Medal.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 3 comments:
Dear Reader, May 10, 2008 (view all comments by Dear Reader)
Kingsolver is able to take us to places we have never been, let us smell the air, feel the breezes, hear the voices, suffer the harships, and become passionate about things we never even thought about.

The division of the book from the perspective of each sister transitions well and gives a better understanding of how one situation can be viewed and acted upon so differently by the same family members.

I could not put it down.
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Samsara, October 8, 2007 (view all comments by Samsara)
It's been a long time since a book has affected me as much as The Poisonwood Bible. Kingsolver reminds us that "ignorance is not innocence" and reveals to us our complicity as Americans in the tragedy of the Congo. No longer can I claim ignorance or innocence, but by accepting my small portion of responsibility, I feel empowered, and compelled, to make changes in my life. The Poisonwood Bible is much more than just the emotional "women's literature" that we've come to expect from Oprah's Bookclub. Instead it's a passionate call to arms for all Americans to examine our unacknowledged privilege and do something about it.
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(8 of 13 readers found this comment helpful)
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walkabouts3, August 26, 2006 (view all comments by walkabouts3)
Written in a style that pulls you into the story and won't let you go. Not only an engaging story, but I learned more about the role of the US in the world (the side of us we don't like to acknowledge). It is also a dramatic portrayal of often misplaced missionary blindness and zeal. Fantastic book. Can't believe I didn't read it sooner!
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780060786502
Author:
Kingsolver, Barbara
Publisher:
Harper Perennial
Author:
by Barbara Kingsolver
Subject:
General
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Missionaries
Subject:
Americans
Subject:
Domestic fiction
Subject:
Congo (Democratic Republic)
Series:
Perennial Classics
Publication Date:
July 2005
Binding:
Paperback
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
545
Dimensions:
8.01x5.35x1.01 in. 1.02 lbs.
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