The Poisonwood Bible

The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver

In the global upheaval of the 50s and 60s, a zealous Baptist missionary moves his family – his wife and four daughters – to the Congo. While they were only contracted to stay in the Congo for one year, the Congolese push for independence and subsequent US-backed overthrow of the new government, the contract is thrown out the window, and along with it any support from the Baptist missionary service. Apart from the eldest teenage daughter, the family willingly throws themselves into this new and foreign lifestyle, encountering all kinds of problems that they could never have predicted. In attempting to come prepared for a year in Africa, they find that their cake mixes don’t survive the weather, precious clothes are worn to shreds, and even a hammer is useless against mud walls. Slowly, the mother and daughters adopt a new lifestyle and learn the ways of the jungle, but the father keeps pushing his will against the world, causing continual problems for himself and his family. As the mother quietly fights for herself and her daughters, they each fight their own demons, find their own identities, and take away the indelible lessons of jungle life. Ultimately, the wild, continual motion of Africa triumphs any effort to maintain one position, and everything gets moved along, willingly or not.

The bulk of the novel is narrated alternately by the four daughters, with the mother providing a reflective preface at the beginning of each chapter. Kingsolver expertly creates unique voices for each character, and grows with them throughout the story as they learn, struggle, and overcome – or not, depending on the character. Although it is a work of fiction, Kingsolver did thorough research on the era and the particular situation of the Belgian Congo, which became Zaire after the US stepped in, and in her preface, she admits that her story is largely influenced by the novel “Things Fall Apart,” by Chinua Achebe, and it is easy to see how. It is a beautifully crafted work of historical narrative that shows how the personal is political as the characters find their voices, their position, and their own story against the backdrop of a churning nation that is doing exactly the same thing.

Absolutely beautiful. That is the only way I can describe the book. It is one of my absolute favorite books, and I brought it with me to Samoa knowing that I would want to read it while I was here, and it was fantastic reading it as a Peace Corps. The lessons about attempting to prepare for a completely unexpected life, only to arrive in a foreign country and realize that nothing you could have possibly thought of would have actually helped you are so familiar I could have written it myself. Their struggles adapting to a less-than-luxurious life also resonate, and they take on a new relevance now that I have experienced the same thing. Despite being thoroughly exhausted from Mother’s Day dance practice, I found it practically impossible to put this book down, and even at the end, I desperately want it to keep going. There is so much more she can tell about the story! I had a hard time choosing another book to read after I finished this one – what could possible come close to being as good as The Poisonwood Bible? You must read it.