The Poisonwood Bible is the story of the Price family (consisting of a fiery Southern Baptist preacher, his wife, and four daughters), who head into the heart of the Congo in 1960 to convert the people there. Along the way, they experience culture shock, religious lessons, political upheaval, painful tragedy, and more. In the end, each of them is changed irrevocably by their experience there.
The Poisonwood Bible is more than just the story of the Price family, though. It's a tale of many things- family, religion, Africa, colonialism, politics, death, pain, and coping among them. It's historical fiction, so although the family is the author's creation, the environment and politics of the time is accurately captured. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character- alternating between the wife and four daughters- but never the husband.
This is a really good book. At times, I felt it discussed almost too many things, or had too many themes, as my head would hurt from all the topics to dwell on- but that's a good thing. You learn a decent amount about the Congo under first Belgian and then 'independent' rule, the culture there, and the shock Americans experienced trying to change the people. You also get some life lessons out of it- the characters were interesting and each struggling with something significant, and seeing how they dealt with their respective feelings was fascinating. I could identify in a sense with their overall situation and life-changing experience; living outside of the States will change you and your worldview. Very well done overall.
Rating: A
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