The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver is about a Baptist minister who brings his family to Africa to act as missionaries in the 1950’s. Nathan brings his wife, Orleanna and their four daughters, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May. The family arrives completely unprepared for the trials set before them and each girl must struggle in her own way with a new culture and their own family dynamic.  Each girl in the story acts as narrator and the tragedy of a circumstance thrust upon them is heard within each girls voice as she tells her tale of living in the Congo as a white person.

The Poisonwood Bible is a heart-wrenching tale of how one man’s passion overcomes him and makes him blind to the reality around him. In the beginning, Nathan’s passion for his faith is steadfast, but as he is faced with a culture that is unknown to him, he becomes obsessed with his beliefs and will not consider another point of view other than his version of God.  Nathan continuously puts his family in harms way as he won’t take any of the villagers advice on surviving in the jungle. Nathan’s obsession with his faith finally puts his wife and children lives in jeopardy.  Orleanna becomes entrapped in a life filled with defeat and sadness as her husband’s religion becomes his mistress.

Although Nathan is the main figure throughout the majority of the novel; he is not the voice we here. The voices that are clear are the voices of the women. At first, it was difficult to figure out who was speaking when and who was who in the novel, since there are five narrators. But it didn’t take long for me to figure out the character of each of the girls. As the head of the household, Nathan’s actions determined the course of their women’s lives; but Nathan is not the voice we hear. The Poisonwood Bible is a woman’s tale that can only be told through a woman, and as in many stories in the 1950’s, there is a man who is at the center of the tale.

The character that stood out the most to me was the mother, Orleanna.  Orleanna’s tale is particularly bittersweet because her choices were made before Africa and now she is facing the consequence of those choices. Orleanna’s voice, especially towards the end of the novel, is heard less and less; but her life is the one that cannot be forgotten. Her sorrow at the situation her children are in and at the demise of her relationship with her husband are particularly painful to hear. Her story becomes not one story, but a story of many women in the 1950’s who did now that there was a life outside of marriage.

The Poisonwood Bible is a haunting tale that follows the lives of these five women until the end of their days. The multiple layers of this novel make it an intensely interesting read. From the clash of two cultures, to the politics of the Congo, to the bond every mother knows with her child, this is definitely a must read that will stay with you long after you close the last page.

Book Source: Hennepin County Library, Eden Prairie Location, Audiobook

Related Reading

• Literary Quote for July 14, 2009