Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

29 reviews

jade_smith's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

 Quite simply, I'm in awe of Barbara Kingsolver's ability to tell a story. Each of the characters in this book had such a distinct character voice -- I don't think I've ever read a novel that balanced adajcent character POVs so masterfully. The development of the way these women understood the world around them (and indeed the refusal to understand the world around them in the case of Rachel) felt true to life, and provided a grounded core for a intricate piece of historical fiction.

I've been obsessed with Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" ever since I read it in high school because of it's complex position as a piece of early post-colonial literature written from a (contemporaneously) critical Western perspective. "The Poisonwood Bible" is the successor that I've been unconsciously searching for since then -- a rich and raw examination of Africa's interior, grounded in themes of womanhood, community, and exploitation of power. Kingsolver's descriptions of nature are just as vivid as Conrad's, evoking the humid extremes of the Congo. But, Kingsolver's work is also self-conscious in an immensely important way -- it understands discourses of whiteness, and mythologies of the so-called civilised West. It centers women, and quite justly draws together ideas of racism, misogyny, and class oppression as different heads of the same beast. The villain is not the dark of the Congo, and the problem is not individual men driven to madness by the darkness, but rather it is systems, invented, controlled and perpetuated by Western hegemony. This is something that I believe Kingsolver characteristically does well -- she understands the role of systems in a broken society.

This is one of those rare books that make me want to sit down and write an essay about it. The word I keep coming back to is "rich", because that's what this novel is. From the characters, to the prose, to it's malleable moral compass and multitude of themes, "Poisonwood Bible" is quite simply, very, very good.

Also, any work of fiction that comes with a two-page bibliography at the back instantly has my heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Classism

havennnofjoyy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Very beautifully written, and some of the characters struggles are relatable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Sexual content and War

Minor: Vomit and Murder

jackbifrost's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation

amyford's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Moderate: Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

bookish_bry's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is beautiful. There are so many fantastic quotes I ended up highlighting and I imagine I'll find more when I read it again. It's very good, but it is a slow read. It's not just getting the slow tag because its <500 words (like some get). It is a slow story and is more of an extended metaphor in most places than a story. Still, it was a fantastic book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Racism, and Grief

sare1125's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Grief, and Religious bigotry

fpcat99's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

sylviet's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, and Fire/Fire injury

bmpicc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was my 3rd book by Kingsolver. It took me longer than expected, but I'm glad I didn't rush and risk missing something. Why then 3 stars? Simple. I enjoyed it, but 546 pages still seemed like a bit much. It is an interesting character study and I think whether you are religious or not, there is (or could be) a takeaway for each reader.

"As long as I kept moving, my grief streamed out behind me like a swimmer's long hair in water. I knew the weight was there but it didn't touch me."

"There are Christians and then there are Christian."

"The power is in the balance: we are our injuries, as much as we are our successes." 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, War, and Classism

amsswim's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I think this is going in not only 5 star category, but favorites and best books I've read categories. Not only was the story good, but the writing kept me engaged and seeking more the whole time. This author had such beautiful and realistic ways of making these characters come to life, as well as tie in real world implications and reflections. 

You follow 4 daughters, their Mother, and Baptist Pastor Father deep into the Congo on their Fathers' mission to convert the people living there to Western Christianity. While the family goes through culture shock regarding that and their new realities, the country is self is trying to shed itself of Belgian colonialism. Despite it taking place in the 1960s, the story and the real world events occuring now still echo the exact same. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a more modern classic. 

My favorite quote: "I found ... I had now wings ... I had lost my wings. Don't ask me how I gained them back, the story is too unbearable. I believed too long in false reassurances; believing as we all want to, when men speak of the national interests that it is also ours. In the end, my lot was cast with The Congo. Poor Congo; barefoot bride of men who took her jewels and promised the kingdom"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Medical content, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury