The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I’m sorry. I know this is beloved by so many people. For me, it was weeks of reading time I will never get back again.
Could it be due to listening to it on Audible? Maybe. I do know that I rarely knew whose point of view that was being presented. I didn’t even realize there were four daughters, not three, until the end of the book. I do wish that audio narrators would give us more flags of POV change.
I was raised reading missionary stories. My grandmother had a bookshelf of these stories. I loved reading about the missionaries going to foreign countries or continents. Of course, the issues of how women were treated were not in the books for my middle-grade group reads. Later I noticed how PKs and preacher’s wives were treated. Some with great respect, others with disdain, and worse. It makes me sick to know how the father treated the main characters in this book. And equally badly how the natives were treated. Nothing new there. When will humans learn to treat others with respect even when they don’t look or worship as we do?
I’m sure there are those who love this book. Maybe it was where I was mentally when I read (listened to) this book. I don’t want to ruin it for you. Enjoy.
Darswords 