The Poisonwood Bible (Unabridged)
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4.4 • 188 Ratings
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- $22.99
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- $22.99
Publisher Description
“A powerful new epic... [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 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.
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. Taking its place alongside the classic works of postcolonial literature, this ambitious novel establishes Kingsolver as one of the most thoughtful and daring of modern writers.
Customer Reviews
My first Kingsolver book -- won't be my last
Female readers I respect recommended Kingsolver's works to me. I chose this one because the introduction suggested that it would be historical, informative, and entertaining. It was. I liked that the narrative is shared between different family members and I remained very interested in a plot that spans nearly two generations. As a male, I enjoyed the multiple feminine perspectives on many situations that developed in the course of this ill-conceived family adventure in Africa. I will be reading more Kingsolver works!
Great book - TERRIBLE recording
As you can see from most of the reviews, this is a fascinating book. The plot and character development keep the reader hooked on turning the pages till the end.
This review is not on the book though. It's on the recording.
I am an avid audiobook listener, and I have never heard a worse recording. The narrator is completely monotone and has almost zero voice fluctuation between characters. This story is told in chapters narrated by different members of the family, but this recording gives each of the characters the exact same voice. There is no distinction between characters - the father and mother have the same voice as each of the 4 daughters. It is extremely frustrating to the listener!
The frustration continues as the listener tries to keep up with the narrator's speed! She reads as though she can't wait to get this done and over with, and the result is disappointing.
Again, this is an excellent book, but I encourage everyone to seek another recording. The quality of the recording is poor, and the narrator is extremely lacking in her delivery.
Surprising
I wasn't expecting to like this book-it was summer reading, but I thoroughly enjoyed it (but not the test on it). A definite must-read if you're up for a thought-provoking, well written novel.