The Poisonwood Bible: A Novel - Oprah's Book Club (Hardcover)

Jacket Description/Back: "The Poisonwood Bible" is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it--from garden seeds to Scripture--is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa. The novel is set against one of the most dramatic political chronicles of the twentieth century: the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy. Against this backdrop, Orleanna Price reconstructs the story of her evangelist husband's part in the Western assault on Africa, a tale indelibly darkened by her own losses and unanswerable questions about her own culpability. Also narrating the story, by turns, are her four daughters--the self-centered, teenaged Rachel; shrewd adolescent twins Leah and Adah; and Ruth May, a prescient five-year-old. These sharply observant girls, who arrive in the Congo with racial preconceptions forged in 1950s Georgia, will be marked in surprisingly different ways by their father's intractable mission, and by Africa itself. Ultimately each must strike her own separate path to salvation. Their passionately intertwined stories become a compelling exploration of moral risk and personal responsibility. Dancing between the dark comedy of human failings and thebreathtaking possibilities of human hope, "The Poisonwood Bible" possesses all that has distinguished Barbara Kingsolver's previous work, and extends this beloved writer's vision to an entirely new level. Taking its place alongside the classic works of postcolonial literature, this ambitious novel establishes Kingsolver as one of the most thoughtful and daring of modern writers. Review Quotes: "Kingsolver's powerful new book is actually an old-fashioned 19th-century novel, a Hawthornian tale of sin and redemption and the 'dark necessity' of history." -- Michiko Kakutani, "New York Times""Haunting . . . A novel of character, a narrative shaped by keen-eyed women."-- Front page, Verlyn Klinkenborg, "New York Times Book Review" "Barbara Kingsolver has dreamed a magnificent fiction and a ferocious bill of indictment.. What we have here--with this new, mature, angry, heartbroken, expansive out-of-Africa Kingsolver--is at last our very own Lessing and our very own Gordimer." -- "The Nation""A powerful new epic . . . She has with infinitely steady hands worked the prickly threads of religion, politics, race, sin and redemption into a thing of terrible beauty."-- "Los Angeles Times Book Review" "Fully realized, richly embroidered, triumphant."-- "Newsweek"Powerful . . . Kingsolver is a gifted magician of words." -- "Time""There are few ambitious, successful and beautiful novels. Lucky for us, we have one now, in Barbara Kingsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible" . . . his awed reviewer hardly knows where to begin." -- Jane Smiley, "Washington Post Book World" "Beautifully written . . . Kingsolver's tale of domestic tragedy is more than just a well-told yarn . . . Played out against the bloody backdrop of political struggles in Congo that continue to this day, it is also particularly timely." -- "People" "Tragic, and remarkable . . . A novel that blends outlandish experience with Old Testament rhythms of prophecy and doom."-- "USA Today" "The book's sheer enjoyability is given depth by Kingsolver's insight and compassion for Congo, including its people, and their language and sayings."--"Boston Globe" "Most impressive are the humor and insight with which Kingsolver describes a global epic, proving just how personal the political can be." -- "Glamour" "Compelling, lyrical and utterly believable."--" Chicago Tribune" "A triple-decker, different coming-of-age novel, but also a clever look at language and cultures." -- "San Diego Union-Tribune""A bravura performance . . . A subtle and complex creation, dealing with epic subjects with invention and courage and a great deal of heart." -- "Newsday" "A novel that brims with excitement and rings with authority." -- "Portland Oregonian""Kingsolver's work is a magnum opus, a parable encompassing a biblical structure and a bibliography, and a believable cast of African characters." -- "Atlanta Journal-Constitution""Memory believes before knowing remembers. Believes longer than recollects, longer than knowing even wonder." -- William FaulknerMarc Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 545-546).;012-up. Publisher Marketing: "The Poisonwood Bible" is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it-- from garden seeds to Scripture-- is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa. The novel is set against one of the most dramatic political chronicles of the twentieth century: the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy. Against this backdrop, Orleanna Price reconstructs the story of her evangelist husband's part in the Western assault on Africa, a tale indelibly darkened by her own losses and unanswerable questions about her own culpability. Also narrating the story, by turns, are her four daughters-- the self-centered, teenaged Rachel; shrewd adolescent twins Leah and Adah; and Ruth May, a prescient five-year-old. These sharply observant girls, who arrive in the Congo with racial preconceptions forged in 1950s Georgia, will be marked in surprisingly different ways by their father's intractable mission, and by Africa itself. Ultimately each must strike her own separate path to salvation. Their passionately intertwined stories become a compelling exploration of moral risk and personal responsibility. Dancing between the dark comedy of human failings and the breathtaking possibilities of human hope, "The Poisonwood Bible" possesses all that has distinguished Barbara Kingsolver's previous work, and extends this beloved writer's vision to an entirely new level. Taking its place alongside the classic works of postcolonial literature, this ambitious novel establishes Kingsolver as one of the most thoughtful and daring of modern writers. Publisher Marketing: "The Poisonwood Bible" is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it -- from garden seeds to Scripture -- is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa. The novel is set against one of the most dramatic political chronicles of the twentieth century: the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy. Publisher Marketing: The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it--from garden seeds to Scripture--is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family's tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa. The novel is set against one of the most dramatic political chronicles of the twentieth century: the Congo's fight for independence from Belgium, the murder of its first elected prime minister, the CIA coup to install his replacement, and the insidious progress of a world economic order that robs the fledgling African nation of its autonomy. Against this backdrop, Orleanna Price reconstructs the story of her evangelist husband's part in the Western assault on Africa, a tale indelibly darkened by her own losses and unanswerable questions about her own culpability. Also narrating the story, by turns, are her four daughters--the self-centered, teenaged Rachel; shrewd adolescent twins Leah and Adah; and Ruth May, a prescient five-year-old. These sharply observant girls, who arrive in the Congo with racial preconceptions forged in 1950s Georgia, will be marked in surprisingly different ways by their father's intractable mission, and by Africa itself. Ultimately each must strike her own separate path to salvation. Their passionately intertwined stories become a compelling exploration of moral risk and personal responsibility. Dancing between the dark comedy of human failings and the breathtaking possibilities of human hope, The Poisonwood Bible possesses all that has distinguished Barbara Kingsolver's previous work, and extends this beloved writer's vision to an entirely new level. Taking its place alongside the classic works of postcolonial literature, this ambitious novel establishes Kingsolver as one of the most thoughtful and daring of modern writers. Review Citations:

Library Journal 07/01/1998 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

New York Times 10/18/1998 pg. 7 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

New York Times 12/06/1998 pg. 8 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/1999 pg. 75 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2002 pg. 619 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2007 pg. 776 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2011 pg. 979 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/1999 pg. 45 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2000 pg. 375 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 524 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2010 pg. 458 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2014 pg. 551 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Foreword 01/01/2005 pg. 1 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

People Weekly 11/09/2009 pg. 53 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Entertainment Weekly 06/27/2008 pg. 107 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Entertainment Weekly 07/05/2013 pg. 103 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Entertainment Weekly 08/22/2014 pg. 113 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Publishers Weekly Best Books 01/01/1998 pg. 41 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Best of Book Sense/First 5 Yrs 04/01/2004 pg. 1 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover)

Library Journal 09/01/1998 pg. 214 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Publishers Weekly 08/10/1998 pg. 366 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Kirkus Reviews 09/01/1998 pg. 1219 (EAN 9780060175405, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2011 pg. 979 (EAN 9780061577079, Paperback)

Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2014 pg. 551 (EAN 9780061577079, Paperback)

Ingram Advance 07/01/2005 pg. 49 (EAN 9780060786502, Paperback)

Commonweal 06/17/2005 pg. 25 (EAN 9780060786502, Paperback)

Booksense '76 Reading Grp 04 05/01/2004 pg. 1 (EAN 9780060512828, Mass Market Paperbound)

Publishers Weekly Best Books 01/01/1998 pg. 41 (EAN 9780783884677, Hardcover)

Booklist 08/01/1998 pg. 1922 (EAN 9780060995386, Hardcover)

Booklist 02/01/2000 pg. 1011 (EAN 9780060995386, Hardcover)

Booklist Editors Choice/Adult 01/01/1999 pg. 778 (EAN 9780060995386, Hardcover)

Booklist Ed Choice Adu Bk YA's 01/01/1999 pg. 781 (EAN 9780060995386, Hardcover)

New York Times 10/03/1999 pg. 32 (EAN 9780060930530, Paperback)

New York Times 12/05/1999 pg. 105 (EAN 9780060930530, Paperback)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2002 pg. 619 (EAN 9780060930530, Paperback)

Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2007 pg. 776 (EAN 9780060930530, Paperback)

Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 524 (EAN 9780060930530, Paperback)

Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2010 pg. 458 (EAN 9780060930530, Paperback)

Ingram Advance 10/01/1999 pg. 30 (EAN 9780060930530, Paperback)

Entertainment Weekly 10/01/1999 pg. 69 (EAN 9780060930530, Paperback)

Beyond the Cover Author Interv 10/01/1999 pg. 18 (EAN 9780060930530, Paperback)

Publishers Weekly Best Books 01/01/1998 pg. 41 (EAN 9780060930530, Paperback)

Kliatt 03/01/2002 pg. 52 (EAN 9781567406108, Analog Audio Cassette)

Library Journal 08/01/2014 pg. 42 (EAN 9781455800940, Compact Disc)

Contributor Bio:  Kingsolver, Barbara Barbara Kingsolver's work has been translated into more than twenty languages and has earned a devoted readership at home and abroad. She was awarded the National Humanities Medal, our country's highest honor for service through the arts. She received the 2011 Dayton Literary Peace Prize for the body of her work, and in 2010 won Britain's Orange Prize for The Lacuna. Before she made her living as a writer, Kingsolver earned degrees in biology and worked as a scientist. She now lives with her family on a farm in southern Appalachia.