The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver was published in 1998 and is the story of colonizers in Kilanga on the African continent.  Nathan Price takes his family to Belgian occupied Congo, and the story is told from the point of the view of his wife, Orleanna, and his daughters, Rachel, Leah, Ada, and Ruth May. 

I loved this story, but at times, I wanted to smack Nathan Price and rescue his family from his dogma and bullying. This story made me wonder if we give enough consideration to the hands that provide our needs for us. It also made me wonder if we could eliminate war by getting know each other better and stopped trying to make those around us be like us but accepted each other for who we are. It made me think about what we as individuals create and what the earth creates. 

Quotes I liked:

"If God had amused himself inventing the lilies of the field, he surely knocked His own socks off with the African parasites" (76).

"Given my own circumstances, I find that anything can turn out to belong nearly anywhere" (409).

". . . to trust in Creation, which is made fresh daily and doesn't suffer in translation" (525).

This book is beautifully written, and makes me question why we think we have the right to try to change others when they are fine just the way they are. Ada was my favorite character.  

Read to a child today even if that child is you. 

Link to our NICU book registry to donate books to babies in the newborn intensive care unit so their parents can read to them while they grow. You can also donate gently used books to our project by sending them to me or to Angie. Email me for a mailing address. We can use both English and Spanish books. If you have a graduate of the NICU, or if you have a baby whose life you would like to honor by donating books to this project, let me know, and I can make a book plate with their name for the books you donate.