Hazel's review
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Amazing. This is a lyrical, heartbreaking, symbolic and historical novel about a family of missionaries that moves to the Congo to spread Christianity and American culture to the people. What they quickly learn is that American culture does not neccessarily translate or apply, nor is it neccessarily relevant or better. Kingsolver writes the families' observations through the perspectives of the mother and the 4 daughters, and in doing so, is able to offer different views of colonization and its consequences, both on a macro and micro level. That is, an occupied territory versus (the Belgian Congo), an occupied individual (the wife and daughters dominated by their crazy preacher father/husband). It is a very well researched book that gives an excellent account of the revolution in the Congo, CIA involvement, American and European interests, greed, and generally, a thought provoking commentary on global inequality and post colonialization in Africa. This story could well have been ...more
I agree, I loved this book! I loved the different voices each character had. I think this is probably Kingsolver's best.
