The Poisonwood Bible

Last week I read Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible.

I absolutely love her writing, and this book was no exception. I generally dislike novels that are told from multiple perspectives, switching point of view from chapter to chapter. This book, however, consumed me. I read all 543 pages in just a few days' time.

In summary, the book is about a minister who takes his wife and four daughters to Africa on a yearlong mission that changes the course of all their lives. Difficult decisions are made and there are many moments of extreme tension and stress. Emotionally, the book chewed me up and spit me out.

I'd like to say that I have something profound to offer you from my reading, but all I can say is that it gave me a lot to think about. Relationships, religion, spirituality, history and politics of all things. Kingsolver does a miraculous job weaving this fictional family into the Congo in the middle of social upheaval.

I highly recommend this book.