Pajiba

Brian, definitely check out Animal Vegetable Miracle, I think you'll find its style is what you liked best about Poisonwood.

This is one of my all time favourite books. I think it's so well written, how each family member had an individual voice. Adah was my favourite, easily. It's probably not a book to rush through though, it's one to take your time over.

I've read two of her earlier books (The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven) and really enjoyed them, but they are very different to this one, much simpler reads. I'd still recommend them though.

You might want to change the author's name--she's Kingsolver not Kingslover. It made me laugh like a 3 year old for about a minute because I'm a loser like that.

Stella:

I agree that she does (finally) make that point. Although I couldn't help getting the feeling that it came as the begrudged suggestion of her editor. I admire very much what she tried to achieve. I just couldn't help thinking that her fiction much more powerfully makes points about land stewardship and responsible living since it's cast in the context of people trying hard to live lives that are not padded in book royalties. And yes, they did buy fairtrade sustainable coffee beans but there are fairtrade sustainable banana plantations also, so I had to wonder how she was able to justify the coffee. I suppose the book just disappointed me because her fiction shows a lot of compassion for people who are struggling and her fiction also is good at showing the flaws in the zealot (i.e., Poisonwood Bible) but she seemed to be incapable of seeing this in herself.

I loved both Poisonwood Bible and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I think Kingsolver is a fantastic writer. I would agree that the last part of PB drags a bit, but I found myself really engrossed in the lives of the sisters - I wasn't racing to finish it either, so that probably helped!

Paddy, I'm surprised you found Kingsolver preachy and self-righteous. Kingsolver states at the beginning of the book that this was a family experiment. She says upfront that most people can't replicate the way they lived on their "live off the land" year. I really liked that they, as a family, made a decision to try to grow their own produce and to purchase what they needed within their county. They decided to each have a "cheat" item or two - which is where the coffee comes in - that they couldn't get close to home.

She also writes that after that experimental year, they thought they would continue with some parts of it, but not all. The gist of her book, to me, was that they wanted to experiment to see exactly what was feasible. They never intended to do it all permanently, nor did she say that YOU should. I like that they gave ideas for how you can, though, if you so choose.

I found the book to be one of the singularly most inspiring things I've ever read. I've got a small selection of heritage tomato seeds I'll be starting (this week!), and want to purchase more produce from farmers' markets this year. I'd love to give a copy of this book to everyone I know!

Angelbabe, have you read about "Lasagna Gardening"? It is a FANTASTIC book about how to build raised beds for gardening that practically ensures no need for weeding. (Incidentally, Kingsolver uses this method, with mixed results, in her garden)... but at any rate, it worked great for me, I get a stray weed every now and then (fuck you, you scraggly little grass runners!) but overall my plants are ever so happy in their new beds. And since Austin is in an "extreme" drought, it allows me to be water-wise as well.
You can also use the 'lasagna' methode for container gardening as well. I've brought plants back from near death using that method.

I started but didn't get very far into Poisonwood Bible for the same reasons as you. I tried to read it from the perspective of someone who enjoys hearing about missionaries getting their comeuppance when spreading the word of Jeebus, but I couldn't even get to that. The characters were so despicable and the book unbearably slow. It actually tainted my view of Kingsolver until I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and realized that she seems rather likable and sane.

I didn't get any sense of preachiness from her in AVM. She clearly states that this was a one year, family experiement, and that she is very fortunate to have the resources she does that allowed her to do it. She also says that everyone was allowed one exception, and her husband chose coffee. I don't remember the other details exactly, but maybe no one in the household had chosen bananas as their exception, which is why the friend was denied (although I don't remember this part of the book at all). The book isn't meant to make you feel bad about not being as privileged as their family, but to show what we are capable of doing if we just rethink our food priorities. And this sense of privilege is ironic because they had to live like honest to god, non industrial farmers in order for their venture to be successful. They had to work their asses off in the dirt and muck on a daily basis, as opposed to preaching from a Whole Foods throne.

You're more adventurous than I am, Angelbabe,I haven't dared try to grow beans or anything that adventurous. I planted a bunch of herbs last summer and am thrilled with how well they're doing, even when I am a bad gardener for neglecting to water them (for like 2 months).
This year I'm going to try my hand at tomatoes, and spirits willing, we'll have a decent growing season.

I don't know if it helps anyone who didn't like the book (especially the second half) -- but the book is not really about missionaries and mission work, per se. It seems to me that it's about American imperialism (cultural and economic) and its impact at the micro-level (Nathan as imperialist patriarch; his family and the Colgolese villagers as subjects) and the macro-level (what American meddling does to the country itself). Each of the girls represents a perspective/response to imperialism -- from being utterly destroyed by it to assimilating it completely. Orelanna, as mother figure, is a strange character to be sure, but her voice reflects that same micro/macro position -- she is guilty because she did not do enough to save her family, but also because she did not do enough to resist what her country was doing, and at the same time, she struggles with the sense of being powerless to do anything about either, given her subject position.

To me, Adah is the most interesting character, especially when **Spoiler Alert** we find out there was never anything wrong with her. I do wonder how/why anyone would see the book as racist... it seems to me to work very hard to put a human face on an African tragedy -- although there's no question that there are racist characters in the novel itself.