The Poisonwood Bible – Barbara Kingsolver

I expected not to like this. I think I am suspicious of “worldwide bestseller” type stuff because I equate popularity with poor quality. To be fair, the rule holds true most of the time.

Anyway, this was brilliant. The plot involves a nutty missionary taking his wives and daughters to 1960s Congo with predictably awful consequences. Each of the female characters takes turns to narrate events, and each of them is convincing and well-differentiated. The reader is sucked into their hellish and touching existence and I was very affected by some of the events.

Kingsolver also extends her ambition to a wider view of African history and colonialism, which doesn’t work quite as well but was educational to me.