Story in Review: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

Wow. What a literary feat.

Several friends of mine have recommended this book to me over the past year or two. I finally ran across across a copy in a used bookstore when we were in Chicago in December, and so I chose it to be the first classic for 2015 Book Project.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is an amazing book. Kingsolver (isn’t that the coolest name for a novelist?) creates characters that live on the page, and tugs them along along in a story filled with emotion and mistakes and strong personalities. She weaves into all this discussions about faith, religion, and culture, creating a novel that is so much more than pure entertainment.

I finished this book over a week ago, and I am still thinking about it, the mark of a truly great book.

Favorite Quotes:

“It is true that I do not speak as well as I can think. But that is true of most people, as nearly as I can tell.” – p. 34

“…our family always seems to know too much, and at the same time not enough.” – p. 103

“She tears through her life like she plans on living out the whole thing before she hits twenty.” – p. 145

“Downstream is always someone else’s up.” – p. 173

“It’s frightening when things you love appear suddenly changed from what you have always known.” – p. 236

“There are more words in the world than no and yes.” – p. 310

“Conquest and liberation and democracy and divorce are words that mean squat, basically, when you have hungry children and clothes to get out on the line and it looks like rain.” – p. 383

“Given my own circumstances, I find that anything can turn out to belong nearly anywhere.” – p. 409

What makes it a good story? Kingsolver’s language. The landscape of Africa comes alive with her words, becoming a character just as much as Leah and Adah and the rest of the crew are. She writes about hard things, but does so in a way that makes you want to read on.

What could have made it a better story? The last third of the book drug on a bit. The girls are all grown up and living very different lives, and their story was more dynamic when they were all together. The think the end chapters were essential, but maybe a little long.

Have you read The Poisonwood Bible? What did you think? And what Kingsolver should I tackle next?