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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 all 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. This tale of one family''s tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction, over the course of three decades in post-colonial Africa, is set against one of history''s most dramatic political parables.The Poisonwood Bible dances between the darkly comic human failings and inspiring poetic justices of our times. In a compelling exploration of religion, conscience, imperialist arrogance, and the paths to redemption, Barbra Kingsolver has brought forth most ambitious work ever. Freshman Common Read: Augsburg College
Report
"There are few ambitious, successful and beautiful novels. Lucky for us, we have one now, in Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible . . . this awed reviewer hardly knows where to begin." - Jane Smiley, Washington Post Book World
"Fully realized, richly embroidered, triumphant." - Newsweek
"Kingsolver's powerful new book is actually an old-fashioned 19th-century novel, a Hawthornian tale of sin and redemption and the 'dark necessity' of history." - Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
"A powerful new epic . . . She 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
"Powerful . . . Kingsolver is a gifted magician of words." - Time
"Beautifully written . . . Kingsolver's tale of domestic tragedy is more than just a well-told yarn . . . Played out against the bloody backdrop of political struggles in Congo that continue to this day, it is also particularly timely." - People
"Tragic, and remarkable. . . . A novel that blends outlandish experience with Old Testament rhythms of prophecy and doom." - USA Today
"The book's sheer enjoyability is given depth by Kingsolver's insight and compassion for Congo, including its people, and their language and sayings." - Boston Globe
"Compelling, lyrical and utterly believable." - Chicago Tribune
