The Poisonwood Bible

The book, The Poisonwood Bible, is authored by Barbara Kingsolver. Her other works

include Prodigal Summer, Flight Behavior, and numerous others, all of which I do not affiliate

with as a reader, and therefore cannot make an educated comparison with The Poisonwood

Bible.

The Poisonwood Bible follows the lives of a family as they move to The Congo and the resulting events as they attempt to adapt their new community. The overarching theme of the story is family can sometimes, and more often than not, be a source of utmost pain. The book follows the Price Family, comprised of Nathan, Orleanna, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May, as they move to The Congo in an effort to forcibly put Christianity upon the natives.

As an end result, two of the main characters die, and the remains of the family are torn apart because of Nathan’s mislead intentions and corrupt behavior. The natives turned on them and they were forced to retreat back to America. Other key events described in the book are religious and, in an effort to remain a neutrality and upholding fairness, I will not include them.

Don’t read the book. It is dry, slow, boring, and most of all, religious a topic in which many people have many different views upon, and do not necessarily agree with. It drags on for too long, and the constant switching of character perspectives causes confusion regarding the outcome of the story. The point of it is not made clear, and although implicit, could be read in many different ways. In solely my own opinion, this book was horribly written.

Book Review by Talen F.