The Poisonwood Bible first impressionss

I recently picked up the book The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver from the Library. I was a bit worried about the book. It’s from the point of view of a white american baptist family moving to the Congo just before revolution hits. I was afraid this book would turn out like those action movies coming out of late, in which a white person goes to a foreign country dominated people of color, and has to survive this savage world full of nameless natives while shit hits the fan. I then found out that The Poisonwood Bible is in Oprah’s Book Club, and since I doubt Oprah would like a book with a racist narrative, I finally got past the first page. And wow is this book self aware. All four of the daughters are racist in some way, shape, or form, from very blatant to subtle. This is quite obviously done purposefully by the author, so I’m excited to see how the girls will grow. The first chapter quite surprised me as well, actually. It opened with a description by the girl's mother of taking them on a picnic through the Congo jungle. The mother states that she is in america again, and how the book will be about the experience of living in the Congo. She also talks about her daughter’s knowing that some are a lot less deserving of sympathy than others. It’s startling, and makes me wonder about what to expect from this book. I am excited to continue reading this book, and can only hope it will as interesting as the first ten chapters make it seem. I do want to learn more about the Congo and the state of colonization and segregation in that part of Africa. I don’t know much about Africa in that era in general, actually, except for some knowledge about Apartheid in South Africa. I’m excited to watch this prideful family learn humility, and learn a bit more about the Congo, myself. I'll keep this blog updated as I progress onward with this book.