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Interviews | December 1, 2009

Megan: IMG A Meaty Tale: The Powells.com Interview with Julie Powell

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juliepowellJulie Powell charmed readers with Julie and Julia, in which she chronicled her quest to cook, in one year, every recipe out of Julia Child's... Continue »
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    Cleaving: A Story of Marriage, Meat, and Obsession

    Julie Powell

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 12 comments:
tktowne, January 5, 2010 (view all comments by tktowne)
This book is a masterpiece. We learn about the Price family and the father's determination to convert the indigenous peoples without understanding them or the land he is now in. This story is skillfully told through the voices of his four daughters. As the book progresses we learn some history and politics of the Belgian Congo. There are lessons in this book that we still need to learn or be reminded of today.
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Charles Adams, January 5, 2010 (view all comments by Charles Adams)
Growing up in "the church" and having found my own way and defining my own worldview helped me to appreciate Kingsolver's brilliant work and the troubled relationships in it.
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Emily Rosenberg, January 4, 2010 (view all comments by Emily Rosenberg)
Barabara Kingsolver uses exquisite descriptive language. She is a master at setting a scene both emotionally and politically. This is a book that knocks your socks off.
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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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