From the Bookshelf of 2025 Reading Challenge…

The Poisonwood Bible

Barbara Kingsolver

Start date: September 1, 2024

Finish date: September 30, 2024

Discussion: September 2025 Buddy Reads

Why we're reading this: Featured Buddy Read for September 2024
[close] Featured Buddy Read for September 2024

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 9 topics — 564 comments total

September 2025 Buddy Reads

* Night Film
By SarahKat , Buddy Reads · 12 posts · 35 views

last updated Sep 18, 2025 06:02AM

The Patriot Threat (Cotton Malone #10)
By SarahKat , Buddy Reads · 5 posts · 11 views

last updated 51 minutes ago

showing 10 of 179 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Jun 16, 2010 Anne rated it did not like it

Shelves: historical-fiction, fiction, read-in-2010

I am just glad I got this book from the library and didn't provide Barbara Kingsolver with any funds of mine. Much of this book is leftist propaganda especially at the end. The story at the beginning of the book was good, the writing was beautiful, the way she told the story in different voices was unique and interesting. Still I cannot recommend this book. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Aug 27, 2011 Marianne Stehr rated it did not like it

I got 60 pages in and stopped, I could not connect with the characters, didn't care for the prose style in which it was written and found that I only cared for Adah and even her sections were getting garbled. Perhaps it picks up, but Ididn't want to hang around and hope, I gave up. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Apr 09, 2022 Sarah5 rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A slow burner. I liked the multiple perspectives of this - it’s told through the eyes of the mother and four sisters, all very different and view events differently too. Set in Congo around the time of independence, the historical contact here was very interesting. Beautiful writing, but lacked pace for me at times.

Like · see review

Jul 29, 2009 Shahrin rated it really liked it

So first I just said I don't like this book. I did not get into it until the girls grew up and the shit hits the fan. It comes full circle and it really lets you into the character's lives and heads. Kingsolver is able to give her commentary on Zaire's independence and subsequent "clusterfuck" in a very effective manner. In the end it's the way the girls grew up that appealed to me the most in this book and of course it got me interested in politics re Zaire/Congo. She's a very good writer, I no ...more

Like · see review