I recently read Barbara Kingsolver’s book, The Poisonwood Bible, which has been on my ‘to-read’ list for a looong time. It’s set in the DR Congo while the Belgians were still in control (late 50’s) and follows the story of a missionary family through the course of independence and all that follows. Each chapter is written from the perspective of an individual family member, which gives it an interesting flow.
I really enjoyed this book actually. I don’t read a lot of fiction (due to time constraints more than anything else!), but its something I’m trying to rectify. This book blew me away, I thought it was incredibly well written, grabbed me from the start. There is also the added benefit of having been in the DRC recently, which of course gives me a different perspective on things.
There were a few comments that grabbed me in the book, wanted to share them here…
“The church of the lost cause..”
“To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story.”
Anyone else read it? What did you think of it? What grabbed your attention?
That is one of my favourite books too – I remember not being able to put it down when I read it. Just found your blog from Ann Jacksons! Your Christmas dinner looked good.
@ kazzles: glad you enjoyed it too!