'The Poisonwood Bible' by Barbara Kingsolver

The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver (3.5)

After reading ‘Animal Dreams’ by Barbara Kingsolver many of my friends insisted I read this book, as it was her most famous. The basic story is of a Baptist minister who takes his wife and four daughters to the Congo in the 60’s in order to ‘save’ the natives by introducing them to Jesus.  During this time, the Congolese are trying to become independent from Belgium, though (as we know now) the US interferes and placed their own puppet as leader.  While I appreciate the scope and depth of this book as it relates to the characters, the culture of Africa and the political history of the Congo, I think I enjoyed ‘Animal Dreams’ more.  They both had generally depressing themes, but ‘Animal Dreams’ managed to surround the sadness with positive notes.  ‘The Poisonwood Bible’ tried to honor the beauty and uniqueness of the African people, but somehow that only made the actions of the Preacher and political realities more horrific.  I also found the ‘bad’ characters very one-dimensional.  There was virtually nothing to like about or empathize with them. The protagonists were much more fleshed out, all fighting their positive features against the negative.  Once I had finished this book, I definitely appreciated it, though found it very sad. I don’t think all books need to be positive, but I found that I missed the joy of the African people that could have been more prevalent. It seemed to be squelched by this depressing family.