Two years after the initial release of Barbara Kingsolver's politically-charged novel, The Poisonwood Bible continues to appear on best-seller lists across the country. It was a New York Times Book Review Editor's Choice, as well as an Oprah Book Club 2000 Selection. In October of last year, The Poisonwood Bible found itself in its 28th consecutive week on the New York Times list, with the next-longest runner coming in at a measly seven consecutive weeks.
Told by the wife and daughters of American missionary Nathan Price, The Poisonwood Bible is ultimately a story of disintegration and survival. Set in the overtly political backdrop of Belgium's 1959 colonial withdrawal from Africa's Congo, Patrice Lumumba is on his way to becoming the first prime minister of the newly independent Republic of the Congo. But Lumumba's reign is short-lived thanks to an arrest and murder orchestrated with the consent and aid of the United States and CIA, and the resulting installation of the repulsive Mobutu.
Meanwhile, Reverend Price, an evangelical Baptist, drags his family from Bethlehem, Ga., "bearing Betty Crocker cake mixes into the jungle," says his daughter Leah, to the tiny village of Kilanga in remote Belgian Congo. In a round-robin fashion, his wife Orleanna and four daughters Rachel, Adah, Leah and Ruth May take turns telling the story of their father's desperate attempt to sow the seeds of Christianity in Africa's deepest-darkest corner, and the resulting demise of his own family.
Nathan never narrates, yet he stands as an altar around which his wife and daughters lead their lives. He is the only character in the book who does not grow and evolve, but instead becomes more zealous in his refusal to change.
"Tata Jesus is bangala!" he yells during his sermons in Kilanga, not realizing that bangala has different meanings depending on voice intonation. It can mean both "precious and dear" but is also the word for the dangerous poisonwood tree.
Nathan's job of converting the natives to Christianity is both comedic and tragic. It is tragic in the sense that, la Chinua Achebe, things fall apart with the introduction of white men and their religion to African society.
The comedy comes in instances such as when the locals refuse to be dunked and baptized in the river for fear of being eaten by crocodiles, and when the village leader interrupts Nathan's sermon to take a vote for or against Jesus. After the congregation casts stones in one of two bowls, the Son of God loses, 11 to 56.
Orleanna, Nathan's wife, tells her story retrospectively from Sanderling Island in Georgia long after her return from Africa. Her story is perhaps the most tragic, filled with deep loss and hurt resulting mostly from her husband. The daughters, on the other hand, begin their narratives upon their arrival in Africa in 1959 and continue through the 1990s. Each of them ends up leading extremely different lives, shaped and molded by their African experience. Rachel joins the ranks of the white upper-class in Africa, Leah finds love and never leaves the Congo, and Adah, the novel's genius who perceives the world in palindromes, returns to Georgia to become a highly successful and insightful scientist. The fate of Ruth May and Nathan will remain untold.
The novel is divided into seven books, with six of them bearing titles and epigraphs from books of the Hebrew Bible and Apocrypha. This allows Kingsolver to feed biblical, political and cultural wisdom to her readers in every page.
Kingsolver's command of language is truly amazing. Her images and treatment of Africa and Africans are well researched and compellingly presented. The depth of character found in each of the novel's women makes for an emotional read, and the complexity of her layers and metaphors is evidence of a highly intellectual and thoughtful piece.
But do not approach this book looking for an uplifting tale. The Poisonwood Bible leaves the reader in tears and bewilderment, saddened by the tragic fates of the characters and the desperate situation of the impoverished Congo.
The depth of Kingsolver's insight is unrivaled, and the tale launches you into a moral engagement with the capacity to forever change the way you perceive Africa. If to date you have missed out on reading this book, grab a quiet spot in the shade with a glass of lemonade and get started.
Read More
Dreaming of drunken noodles at Thai Cuisine and Noodle House
By Lizzy Goldstein | 20 hours agoI was amazed by how the tamarind sauce and variety of spices created a cohesive link among all the dishes, tying the dinner together and leaving everyone feeling satiated.
Breaking my silence
By Cecy Juárez | 3 days agoI, Cecy Juárez, am one of the three “squirrels of U.Va.” running the @thesquirrelsofuva page.
Lending a hand during the finals push
By Abby Snowdon | 5 days agoThe race to the end of the year has begun, and University groups have set up pit stops along the course to help students get to the finish line.
