It took me a while, but I finally finished Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible last week. It was an epic tale and a brilliant story.
It begins when a family from the southern United States moves to the Congo. The preacher father has decided to become a missionary to the peoples of Africa. From the start, I knew I wouldn't like this guy and I didn't....but, then, I'm not meant to like him. His four daughters and wife must completely change their way of life when they move across the world....but in end, Africa changes them. The trials they encounter and unlike any they have known - starvation, poverty, wild weather, death, malaria, polygamy....
Kingsolver tells her story mainly through the varying eyes of the four daughters - each one altogether different but all impacted by their childhood experiences in the Congo. In the end, two will stay in Africa indefinitely while two will drift away...and back.
I'd never read much fiction about Africa but this was a great place to start. Here I was avoiding Oprah's Book Club picks, but she did well with this one. It was a captivating read and the end left me truly speechless. I highly recommend it!
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