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The Poisonwood Bible cover art

The Poisonwood Bible

By: Barbara Kingsolver
Narrated by: Dean Robertson
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Publisher's Summary

“A powerful new epic... [Kingsolver] has with infinitely steady hands worked the prickly threads of religion, politics, race, sin and redemption into a thing of terrible beauty.” - Los Angeles Times Book Review

The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it - from garden seeds to Scripture - is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family’s tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.

The novel is set against one of the most dramatic political chronicles of the twentieth century: the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy. Taking its place alongside the classic works of postcolonial literature, this ambitious novel establishes Kingsolver as one of the most thoughtful and daring of modern writers.

©1998 by Barbara Kingsolver. (P)1998 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

"Haunting...A novel of character, a narrative shaped by keen-eyed women." (New York Times Book Review)

"Beautifully written....Kingsolver's tale of domestic tragedy is more than just a well-told yarn.. Played out against the bloody backdrop of political struggles in Congo that continue to this day, it is also particularly timely." (People)

"The book's sheer enjoyability is given depth by Kingsolver's insight and compassion for Congo, including its people, and their language and sayings." (Boston Globe)

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You will be mesmerised and scandalised and find yourself exultant and indignant by turns

I have found a new author to add to my list of favoured writers. In a novel that resonates with my own family's missionary history not in the Congo but in Australia's Arnhemland, Kingsolver writes a powerful story of the journey of a family and the nations created by European colonisers, monarchs, politicians and the world's new imperial power, the US. Kingsolver's writing transcends my own links to the Price family's story to pen an intricate, intriguing narrative of life experience that sees privation, tragedy, redemption. Kingsolver's five female voices are crafted with insight and the tools of a sculptor and, in the voicing of the audiobook version of the novel, Dean Robertson is ultimately convincing. Kingsolver writes simply and with simplicity but not simplistically. Like that amazing literary work of the early 17th C, the King James Bible, the author uses a colourful pallet of just a few of the many words available in English to write with transcendent narrative capacity. Read it to yourself or let Robertson read it to you; you will be mesmerised and scandalised and find yourself exultant and indignant by turns. My judgement of a truly good book is that, having been read once it must be re-read. This is such a book. Of an author, the same; I look forward with eager anticipation to my next Kingsolver novel.

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A truly remarkable book

This book is exceptional and the narration supurb. A fascinating story of an American Baptist missionary family in the Congo during the political upheaval in the region during the 60's. Written mostly through the eyes of the children, and sometimes of the mother, this book is thought provoking, funny and wise. Bravo!

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Loved it

Never having read Barbara Kingsolver before, I found her to be a literary treasure and will now go searching for her other books. Such a treat to learn something, be made to think and to be entertained, all in one book.

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Stunning

This is an extraordinary story and the use of the first person from all the female characters point's of view works extremely well. It is a history lesson in depth and with heart. Barbara Kingsolver's writing is exquisitely beautiful. Her research must be extensive. Cannot recommend it enough.

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An extraordinary story

Th narrator was completely convincing as she switched to voice each character and their southern accents. This book is a fascinating look at the true & tragic history of the Congo through the eyes of a mother and her daughters from Atlanta, Georgia with their religious zealot husband and father. We stay with this family and the Congo for so 30 or 40 years. A must read.

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Worth the wait

By worth the wait, I mean worth the challenge you may encounter getting stuck into the story and narration. With a few characters to get to know, distinguishing between them is tricky in the audio at first, but the character development is beautiful. The first half of the book seemed too slow for audio but by the end it was racing by.

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Engrossing and beautifully written

Loved it! Couldn't stop listening as I was totally immersed. Brilliant book. Thank you.

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A unique book that sticks

It’s not a page turner BUT it is a great slow burn. It’s an easy but deceptively deep read. Great characters, intriguing settings, solid spirit in the story. I learnt lots about a part of history I’m not sure I even knew existed until this book.

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  • Pep
  • 08-01-2019

Loved this beautiful book

Loved this book - my first Barbara Kingsolver book. Beautifully written and read, a poignant story with recent history of the Congo as a background and protagonist. Moving, vibrant, and a cracker of a tale. Excellent characters.

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an unforgettable story

Wow this has to be the best book I've read in the last year. The characters are compelling, the subjects so complex. I felt it was a very "mature" book in that the issues were grappled with for a long time before the book was written. I don't know much about this history of Zaire or any African nation, but it seemed very well researched. Just took me into a world that I knew nothing about. I loved the words, so many arresting phrases, phrases that I want to remember. It's tricky with the audio version because you can't underline them. the ones that come to mind are the palendrome "Eros eyesore" and "there are more words in the world than yes or no".

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