by
A novel written through the eyes of five women, The Poisonwood Bible is a masterpiece. A mother and four daughters accompany their mentally unstable husband and father to the Congo as missionaries. As each speak, first the mother and four young daughters and later the mother and three grown daughters, both their personal experiences and the history that is being made around them unfold. The book begins in 1959 and explains the end of colonial rule of Belgium and the wars that followed. Exploitation becomes real as it takes place in front of them and has taken place in the past for people the girls develop relationships with. The family struggles with the differences in culture and the ways their original message emerges as inappropriate. This book challenges one's belief system, one's political opinions, and one's entire life outlook. While I listened to it on audio book, I felt from the beginning I should have read it on my kindle instead. During the beginning, the reader switched from voice to voice with out enough of a pause and I became lost more than once. But as the book went on, either I got a hang of the rhythm or she slowed down as I was able to follow much more easily. If the audio book had used different people for the various voices it would have been clearer. In spite of the challenges of listening to the novel, it will definitely be in my top ten for 2012 and might even be in the number one spot. For people who are not offended to have their opinions and beliefs challenged I recommend this book. For those who prefer the status quo I would not encourage them to read it as it is an apple cart upsetter. As for myself, I will read more of this author. Click on the author's name and title above to follow links to more information and be sure and enjoy the short video that follows.
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