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The Poisonwood Bible |
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Barbara Kingsolver |
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Now an Oprah's Book Club book
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Told through the eyes of the four daughters and wife of Nathan Price, a missionary who takes his small family to the uncertain plains of the Congo in the 1960's, this story is sweeping in its scope and moving in its telling. The form is reminiscent of As I Lay Dying, as all characters, except Nathan, participate in telling the story of their lives from when they first learned they would journey to Africa. There is Ruth Ann, the youngest and sweetest, Adah, the deformed twin who rarely speaks but writes backwards, Leah, her smart, tomboyish twin, and Rachel, the sixteen year old who wants to be a normal teenager. As the family struggles with their father's obsession, the new government in the Congo, and the perils of being Americans in an chaotic African country, they all learn about themselves, and each other. The story begins when they move to Africa and ends many, many years later as they journey back to visit a grave of someone they once loved. The novel is both haunting and beautiful, and is as well-written as it is ambitious. Highly recommended. |
