![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/072-PoisonwoodBible.jpg?resize=199%2C300&ssl=1\")
By Barbara Kingsolver\n\u00a9 2009, HarperCollins
\nASIN: B000QTE9WU
\nKindle Edition; File size 2370 KB\n
<\/p>By Barbara Kingsolver
\n\u00a9 2009, HarperCollins
\nASIN: B000QTE9WU
\nKindle Edition; File size 2370 KB\n
When Orleanna\u2019s fiery Baptist husband, Nathan Price, takes her and their four daughters to the Belgian Congo on a mission trip in 1959, none of them can foresee the tragic consequences of his ill-fated decision. The nation is already poised on the verge of enormous political upheaval and this Georgia family, more accustomed to hot showers and flush toilets than mud-and-thatch housing or deadly snakes in the kitchen, are ill-prepared for the adventure on which they\u2019ve embarked. Physical comforts aside, they face deadly diseases, deadly creatures, deadly insects, and a culture clash that leaves them all breathless. Nathan\u2019s stubborn refusal to hear warnings from his fellow missionaries or their support teams puts his entire family in even more peril.<\/p>\n
This is not an easy read. It\u2019s the tragic tale of one family\u2019s desperate decline and disintegration, all because of one man\u2019s bull-headed refusal to bend his rigid principles or admit failure. Though Nathan fills many of the pages, all that we see of him is second-hand, through the eyes of his wife and four daughters (who range from 5 to 16). I wanted to hate him, or at least despise him. I finally walked away with a mere strong dislike of this character, since once all is revealed, I could at least understand why he did the things he did. An excellent writer can make the reader empathize to some degree with the most despicable antagonist, and Kingsolver possesses this skill in spades.<\/p>\n
While the story is focused on how the characters are affected by all that follows their arrival in the Congo, and while that was certainly a riveting tale, I found myself just as caught up in the cultural clash, and the difficulty either culture demonstrated in seeing the other\u2019s point of view. Yet on every page, I could see the tiny and gradual changes taking over each of the daughters. Their observances and the way each reacted to their imposed new lifestyle revealed as much about their individual personalities as did the author\u2019s descriptions of them. The reactions of the villagers to the Price family\u2019s ways was just as fascinating to me; I tried to put myself in their situation and imagine how I would react if someone came to my hometown and set their minds to change everything about my world: how I and my neighbors dress, how we raise our children, how we cook our meals, how we speak to God, which God we speak to, how we hunt or garden, and all the rest.<\/p>\n
At every level, Poisonwood Bible<\/em> is a tale of contrasts, from the obvious religious differences to the fact that the village men all had multiple wives, even unexpected things like the differences between the Price daughters and the village children; the Price girls thought for sure that the Congolese children, with their swollen bellies, couldn\u2019t possibly be hungry. It never enters their mind to consider that the children aren\u2019t overfed but are infested with parasites. It is only years of experience that make the Price daughters (and their mother) come to an understanding with Africa and the lasting changes it has wrought in their lives.<\/p>\n The Poisonwood Bible<\/em> isn\u2019t a book I can fully describe. It must be experienced to fully see its depth and breadth. Early on, I almost put it down because I found the overly Caucasian judgments of the Price daughters\u2019 African neighbors, as well as some of the terminology, uncomfortable; but I reminded myself that this tale begins in 1959. Much of what the characters say and think is typical of that era, not to mention in keeping with their Southern Baptist upbringing. Later, of course, the tables are turned and it is not necessarily a good thing to have \u201cwhite\u201d skin in the Congo. After a certain point, I no longer wanted to put it down and never finish the story. I was driven to know how their individual lives turned out.<\/p>\n I will reiterate, though, that it is not an easy read. While you may be able to predict a few details, I promise you that turning the pages in The Poisonwood Bible<\/em> will lead you down avenues you never expected. Highly recommended for readers who love a tale of family or political\/cultural drama, or tales of tragedy and redemption.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Barbara Kingsolver \u00a9 2009, HarperCollins ASIN: B000QTE9WU Kindle Edition; File size 2370 KB When Orleanna\u2019s fiery Baptist husband, Nathan Price, takes her and their four daughters to the Belgian Congo on a mission trip in 1959, none of them can foresee the tragic consequences of his ill-fated decision. The nation is already poised on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-Mq","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3335,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/03\/windlyn-vale\/","url_meta":{"origin":3002,"position":0},"title":"Windlyn Vale","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"June 3, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"By Tobias Youngblood \u00a9 2023 ISBN: 978-1959649014 Paperback, 196 pages When dire wolves enter the vilskje\u2019s idyllic valley and kill one of their youths, Siv the Seer and his apprentice lure and trap the pack, killing its leader and scattering the other wolves into the forest. The vilskje clan are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/WindlynVale-188x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2929,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2022\/10\/23\/cage-of-souls\/","url_meta":{"origin":3002,"position":1},"title":"Cage of Souls","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"October 23, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Adrian Tchaikovsky \u00a9 2019, Ebook format ASIN: B07DPRW17S File size 1865 KB It's easy to see why this book was shortlisted for the 2020 Arthur C. Clarke Award. This is an intricate story, part fictional memoir, part dark dystopian ecofiction with touches of horror. There were elements of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/CageOfSouls-196x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":342,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2017\/09\/18\/the-stone-sky\/","url_meta":{"origin":3002,"position":2},"title":"The Stone Sky","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"September 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"By N. K. Jemisin Orbit, \u00a92017 ISBN: 987-0316229241 Paperback, 464 pages A change is coming. Whether for better or for worse, Essun cannot tell, but she has a plan to nudge astronomical events toward the side of humanity\u2019s survival. She knows what it will mean for her, but no price\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/StoneSkyCvr-198x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":562,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/01\/22\/life-after-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":3002,"position":3},"title":"Life After Life","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"January 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"By Kate Atkinson Back Bay Books, ISBN: 978-0316176491 Paperback, \u00a92013, 560 pages On February 11, 2010, a young girl is born to a wealthy English family. Due to a snowstorm and blocked roads, the doctor cannot arrive in time, and the child dies. On February 11, 2010, a young girl\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/LifeAfterLife-183x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1070,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/10\/01\/important-fundamentals-for-brilliant-worldbuilding\/","url_meta":{"origin":3002,"position":4},"title":"Important Fundamentals for Brilliant Worldbuilding","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"October 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the things I love most about writing speculative fiction is that I get to completely create whole new worlds. Some are not like our \u201creality\u201d at all. Others are so close that at first glance they might seem the same\u2014until you stumble across that one small detail that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Blog Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Blog Posts","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/blog-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/WaterAndIce.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/WaterAndIce.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/WaterAndIce.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/WaterAndIce.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/WaterAndIce.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4949,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2024\/09\/23\/animal-farm\/","url_meta":{"origin":3002,"position":5},"title":"Animal Farm","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"September 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"By George Orwell ABHISHEK Publications, \u00a92021 ASIN: B0DCNXJTDH Kindle Version, file size 29690 KB I'd never read this book before. It was not required reading when I was in school. I'm not sure why I chose to read it now, other than it was a classic title on the banned\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/category\/reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A stylized graphic of norses, goats, cows, and a rooster surround a windmill on a red background. Text reads: Animal Farm, George Orwell.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/AnimalFarm-196x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3002"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3005,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3002\/revisions\/3005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}