The Poisonwood Bible

By: Barbara Kingsolver

Narrated by: Dean Robertson

Length: 15 hrs and 34 mins

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)

Great story, horrible reader

loved the story however the narrator just about ruined it. I would listen to it again told by another.

I will never forget this book

This was as good or better than I believed it would be. For almost 20 years, people have talked about the experience of reading The Poisonwood Bible and now I am among them. It is beautiful, fascinating, wrenching. The most indelible part for me was the relationship of a mother to her children, although there are so many other perfectly crafted themes. This is exactly the kind of amazing literature that makes the world a richer, more moving place.

Excellent

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is told from the perspective of five different women and I found that the changes in perspective kept the narration fresh. In the story it was interesting to see how the women reacted differently to the challenges put before them and how each character reacted differently to the same stimulus.
The narration was very well done.

A tragedy with happy ending

Loved the story of the missionary family in the Congo. Good story with great characterization! Only negative was the read read it much too fast and was hard to know which character she was.

Fabulous

I have discovered that listening to a book i enjoyed reading can bring a whole new understanding to the topic. The complexity of the plots will keep me entertained through a couple more readings at least.

enchanted

romanced by this tale of mother, sister, and nature once again. what a fabulous story, enchanting and heart-wrenching.

A remarkable journey

A fine, compelling and richly detailed tale - while fiction, it grabbed me as would a good autobiography. The naritive ( in multiple voices and perspectives ) is extremely well done ( though as a listener, I found it a bit tough to remember which character's pint of view I was hearing at any given point). The effect was unique and compelling.

I typically enjoy adventures and fast moving spy novels and the like. So was concerned that i might not have the patience for this piece of literature - but it was truly worth staying with as the maturation of the story - with passing years and maturation f the characters was compelling and quite provocative.

Also listener: be careful to NOT let the preface - a piece of colorful poetry I suppose - put you off. It is simply a flowery piece of prose to establish a color or flavor, that lasts for just that few pages. The rest of the book is quite readable and approachable to even this unsophisticated reader and one who prefers simpler prose.

LOVE this book

This book was one of my all-time favorites, and I was excited to see it on Audible after reading it several years ago. To be honest, I almost returned it after the first few chapters because of the narrator. I love the book so much that I chose not to, and in the end it was still worth listening. That being said, I wish someone would re-narrate this book and do it justice, because it really is such a creative and beautifully written story. I agree with the others who've said she reads entirely too fast, and almost monotone at times. One of the beauties of this book is the different characters and their personalities, and thank goodness Barbara Kingsolver does such a good job of giving each of them their own voice, because this narrator certainly does not. Until then, I would recommend reading the book if you can, but if not it's still definitely worth listening to via this audio...such a great story.

Complex, compassionate, amazing.

This book was one of the most marvelous and moving that I have read in some time. The deep consideration of the various "voices" of the narrators, the rich and complex history expressed so movingly within the story, the crafting of the storyline itself, the amazing number of passages that I marked, to go back to and understand more deeply, the basic human truth and emotional resonance that I have not encountered in a long time, all make this story worth five stars and more. I HIGHLY recommend this book.

Loved the Book and the Narrator

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Well written, phenomenal story and wonderful humor even through the difficult times. I laughed and I cried, but mostly enjoyed. I loved the fact that the narrator read the story rather than tried to act out the different voices. Because of the way it was written you knew who was talking. I found it refreshing and believe my listening enjoyment was enhanced by having Dean Robertson read to me!