Explore our new BookBrowse Community Forum!

What readers think of The Poisonwood Bible, plus links to write your own review.

Summary |  Excerpt |  Reading Guide |  Reviews |  Read-Alikes |  Genres & Themes |  Author Bio

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible

by Barbara Kingsolver
  • Critics' Consensus:
  • Readers' Rating:
  • First Published:
  • Oct 1, 1998, 543 pages
  • Paperback:
  • Sep 1999, 560 pages
  • Rate this book

  • Buy This Book

About This Book

Reviews

Page 9 of 17
There are currently 133 reader reviews for The Poisonwood Bible
Order Reviews by:

Write your own review!

San

Amazing tale written in the most poetic language. A must read!
romance

this is one of Kingsolver's greatest projects with a beautiful command of the english language... i truly enjoyed it.
jordan

Amazing, absolutely adored the writing style and the conscience provided by Adah, the supposed "half-brain".Growing up in very religious. traditional settings, i felt a connection with all of the females in the story. if anyone would like to discuss, email me
cuatrodidiablo@hotmail.com
or IM me
Querilous
melissa

excellent book! i am a high school senior who actually used the novel on my AP English exam. It was a wonderful read, slow at times, but very good overall. i reccommend it to everyone, especially those still in school!
Toby

The Poisonwood Bible was an excellent novel! The 5 perspective narrative made it veryintersesting especially since all 5 characters have such different personalities. I usually do not enjoy anything political but Kinsolver told it in a way that was intersting and relevant. The characters are very believable and amusing at times: For example, Rachel's prissiness, Adah's synecism, and Ruth May's naivety. I did a comparison essay on this novel and Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi and the comparison was so exact it was almost pleasurable to write, and I didn't become bored with the novel but in closly analyzing it I learned a lot and found it even more interesting! I also enjoyed the negative view towards religion wich I stongly agree with, the Reverend is a frustrating but fascinating character and I found I could relate a lot to Leah.
Tony Grover

Very rich and depictive novel, showing a relationship between politics and religion, while at the same time captivating us with narratives that are seemingly so real. Definitely a spiritual novel, shedding light on some controversies over the interpretation of religious writings. This book engages its audience by slowly working up a story that spans over 40 years through the eyes of five women, who are faced with the challenge of eventually adapting a new outlook on life as their old ways fail to provide any chance of survival in the wilderness of the congo. Their father/husband who leads them on this religious escapade becomes lost in his stubborn religious ways , slowly tearing the family apart before going completely insane. This book is mostly quite sad and sobrish, but by the end completes itself by selling redemption off to the mother of the family who takes blame for the misfortunes of her daughters' lives, and invoking hope of a peace after death. Although this book is quite lengthy and a bit wordy at times, it is quite historically correct and very informative on the ways, life, history, and politics of the congolese people. I am reminded of one part in the novel where an army of starving red ants attack their village and consume all life ( leaving only the bones on the chickens) that do not make it to the safety of the river. I had never before heard of such a thing in my life. Quite intriguing, very entertaining, all in all, an excellent read.
Jenny Tyrrell Ireland

An incredible novel. Detail's the intricacies of the human physche and the misguided but intentionally true aspirations and beliefs of the key charachter Nathan Price. This book captures the cabability of one persons failings and misguided beliefs to submerge an entire generation to ultimate misery and destruction. The PoisonWood Bible does this with both wisdom and tenderness. Tender towards Nathan's obvious failings as a Preacher, Husband and Father. Wisdom in the observations and realisation for his family of the Preachers failings and their acceptance of these failings. Within the epic lies an incredible understanding of the Congolese people and an awakening of the sheer absurdity and arrogance of the West's attitude towards the serenity and adversity of the people of this hardened land. The Western Worlds audacious desire to modernise and convert a people to whom we should look upon with immense wonder and reverence is both ethically and morally reprehensible. One learns from a people whom exist in such extreme circumstance, one does not attempt to preach to them. Kingsolver has yet again demosntrated her understanding of the intricate workings of the human mind and has captivtivated and taught without the reader ever been aware a lesson was in progress.
Alez Griffindar

A Good Book But is Depressing to Read
I was given the option to read this books for my school reading and report and I really like it. I like the part of different view in the book because it give a fresh perspective on things in the book, and that it wasn't really focusing on one person giving the book more in dept in the story.

The book though is depressing so if you like happy thought it be best to not read it because it truly is only about the suffering, and even at the end of the book, it really is just suffering after escaping from a suffering, so it is not recommended to read it if you don't like depressing thought to think about.

For people who didn't read this book, know that the book is not really hating any group, and that although it may be biased because it only show the minority that consist of bad things that is about America or Christian, it is book to judge at face value because when one read a book, it is best to not believe anything at all. The world of books most of the time is just a temporarily entering of that world and out, and that most of the time it does not always connect with reality. So be open minded when reading this book because it will challenge some of your worldviews, and go not just assume that the book is hating on anything.

Top Picks

  • Book Jacket: Our Evenings
    Our Evenings
    by Alan Hollinghurst
    Alan Hollinghurst's novel Our Evenings is the fictional autobiography of Dave Win, a British ...
  • Book Jacket: Graveyard Shift
    Graveyard Shift
    by M. L. Rio
    Following the success of her debut novel, If We Were Villains, M. L. Rio's latest book is the quasi-...
  • Book Jacket: The Sisters K
    The Sisters K
    by Maureen Sun
    The Kim sisters—Minah, Sarah, and Esther—have just learned their father is dying of ...
  • Book Jacket: Linguaphile
    Linguaphile
    by Julie Sedivy
    From an infant's first attempts to connect with the world around them to the final words shared with...

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket

    Pony Confidential
    by Christina Lynch

    In this whimsical mystery, a grumpy pony must clear his beloved human's name from a murder accusation.

Who Said...

Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

F the M

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.