Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Poisonwood Bible  By  cover art

The Poisonwood Bible

By: Barbara Kingsolver
Narrated by: Dean Robertson
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.00

Buy for $25.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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)

More from the same

What listeners say about The Poisonwood Bible

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    9,592
  • 4 Stars
    2,785
  • 3 Stars
    914
  • 2 Stars
    283
  • 1 Stars
    213
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    7,967
  • 4 Stars
    2,149
  • 3 Stars
    818
  • 2 Stars
    291
  • 1 Stars
    241
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8,455
  • 4 Stars
    1,999
  • 3 Stars
    675
  • 2 Stars
    204
  • 1 Stars
    154

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Outstanding! well researched, well written & well narrated!

Everything! Now, among my favorite books! Plus, the narrator is utterly perfect for this narrative!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The characters!!

Such beautiful writing and characters that you feel you truly know by the end of the book. Enchanting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Amazing

Cannot believe this beautiful, humorous, poignant, historical, thoughtful, educational novel...a must read for anyone who loves a great story presented perfectly!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of my all time favorites

I love this book it is perfectly written and can be enjoyed over and over again.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Stunning. Brilliant.

Written with integrity and intention, this story told in five voices is compelling and thoughtful . The Congo is recreated with presumed historical accuracy. I enjoyed this story immensely.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent portrayal of African culture and politics

I enjoyed the interwoven stories from four different perspectives of life in Africa from an outsider point of view. As someone born in Africa and now living abroad I could relate to the experiences and emotions of the characters. Very well written. 

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Marvellous

It is very hard to like a book where you'd rather not listen to two of the five narrators. But.. The Poisonwood Bible is that good. Despite Leah and Adah/Hada, you'd still listen to it as if your heart is clutched in the palm of a half naked 1960s Central African child surrounded by hunger, death, and the worst kind of beast: a Missionary father hell bent on breaking everything to his will or die trying

Respect!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Historical references weaved into a beautiful fictional story

Barbara Kingsolver’s beautiful ability to weave a fictional narrative into true historical reference is so inspiring!!! This was a deeply moving tale and one that can and should truly heal and bring a deeper understanding and appreciation to us about the value and individual beauty of every culture. I’m so grateful I read this book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the Greats

The Poisonwood Bible is high on my list of favorite books. It is a powerful story written in Kingsolver's masterful prose, told in the five unique voices of the Price Family women. Dean Robertson's natural narration is flawless.

This is not an experience to be missed.




***here I will add a request to Audible. Ms Robertson chose (wisely) to change voices with inflection and emphasis rather than a pitch change. Such sustained changes for five different characters would have dulled Ms Kingsolver's unique and natural voice for each character. I sometimes became confused as to which narration I was listening, particularly when I resumed listening. Please consider having this book redone with five different narrators, retaining Dean Robertson's mother. It won't be easy to find four more narrators as accomplished and confident enough to stay out of the way of great prose.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Kingsolver is a Word Weaver!

Kingsolver is a skilled artist at weaving words together into a story with texture and color. I always feel enriched after reading one of her novels. The plot doesn't have to be about romance or mystery or history or fantasy. The story doesn't have to have a happy ending or tie up all the loose ends. It just has to connect with the human experience. Kingsolver knows how to connect.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful