The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

Set at the start of the 60s, The Poisonwood Bible is a fictitious account of an American family's ill fated expedition to the Belgian Congo prior to the outbreak of independence. Nathan, the patriarch of the Price family, is a monomaniacal Baptist minister intent on civilising and baptising the 'savages' of deepest darkest Africa, with little regard to his wife and four daughters' safety. His long suffering wife Orleanna holds the narrative viewpoint at the start of each main section, framing the alternating voices of her dramatically different daughters, who alternate chapters. The eldest, Rachel, is materialistic and vain, twins Leah and Adah are tomboy idealist and crippled pessimist, and the youngest, Ruth May is wild and adventurous. It can almost be seen as a mash-up of 'Little Women' and 'Heart of Darkness'. One of the girls is marked to meet a tragic end, a death which is alluded to relatively early on to keep the reader guessing in suspense as to who it will be.

I enjoyed Poisonwood a lot, particularly descriptions of the Congo region's flora and fauna, and its brutal jungle philosophy. Political unrest bubbles away behind the plot, with figures such as Eisenhower, Lumumba and Mobutu lending credence to a historically authentic backdrop. It is a story of hardship and survival, with the ever present threats of starvation and war nipping at the heels of its protagonists. There are strong biblical themes and allusions running throughout, along with the heavy fisted anti-colonial messages 'leave Africa alone' and 'white man is evil'. I felt that the book got weaker towards the end, after the tragedy strikes and the remaining characters go their separate ways. This section is concerned with the long term impact Africa has had on their lives, skipping over many years and following them into adulthood. I lost interest at this point and stopped caring about the girls entirely. Nothing panned out the way I wanted it to, but I suppose that's the point Kingsolver was trying to make.

Rating: 3/5