Poisonwood

I first read the Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver my freshman year of college. My cousin reccommended it to me, based on my interest in all thing international.

The book tells the story of a Southern Baptist family (mother, father, four daughters) that become missionaries in the African Congo in 1959, a tumultous time during which the Congo was fighting to gain independence from Belgium. The mother and daughters tell the story through insightful narrations.

The reason I love this book is that everything goes HORRIBLY wrong. The preacher/father in the family is completely irresponsible and eventually becomes insane. The mother almost loses her own mind trying to provide for her daughters in the wilds of Africa, and the sisters learn a lot about themselves and life and death, especially when the youngest does die from a snakebite.

I love that everything goes wrong because somtimes - I really despise missionaries. I've traveled a lot, and I've seen the disastrous results of imposed religion. Religion can ruin native cultures, especially in remote, poor areas of the world. I also believe that missionaries should concentrate on feeding the poor, and saving their LIVES - before worrying so much about saving their souls.