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Book Review of The Poisonwood Bible

The Poisonwood Bible
reviewed on
Helpful Score: 3


The fictional story covers a family's missionary journey into the Congo, in the early '60's. It is told from the perspective of the mother and each of the four daughters in the family. In reading the same story from five different viewpoints you glean a rich, complex retelling of the almost 2 years spent in Africa. It also sets the stage for the later portion of the book as each daughter tells her story after leaving the Congo one fateful night, each going her own separate way.

In reading the story, I not only learned a bit of Congo history, as it is historical fiction and historically accurate in its details, I also learned a bit more about myself in my reactions to the characters and their actions.