243:) to witness what is going on with the independence in the Congo. Methuselah (a parrot the Prices adopted from the previous missionary) dies, and Adah finds his feathers. Ruth May becomes very sick and lies in bed for the majority of the day. Leah begins to spend a lot of time with Anatole, Kilanga's teacher, discussing topics such as justice and the Congo. Leah wants to participate in the hunt, which upsets the village elders, as it would go against their custom, but she eventually is allowed to participate and even hunts an antelope.
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The Price family packs up their belongings for their flight to the Congo, where they are going to spend a year as the family of a missionary. However, shortly before leaving, they are informed that they are limited to 44 pounds of luggage per person. The
Southern Baptist Mission League suggests they
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Leah and her twin Adah begin to spy on Eeben
Axelroot, the pilot who conveyed the family to Kilanga, and Nathan tries to convince Congolese men, one by one, to convert to Christianity. Meanwhile, five-year-old Ruth May befriends the village children. She finds out about Axelroot's business with the
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snake. A scream and gasp is heard from Ruth May, who has been bitten by the snake. The girls watch her turn cold and blue before she dies. Orleanna becomes filled with guilt over Ruth May's death, and takes the other children away, leaving her arrogant husband to fend for himself. With
Anatole's
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The story ends with a final chapter from Ruth May reflecting on her sisters and mother attempting to visit her grave, but not being able to find it, and a woman telling them a place named
Kilanga never existed. She watches her sisters and her mother, and has seen how they have matured; she has
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and wants to learn more about the condition); Leah marries
Anatole and they start a family together; Rachel remains perceptive but vain and distrustful of men, goes through a string of marriages, and starts a business; and Nathan dies in his unsuccessful mission: killed by a mob of Kilanga's
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The Price daughters – Rachel, Leah, Adah and Ruth May – and their mother, Orleanna, and father, Nathan, attend their first church service in the village of
Kilanga, and they realize how different their culture is from that of the Congo. For example, 14-year-old Leah helps her father plant a
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from birth. Silent, but witty, she is brilliant in math and languages, but is envious of her twin. She is also skeptical, sarcastic, envious, and prone to self-pity. She likes to think about things backwards as well as forwards, and is fond of
27:
228:"demonstration garden"; it immediately receives criticism from Mama Tataba, whom the family has engaged as a live-in maid, and the garden does poorly due to the inappropriate climate. Nathan tries to hold an impromptu
271:, and a part of all that is around her. Ruth May only wants her mother to understand the concept and for her to move on. She asks for her mother to forgive herself and not live with the guilt anymore.
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celebration in hopes of baptizing numerous people, but he is unable to carry this out, as the river along the village, where he plans to hold the baptism, is infested with crocodiles.
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Mama Tataba – a village woman, formerly employed by Fowles, who works for the Prices. Best known and celebrated for her prestigious quote, 'You got to be make hills'.
300:) minister and a World War II veteran from Georgia, determined to "save Africa for Jesus". He feels guilt for having survived the war while his comrades died.
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solve this problem by leaving for the airport wearing many layers of clothing, hiding household items among the layers of clothes to lighten their luggage.
409:, based on mostly American publications, the book received "rave" reviews based on five critic reviews, with three being "rave" and two being "positive".
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expression "Tata Jesus is bängala" with the intent of saying "Jesus is most precious". In his hurried mispronunciation, he actually says "Jesus is
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The remaining Price sisters go through many different life changes: Adah dedicates herself to getting a scientific education back home (she is
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Ruth May Price (5 at the start of the novel) – the youngest Price girl; she is playful, independent, adventurous, perceptive, and inquisitive.
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After Mama Tataba departs, an orphan boy named Nelson becomes the family servant. Nathan and Leah go to
Leopoldville (present day
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Anatole Ngemba – the village teacher; an orphan, his fluency in
English allows him to be an interpreter for Nathan's sermons.
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Nelson – an orphaned village boy; he is
Anatole's student who works for the Prices. He is forced to sleep outside in the
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Orleanna Price, the mother of the family, narrates the introductory chapter in five of the novel's seven sections. The
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to develop a TV adaptation of
Kingsolver's novel. Adams and O’Neil will executive produce the limited series, while
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twin; intelligent, self-confident, competitive, and tenacious. The most outspoken of the women, Leah is prone to
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The girls all gather together in the morning to check out the chicken coop. Inside they find footprints and a
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The four girls increasingly mature and develop differently as each adapts to African village life and the
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Brother Fowles – a New Yorker; the Prices' predecessor on the mission. Married to Céline, a local woman.
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192:. The father of the family creates his own "misprint" of the Bible. He concludes his sermons with the
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matured as well. Through her death, she finally is able to understand the Congolese term
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686:"Amy Adams Sets First-Look Deal at HBO, to Develop 'Poisonwood Bible' Limited Series"
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In March 2019, Bond Group Entertainment – a production company launched by actress
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Orleanna Price – Nathan's wife, and the mother of their four daughters. Born in
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villagers when they blame him for a crocodile attack on a boat of children.
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with a slight preference for the voice of the most conflicted one, Leah.
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left by Brother Fowles; it is excellent at imitating human speech.
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in 1999. Additionally that year, the book was a finalist for the
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Rachel Price (15 at start of the novel) – the oldest Price girl;
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Holding the Line: Women in the Great Arizona Mine Strike of 1983
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and self-centered, she is obsessed with her looks and American
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family, the Prices, who in 1959 move from the U.S. state of
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566:"'The Poisonwood Bible': A Family a Heart of Darkness"
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Tata Kuvudundu – the spiritual leader of the village.
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Adah Price (14 at start of the novel) – Leah's twin,
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chiefs who welcome and send supplies to the Prices.
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422:called the book "powerful", but said the social
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314:Leah Price (14 at start of the novel) – Adah's
220:that overtakes the Belgian Congo in the 1960s.
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960:PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction-winning works
860:(with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver)
593:"The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver"
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516:. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 34–.
493:and Kingsolver are writing the screenplay.
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656:"A Good Read: Marian Keyes and Nikki Bedi"
432:, reviewing the book in British newspaper
212:then alternates among the four daughters,
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459:In March 2016, the book was discussed on
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654:; Producer: Sally Heaven (2016-03-22).
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292:Nathan Price – Orleanna's husband. An
93:Print (hardback & paperback) and
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251:help, they eventually reach safety.
851:Last Stand: America's Virgin Lands
510:Kris Fulkerson (4 February 2010).
169:, is a best-selling novel about a
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485:– secured a first-look deal with
236:diamonds after breaking her arm.
177:to the village of Kilanga in the
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734:Democratic Republic of the Congo
564:Kakutani, Michiko (1998-10-16).
377:Tata Ndu – the chief of Kilanga.
104:546 (hardcover), 543 (paperback)
16:1998 novel by Barbara Kingsolver
703:Barbara Kingsolver talks about
619:"The Pulitzer Prizes: Fiction"
426:were at times "heavy-handed".
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935:Novels by Barbara Kingsolver
452:in fiction. It won the 2000
188:The novel's title refers to
945:Novels set in Belgian Congo
591:Mullan, John (2013-05-03).
358:Eeben Axelroot – a corrupt
322:and concerned with her own
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799:Homeland and Other Stories
664:. 00:40 minutes in. BBC.
950:Novels about missionaries
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351:The Underdowns – Belgian
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538:"The Poisonwood Bible"
20:The Poisonwood Bible
930:1998 American novels
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705:The Poisonwood Bible
442:The Poisonwood Bible
399:Reception and awards
162:The Poisonwood Bible
154:PS3561.I496 P65 1998
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415:The New York Times
167:Barbara Kingsolver
57:Historical fiction
38:Barbara Kingsolver
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55:Literary fiction
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598:The Guardian
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483:Stacy O'Neil
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879:Unsheltered
729:Congo River
666:BBC Radio 4
661:A Good Read
642:Presenter:
473:Adaptations
466:A Good Read
461:BBC Radio 4
454:Boeke Prize
430:John Mullan
412:Writing in
336:palindromes
294:evangelical
287:Mississippi
248:green mamba
183:Kwilu River
165:(1998), by
924:Categories
865:The Lacuna
671:2017-08-30
652:Nikki Bedi
628:2017-08-30
604:2017-08-30
577:2017-08-30
549:16 January
543:Book Marks
497:References
424:allegories
406:Book Marks
331:hemiplegic
280:The Prices
256:hemiplegic
198:poisonwood
171:missionary
142:813/.54 21
774:Works by
479:Amy Adams
363:mercenary
360:Afrikaner
324:salvation
320:dogmatism
316:tomboyish
210:narrative
62:Publisher
718:See also
241:Kinshasa
129:38916924
95:audio-CD
44:Language
353:mission
194:Kikongo
175:Georgia
47:English
914:Novels
900:Portal
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392:parrot
365:pilot.
305:blonde
230:Easter
66:Harper
34:Author
269:muntu
265:muntu
101:Pages
52:Genre
551:2024
518:ISBN
204:Plot
123:OCLC
110:ISBN
77:1998
487:HBO
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