The Poisonwood Bible (MP3 CD) (ISBN 1593359020)

Painful and Boring:
Every Oprah book I've purchased has been a great disappointment and this is no exception. My friend begged me to read this and the story seemed compelling. At first I enjoyed the alternating viewpoints amongst the five women. After awhile it became irritating. There is suffering throughout the whole book and no redeeming aspects at all. I did muddle through the whole book thinking it would get better but it only got more boring. I felt no connection to the characters at all. I agree with others and found Kingsolvers depiction of the "evil white people" offensive. Just my two cents.

I can't say enough good things about this novel:
I love the Poisonwood Bible. It's easily on my list of favorite books. It's a heartwrenching story of the disintegration and survival of a family. Kingsolver rotates the pov through the four daughters and you learn to love them all, even the shallow Rachel. And that takes a great deal of skill to turn a character like Rachel into an interesting and lovable person. Even the chapters told from Ruth May, the baby of the family, manage to hold my attention. Great novel, one that everyone should read.

A book I just couldn't get into:
I've heard from many people that this is a book you either love, or hate. For me, I just couldn't get into it. My friend, a big reader, told me that this book was one of her "all time favorites". With such a fabulous referral, I had to read it. The story seems interesting: A Southern pastor and his family travel on a mission to the Congo. I kept reading, thinking that I would become captured if I just read a few pages more. One hundred pages into the book, however, I finally gave up. My advice is to probably give this book a try. There are many people that loved it. I'm just one of those that didn't.

or how not to do missions!:
This is a really good book that is a basic bible for how not to do missions. I resisted reading this for years, but now I'm glad I did. I really got to know th characters deeply and disagree with other reviewers who feel that the characters were shallow. I enjoyed the short chapters which presented each set of circumstances from each of the five voices. A bit frustrating at the end when the author chose to simply report on different chunks of time from each of the 4 remaining women's lives. I felt the sting of death deeply during the reading of this book. I highly recommend this book and find myself intrigued with a wonderful part of the world whose native peoples have been subjected to horrifying circumstances and world politics.

Merits multiple readings:
The editorial reviews and the other 1409 reader reviews provide as much commentary on this remarkable book as one might want. Needless to say, I enjoyed the story. It operates at several levels just like life. You might dislike some characters but they all seem real to me, sharply etched. You might not like what they say, it can be provocative, thought provoking. You might even imagine the story to be true. I can. As I reread the story, I find new aspects, not necessarily intended by the author, but ones that result from the interaction of the story and the life I know. If you enjoy deep literature, you will probably enjoy this book. If you are a scientist, as is the author, you will be pleasantly reminded that some scientists write extraordinarily well. The descriptions of the natural world are noticeably precise which alone separates this book from the average contemporary novel. If, like me, you find the narrative sometimes difficult, especially child Adah's, I recommend an audio version.