tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post1514640358504181167..comments2024-02-10T19:58:20.327+00:00Comments on Stuck in a Book: The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara KingsolverStuckInABookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-40493662230745887302014-02-09T03:14:46.764+00:002014-02-09T03:14:46.764+00:00I just reviewed this book on my blog (http://using...I just reviewed this book on my blog (http://usinguppencils.blogspot.com/2014/02/whats-elizabeth-reading-kingsolver.html), and, like the other people commenting, I thought your review was spot-on. In my review, I also picked a page where I thought the reader might as well just stop, and I'm pretty sure it's the same spot you picked. It's nice to get some validation!<br /><br />One thing I wanted to add to this little discussion I'm so late in joining: I read on Kingsolver's website that for this book, each member of the Price family represents an attitude. That would explain the shallow character development in pretty much every character. On the website (http://www.kingsolver.com/faq/previous-books.html), she says, "In the four Price daughters and their mother, I personified attitudes crossing the spectrum from Orleanna’s paralyzing guilt to Rachel’s blithe 'What, me worry?'" Later on that same page, she says Nathan also "represents an attitude." As a lover of fiction, this disgusts me a little, but what can you do? Her characters aren't people; they represent attitudes people have.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14095148988587566042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-79034581562193295282013-07-02T18:36:23.442+01:002013-07-02T18:36:23.442+01:00I just finished reading the book and had very much...I just finished reading the book and had very much the same reaction as the review expresses, and as echoed by some of the other posts, although the fact that Nathan never speaks for himself did not bother me so much as it did others. Of the responses to the review, the one that puts it most succinctly in terms of how I reacted to the book is this one by VictoriaH: "It feels like a let down balloon by the time you finish it. I felt like a fraud for having raved about it to friends while I was reading it, and then having to retract my more enthusiastic comments in the end."<br /><br />Great review.<br /><br />NXAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-12459118007815404802013-01-04T15:01:17.205+00:002013-01-04T15:01:17.205+00:00What a great review. This is one of the few books ...What a great review. This is one of the few books I read from your whole century list.Marianne https://www.blogger.com/profile/11810275740213848634noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-91039379918121548342012-11-18T15:38:20.656+00:002012-11-18T15:38:20.656+00:00While I agree that Kingsolver could have done a be...While I agree that Kingsolver could have done a better job with the end of the book, I have to disagree on your take on Nathan.<br /><br />I think part of it may have to do with your defense, as it were, of Christian missionaries. Of course there are many missionaries in foreign countries doing great and very charitable things, but Nathan is not that man. To say that all Christian missionaries are completely good people would be just as wrong as characterizing them all as bad, which I hardly think Kingsolver does. <br /><br />But the main issue I have with this review is the misunderstanding of Nathan. If you think he should have been "understood more," then you've missed the entire point of the novel. Nathan is not to be understood by anything other than his actions, because that is exactly how he is perceived by his family and the villagers. Nathan does not get to know his wife or daughters, he does not get to know the people he is supposedly there to help, and he does not take the time to get to know the Congo. In turn none of the aforementioned get to know him and nor does the reader. Nathan isn't so much to be understood as a person, but as the characterization of the destructive force of blind drive. That, I think, Kingsolver does very well. <br /><br />The perfect analogy for Nathan's approach to life and relationships is in the scene where he is chopping away at the stump of the Poisonwood tree to make room for his garden. He knows nothing about the tree, only that it is in his way. He takes an ax to the stump and takes an ax to all his relationships where better understanding and a scalpel would have served much better. For this he only hurts himself and his goal is never accomplished. Jason in TXnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-28501845760771475372012-04-13T02:31:43.349+01:002012-04-13T02:31:43.349+01:00It has been several years since I read this book b...It has been several years since I read this book but I remember loving it from beginning to end. But than again, I also love Michener & Rutherfurd with their very long stories ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-47226545675795464352012-02-05T09:41:25.321+00:002012-02-05T09:41:25.321+00:00Hmm... think we'll have to agree to disagree o...Hmm... think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one, but I like your angle!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-21493562602898293062012-02-05T02:27:55.864+00:002012-02-05T02:27:55.864+00:00I have to defend Kingsolver in the area of Nathan....I have to defend Kingsolver in the area of Nathan. I believe it was in the perspective of the family. They did not know how the man felt or what he thought. He made a choice as head of the family. The story voices the impact it had on his family.robbiereehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09046660075856894990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-90106436323111508772012-02-05T02:23:08.795+00:002012-02-05T02:23:08.795+00:00I have to defend Kingsolver in the area of Nathan....I have to defend Kingsolver in the area of Nathan. I believe it was in the perspective of the family. They did not know how the man felt or what he thought. He made a choice as head of the family. The story voices the impact it had on his family.robbiereehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09046660075856894990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-53274064752770709172012-01-13T13:15:52.240+00:002012-01-13T13:15:52.240+00:00I have this book with me and have not got to it as...I have this book with me and have not got to it as yet. This review definitely makes me want to read it asap.Mysticahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10941269615559681014noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-11436563722817138242012-01-12T16:38:17.996+00:002012-01-12T16:38:17.996+00:00Victoria- that did make me laugh, the image of you...<b>Victoria</b>- that did make me laugh, the image of you having to go and retract some of your enthusiasm! I do think it demonstrates the laziest editing ever... the final 180pp are the sort of things Kingsolver should have known, as an author, but needn't have told the reader...<br /><br /><b>Margaret</b> - haha! I've got to say, until the final section of the book, I did love Rachel. I even loved her a fair bit at the end, racism aside. Her sassy expressions were a joy!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-66576380957902262372012-01-12T16:36:34.420+00:002012-01-12T16:36:34.420+00:00Julia - hurrah for shared opinions! I shall certa...<b>Julia</b> - hurrah for shared opinions! I shall certainly look into some of her other novels, but I intend to steer a bit clear of Lacuna, since it's so mammoth...<br /><br /><b>Anon</b> - thank you very much, whoever you are!<br /><br /><b>Teresa</b> - "cheap shots against an easy target" - that's EXACTLY what it was! I wish I'd thought of that phrase ;) I am so dearly loving how many of us are in agreement...StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-60289729591041298702012-01-12T16:34:39.826+00:002012-01-12T16:34:39.826+00:00CBF - thanks :)
Susan - thank you very much! Cur...<b>CBF</b> - thanks :)<br /><br /><b>Susan</b> - thank you very much! Curate's egg reviews are so difficult to write...<br /><br /><b>Laura</b> - thank you! I'm so glad that I'm not a lone voice on this. At one point one of the girls (maybe Adah?) says "It's good that Nathan didn't have any sons, because he might have had to respect them." In the same way, I felt like saying "It's good that Kingsolver didn't have to give Nathan's narrative, because then she might have had to try to understand him."<br />I've only read this and The Bean Trees, so I'll definitely look out for Prodigal Summer, thanks :)StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-86111342892148227942012-01-12T16:32:24.607+00:002012-01-12T16:32:24.607+00:00Alex - that must have made it an extremely interes...<b>Alex</b> - that must have made it an extremely interesting conversation! I have to admit, my understanding of African history is very, very vague... a little less vague now, of course!<br /><br /><b>Sakura</b> - thanks for your generous comment :) And I do agree that, since Nathan wasn't given any first-person narrative, he never really stood a chance... so I shouldn't judge Kingsolver on what she *didn't* do, I guess, but I still thought people like Anitole came over much more realistically.<br /><br /><b>Laura</b> - thanks! I've got to say, novels about colonialism are far from my favourite thing, especially when they're not written by people from the colonised countries, so Kingsolver did well for me to love so much of it!StuckInABookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10017836017530130716noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-18058276724617955912012-01-12T16:12:15.838+00:002012-01-12T16:12:15.838+00:00Kingsolver grew up about an hour from where I live...Kingsolver grew up about an hour from where I live. I read Poisonwood Bible many years ago. As Rachel might say, "it wore me to a frazzle."Margaret W.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-28677712085639636502012-01-12T08:07:23.742+00:002012-01-12T08:07:23.742+00:00Yes! I remember being so frustrated and horrified ...Yes! I remember being so frustrated and horrified that after the emotional crescendo of the family's time in the Congo, Kingsolver slowly lets the air go out of the novel. It feels like a let down balloon by the time you finish it. I felt like a fraud for having raved about it to friends while I was reading it, and then having to retract my more enthusiastic comments in the end.VictoriaHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00876919078493778701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-65833926197450872762012-01-12T01:27:28.781+00:002012-01-12T01:27:28.781+00:00This is *exactly* how I felt about this book. It w...This is *exactly* how I felt about this book. It was such a frustrating book for me because it was often so very good, but then it got downright terrible, both in the characterization of Nathan, which struck me as being cheap shots against an easy target, and in the fact that it ended and then kept going. <br /><br />I did like The Bean Trees and plan to read Pigs in Heaven one day, but I was so exasperated by this book that I'm avoiding her longer books. Everything I've read about them leads me to think I'd feel the same.Teresahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09896331683344872038noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-62161734385402186122012-01-12T00:21:46.336+00:002012-01-12T00:21:46.336+00:00I'm with Susan in TX on this one. But an exc...I'm with Susan in TX on this one. But an excellent review Simon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-77580201302151418652012-01-11T18:18:33.177+00:002012-01-11T18:18:33.177+00:00Simon, I am with you! I loved Animal Dreams and Th...Simon, I am with you! I loved <em>Animal Dreams</em> and <em>The Bean Trees</em> but couldn't get into <em>Poisonwood</em> at all; I thought it was a disappointment - while feeling simultaneously, as you did, that she is very talented. You're not alone. :) I do have <em>The Lacuna</em> waiting in the wings, so we'll see how she does on one more try.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-55826985503548358252012-01-11T17:29:34.358+00:002012-01-11T17:29:34.358+00:00I completely agree with this review, and am so ple...I completely agree with this review, and am so pleased to find someone not raving about 'The Poisonwood Bible'! Nathan, as the most difficult character for a modern reader to understand, desperately needed a narrative voice and a more nuanced personality. I thought there were similar problems with 'The Lacuna', although I also enjoyed 'The Bean Trees'. Have you read 'Prodigal Summer'? It's my favourite Kingsolver so far, although it can still occasionally be quite heavy-handed when she steps on her soapbox...Laura Tisdallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15428346515788046138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-82101731435619083132012-01-11T14:04:12.301+00:002012-01-11T14:04:12.301+00:00I read this one a few years back, and didn't c...I read this one a few years back, and didn't care for it. You did an excellent job in this review of covering "the good, the bad, and the ugly."Susan in TXhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09550766549670690646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-39335196669661517962012-01-11T13:08:12.787+00:002012-01-11T13:08:12.787+00:00Our review here: http://www.curiousbookfans.co.uk/...Our review here: http://www.curiousbookfans.co.uk/2010/fiction-books/4067/the-poisonwood-bible-barbara-kingsolver#contentCuriousBookFanhttp://www.curiousbookfans.co.uk/2010/fiction-books/4067/the-poisonwood-bible-barbara-kingsolver#contentnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-64227701886639257622012-01-11T12:55:06.184+00:002012-01-11T12:55:06.184+00:00Excellent review Simon. I read this book shortly ...Excellent review Simon. I read this book shortly after publication, and was "wowed" by it, but then again it was probably the first book I'd read that touched on colonialism, so there were many cultural revelations. And my reading tastes have evolved considerably since then as well, so I kind of wonder what I'd think of it today?Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07219439074687598827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-80309248189163373102012-01-11T11:07:55.343+00:002012-01-11T11:07:55.343+00:00I really loved this book especially because it sur...I really loved this book especially because it surprised me - I didn't expect to like it much. Although I do agree that the character of Nathan could have been more fully realised, most of the book was from the point of view of the women, so I guess in a way, you can only see it from that (I know, I'm being defensive!) However, I'm glad you read it and your thoughts have given a different perspective on the novel!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-446727280609751914.post-4122771450556089002012-01-11T09:48:34.589+00:002012-01-11T09:48:34.589+00:00I read this one with my bookclub a couple of years...I read this one with my bookclub a couple of years ago and remember that we thought the same thing: less is more. <br /><br />It was a particularly good bookclub because we're expats in Brussels and what really happened in the Congo is still a very tabu topic here in Belgium.Alex (The Sleepless Reader)https://www.blogger.com/profile/03083761152675156469noreply@blogger.com