A walk through my mind

Book Recommendation

I'm taking AP Lit this year at my high school, so one of the books I am reading this year is The Poisonwood Bible. Since I'm a speed reader, I've already finished it and I had to write about it because it was just so damn amazing.

First of all, the book is written amazingly well. It's written from five different points of view, a mother and her four daughters, but each character has such a distinctly different voice that it's not easy to get confused.

The story follows the journey of a nearly fanatical Baptist preacher, Nathan Price, his wife, Orleanna, and his four children, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May. They travel to the Congo in the late 1950s, in the wake of the Congolese independence. They are there for just over a year, but the impact that Africa has on them extends way beyond the duration of their missionary trip.

Without spoilering anything, I'll just say that this book is an emotional roller-coaster. It made me laugh, scream in frustration, cry, and stay up much past midnight just thinking about the story.

Although the book is a masterpiece, I'd recommend watching the 2001 film "Lumumba" first, because it gives a ton of political background for the novel. It's in French, but there are English subtitles. Oh, and a word to the weak: this is the kind of movie that keeps your attention like a train wreck.

Please go read this book. It's long, but totally worth it. And if you do read it, shoot me a PM! Even if you hated it, I'd like to know what people think about it.