Jean-Paul’s Rating: 3/5 stars

“The Poisonwood Bible” is a strange novel that would probably fit into the historical fiction genre. It starts in the Belgian Congo in 1969. Yes, Belgium still controlled the Congo in 1969. The story follows the Price family as the evangelical father, Nathan, packs up his family and moves them from the U.S. to the Congo to convert the natives to Christianity. The novel is broken up into a few sections, each of which starts with a chapter from the mother Oleanna’s point of view at a time after she has returned to the U.S. These chapters are foreboding and foreshadow horrible things to come for the Price family in Africa. The rest of each section is then told from the point of view of one of the four Price sisters; Rachel (15), Leah (14), Adah (14), Ruth Mae (5).

Much of the beginning of the book is dedicated to the Price family’s travails in adjusting to Congolese life in the village of Kilanga. It is, needless to say, distinctly different from life back in the States. This part of the book, I found mostly dull and without much interesting to say. It then moves on to the Price girls somewhat starting to fit in to the village and interacting with its inhabitants while around them the Congo is slouching towards a very messy independence. Things start getting interesting here as it dawned on me what year the novel takes place and I recognized the horrible messiness that is to come. It was more than just that, though. When the children actually start acculturating, it is a learning experience for the reader as well. This section of the book is a very enjoyable read. Then all the foreshadowed bad things happen and the rest of the book follows the girls, now women, through their adulthood. I have huge problems with how things get here. Major turning points are either unexplained or poorly explained, I am not sure which. Despite that complaint, this section is also pretty interesting as the women go their separate ways and scatter throughout Africa and the United States.

I did enjoy Kingsolver’s use of the different voices for different chapters for the most part. The Adah portions I loved with her palindromes and reading styles, though by the end it got a little stale. Adah was still my favorite character, though. Leah’s life was the most interesting to read about. Kingsolver did a pretty good job of bringing the mind of the 5-year-old Ruth Mae to life as well. Then there was Rachel whom I absolutely hated. She would use the incorrect words constantly and never learn or grow. I know there are people like that, but they rarely come from the same family in my mind. Maybe I’m wrong. Her story arc was interesting, though, despite my dislike of her character and how it was written.

It is possible that much of the book is lost on me not having grown up with sisters and thus not really understanding the sisterly dynamic. I do not think so, though. The books flaws are deeper than that. It’s still a decent read, though. Not sure I agree with all the acclaim surrounding it. That might just be the Oprah effect, though.