Today I’m linking up once again for #Collaboreads! You can read more about the link up here, but the basic synopsis is that you read a book based on that month’s criteria, and then write a review about it! They have even created a mnemonic to review the book. It’s amazing, and I hope you join in with us!
This month’s criteria: A Familiar Favorite.
Book I Chose: The Poisonwood Bible.
Synopsis: The Poisonwood Bible is a story told by the wife and four daughters of Nathan Price, a fierce, evangelical Baptist who takes his family and mission to the Belgian Congo in 1959. They carry with them everything they believe they will need from home, but soon find that all of it — from garden seeds to Scripture — is calamitously transformed on African soil. What follows is a suspenseful epic of one family’s tragic undoing and remarkable reconstruction over the course of three decades in postcolonial Africa.
I first read this book in the summer of 2012. I really enjoyed it, but knew that I wanted and needed to read it again in the future in order to really get a grasp on all the things that happen during the course of the novel. I picked it up up a thrift store this year for a dollar, and was just waiting for the right time to re-read it, which happened during this month, of course! So read on to find out what I think of it.
RIVETING.
What part of the book could you NOT get enough of? This whole book is just fascinating. I’ve seen some reviews say that the book bored them, but not so for me. It grasps me from the first page, and I cannot put it down.
ELEMENTS.
How did you relate/care for the characters? What’s your thought on the plot line and twists and turns? I love all of the characters except Rachel and Nathan, but I am willing to bet they are pretty popular characters to hate. This book is told via multiple view points (the mother, Orleanna and her daughters Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May, which is something I really enjoy, especially in this book, as they all have such unique voices. The twists and turns you don’t necessarily see coming, but are also a fascinating commentary on how one person’s choice can affect multiple people’s lives, as well as how different people experience the same experiences so differently, and let them affect their lives differently, as well.
ASSOCIATE.
What other books are like this one? If none, did it remind you of a particular TV show or movie with it’s themes and characters? For me, at least, this is a very unique book, and one I haven’t read or seen anything like. The Congo is something I do not know much about it, so there’s not much for me to associate it with.
DESIGN.
You know you judged this book by the cover. What did you think of it? How did it relate to the contents of the novel? And the font and layout of the pages? I like the cover, and think it fits well. The font and layout are nothing special, but are fine.
STARS.
How many out of five do you give this book? Would you recommend this book to a friend? When I originally read it, I gave it 3 stars, even though I really enjoyed it. This time around I bumped it to 4 stars. It’s really such a deep, poetic, amazing book, and I would definitely recommend it to a friend.
For Next Month:
January’s criteria is Same First Name, so find an author with the same first name as you, grab one of his or her books, and share it with us next month! We’ll link up on January 25th. Come join us!
