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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: May 07 2008 at 7:42pm | IP Logged
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Kayleigh has been hearing people talk of this book:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Has anyone heard of it? Read it? Has any info on it?
The title alone was puzzling to me so I checked our library and this is what they say about it:
"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. Against this backdrop, Orleanna Price reconstructs the story of her evangelist husband's part in the Western assault on Africa, a tale indelibly darkened by her own losses and unanswerable questions about her own culpability. Also narrating the story, by turns, are her four daughters--the self-centered, teenaged Rachel; shrewd adolescent twins Leah and Adah; and Ruth May, a prescient five-year-old. These sharply observant girls, who arrive in the Congo with racial preconceptions forged in 1950s Georgia, will be marked in surprisingly different ways by their father's intractable mission, and by Africa itself. Ultimately each must strike her own separate path to salvation. Their passionately intertwined stories become a compelling exploration of moral risk and personal responsibility. Dancing between the dark comedy of human failings and the breathtaking possibilities of human hope, The Poisonwood Bible possesses all that has distinguished Barbara Kingsolver's previous work, and extends this beloved writer's vision to an entirely new level. 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. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc."
I haven't finished reading all 1,395 reviews  at Amazon but what I've read leaves me still confused.
I'm glad Kayleigh asked about it so we could discuss it and I'm pro-child/parent literary discussions. Remember I'm also talking about a child who will be 18 the end of this month. I'm also talking about a child who has mentioned an interest in the Peace Corps after college graduation. For some reason I'd prefer seeing her safely married with children.  But if she would happen to go, I wonder if this book is some sort of "mission reality" check.
But I need to know more about this book than what my library and Amazon tell me. I need like-minded women to investigate it for me and my daughter.
Thank you!
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Cay Gibson
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lapazfarm
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I have read it, but it has been years ago. I'll try to recall what I can.
Mostly I remember that the book paints a pretty ugly picture of missionaries.The father is very "out there" as far as missionaries go. He has an utter lack of respect for the native beliefs, customs, etc ultimately failing to see how futile his efforts are because of his insensitivity and detachment.The character really makes Christianity seem foolish. He neglects his family, essentially leaving them to fend for themselves. It ends badly for the family.
The book is very well-written and engaging, though not my favorite of Kingsolver's work.
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lapazfarm
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Another thing. If you are looking for a mission "reality check" this is not it. I think it paints a picture of mission work gone very,very wrong.
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mavmama
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I started to read it a long time ago, but stopped because it seemed too "dark" for me. I would agree with Theresa's posts above.
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Chari
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Anne read it at about age 18......I know she enjoyed it.......but I cannot tell you anything else.
She is asleep or I would go ask.......and I will be unable to say anything till next week........if you can wait a week and a half and remind me........I can ask her.
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Chari
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| Posted: May 08 2008 at 12:22am | IP Logged
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Cay Gibson wrote:
I'm pro-child/parent literary discussions.
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duh! 
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Chari...Take Up & Read
Dh Marty 27yrs...3 lovely maidens: Anne 24, Sarah 20 & Maddelyn 17 and 3 chivalrous sons: Matthew 22, Garrett 16 & Malachy 11
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marihalojen
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I've read it and it was one of the most depressing books I've ever had the misfortune to hold.
The four girls are all much more intelligent than their father. Each finds a non-christian way to survive Africa, sleeping around, joining the natives, anything but sticking with the family. I can barely recall the mother, she must have been a very slight figure, I think she mostly stayed in the house depressed and in the dark.
The title, if I remember correctly, comes from the father's way of saying Jesus in the native dialect. Through the whole book he calls Jesus poisonwood accidently.
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Loren
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I just read this book. I think it had a lot to say about the hubris of Americans and some Christians to try to make the world over in our own image. The father was very anti-Catholic and accused the prior missionary to the village of being a papist, but he was the one who recognized God in the people of Africa and in the family.
I took it as a warning to parents and preachers against trying to force our little flocks to fit our personal ideas of right but instead to allow them to flourish with the personality that God granted them. It was saddening to see how one incident can change a person so much that he can no longer truly love others. It was heartbreaking to read how that one single failure to love affected the future of an entire family and the future generations.
I did like the book. I thought it was thought-provoking and well-written. Maybe its because I'm at a place in my spiritual journey that calls for soul searching, but I think reading this book did me some good.
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: May 08 2008 at 9:03am | IP Logged
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THank you, all.
I just read Theresa, Liz, Jennifer, and Loren posts to Kayleigh. She's reading something else right now and just finished Pride and Prejudice.
I told her this was certainly "no" Pride and Prejudice. And she'd probably have to "read inbetween the lines."
Chari wrote:
if you can wait a week and a half and remind me........I can ask her.
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I would love to hear it from an 18-yr-old's point of view (especially Anne's), Chari. When you can.
Thanks again, everyone.
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Sarah M
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I agree with Loren. Poisonwood Bible is a favorite book of mine- I absolutely loved it. I think it painted a picture of what happens when Americans think they have all the solutions, and fail to look for Christ in others who are different than them. I read it when I was 20, and it definately caused me to pause and reflect on what we are really called to do as missionaries- just conform others to what we believe? Or meet them where they are and create an opening for God to meet them there?
I would recommend it, Cay, but I would say maybe you would want to read just a few chapters ahead of her, so you can talk it out and hash out the hairy stuff.
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Philothea
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Ditto Sarah M.
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Bookswithtea
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I remember this book being discussed many years ago before I converted on a protestant hs board, and most of the reviews were similar to what you've heard here.
I wanted to pop on to suggest another book to look into that deals with similar themes. Its written by Elizabeth Elliot, who is a giant within the Evangelical community (her brother is Catholic convert and author Thomas Howard). The time period is the same and the missionary is not a freak and does not lose faith, but she does come to dramatically question how missionary work should be done. I don't remember any anti Catholic themes, but its been a long time since I've read it. I will say it had a dramatic effect on me. I was probably about 28 when I read it??
If she decides to read The Poisonwood Bible, maybe she could read it alongside the Elliot book and the movie "The Mission"? The Elliot book is called No Graven Image. Its OOP but I'm sure it could be found.
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Jen L.
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Awful. I hated it.
The missionary father is literally crazy, and part of his craziness is his reading of the "apocrypha"!
It is a very dark book. With very LITTLE hope.
I could never recommend someone spending the time to read this (very thick) book.
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hopalenik
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This was a terrible book and yet one more proof that Oprah is a little too pagan for her own good. I read the book because it was on her list about 5 years ago. I was soo disturbed. This book makes Christians look stupid, hateful and completely intolerant. I don't think there was any intention on the part of the other to make anyone think anything else other than that Christians are stupid and intolerant. The mother is weak and it definitely makes an individual question whether you can raise 3 children who are very close in age without really screwing them up. The mother has a favorite child and a least favorite child and the only character in the book who comes out looking strong, intelligent, and as a role model-is the twin who no surprise marries out of her race. So you have a serious PC element her as well. The only merit in this book is that it may provide an accurate picture of more modern African tribal life and maybe a little modern African history-but I even kind of doubt that. Only one character gets her just deserts for bad behaviour and that is the oldest sister, who was vain and self absorbed. She gets syphilis or something and can't have any kids... Not worth the paper it is printed on!
The only reason that this book has gotten any press or good reviews is that we as a society have been so conditioned to think that any artist who badmouths Christianity, or the family unit is actually doing us a service by helping us to see /discover our faults...
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Cay Gibson
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Thank you all for your input.
Kayleigh and I have read all the feedback and she's going to pass reading it, for now. She said her bedside table is full enough for the time being. 
We appreciate all of your thoughts and opinions.
[ETA: I told her that she needed to have lighter reading during the summertime anyway. Summertime requires it. ]
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Cay Gibson
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: The Poisonwood Bible
