A Mile Of River

A Mile Of River

Monday 30 April 2012

The Poisonwood Bible

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

An excessively fanatical Baptist minister called Nathan Price and his wife Orleanna and four daughters,  move to Africa on a mission.

Nathan feels overwhelmed with guilt as he was the only member of his army regimen to escape the  Batten death march. Nathan's mission is to save as many souls as he can as he feels that God despises him for being such a coward. He is so self-absorbed in this that he inevitably puts his wife and children at risk.

I liked that the book was set out with books from the Bible. Genesis,  Revelations and Judges.
The book is also narrated by the four daughters Rachel Price, who is known for her prettiness and vanity. Leah, who is a classic tomboy and is known for her devotion to her father. Leah's devotion is later transferred to Africa,  Adah, who is Leah's twin sister and was crippled from birth. Adah later finds a religion that she can truly believe in the religion of science. Ruth May Price the youngest daughter. Ruth May dies a tragic death. Their intertwined stories are compelling. Ultimately each of them must make their own paths to salvation.

This book was a fairly long read and I felt it could have been a tad shorter. The story and setting made me want to know more about this fascinating country.
  

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