We had some pretty heated discussing going on for The Poisonwood Bible. I would have loved to have kept up with it because it’s fun to beat Rich into a bloody pulp over his staunch "masculinism," but I ran out of energy because of having to work fourteen hours a day. Tripp also raised some interesting points about grace and sin, and the posts are still there in case anyone is still up to putting in their two cents.

The topics for discussion petered out after three days because Barbara went away at the end of the week. She sent me an e-mail about bringing up redemption/salvation as a topic, but I dropped the ball on it. Have I mentioned I work fourteen hours a day? Anyway, she didn’t actually complete her thought on it and I haven’t been fully coherent until now.

I’m also starting to get the impression that three days worth of discussion is enough. BookBlog has been going for four full months now and we’ve yet to talk about any books for five days. Anyone have any additional thoughts on making improvements/changes to our format?

Thank you everybody for putting so much thought into this discussion. What a gifted group of writers you are. Your comments are so well stated and full of such lovely phrasing. And you play so well together. ; )

It seems there is still plenty of meat left in yesterday's comments upon which to gnaw. So continue on or...chew on this question: How do you measure guilt and sin in The Poisonwood Bible? Mary pointed out one fairly major failing: "why it took the death of a child to get Orleanna’s butt in gear." Sarah observed Orleanna's guilt and inability to forgive herself. Choose a character and name their sin. Do they feel guilty? Should they be forgiven?

Right off the bat...Rachel is a tapestry of justice. It's a women's provactive to change and yet she doesn't. She is guilty of not being moved enough by her experiences or growing more in her conciousness. And I don't forgive her. I don't think Leah does either.

Okay kids...you are on your own. I'm heading straight into the teeth of Isadore for a long weekend. I'll leave one more question for tomorrow, but I'll leave it to Mary to post. It may well be that your comments today will overlap the topic. (i wish this thing had spellcheck)

HI again. Didja see that beautiful moon last night??

I had a topic in mind for today's discussion of The Poisonwood Bible, but after reading Rich's comments, I would really like to pursue one of his observations. You don't mind, do you Rich? I was very intrigued and think it is a great springboard for diving deeper.

Rich said; "...but to invent a fictional group of characters for the particular purpose of showing man's inhumanity to woman, and to spend so much verbiage lamenting the plight and exploitation of women...is anathema to me" And "it felt like one long radical-feminist sermon."

Rich's remarks go directly to the question of what it is the author is trying to say. Is she writing a rad-fem tome? Or is this social/politcal commentary drenched in sweat? Or is it mostly a fully fleshed indictment of missionary zeal? I will refrain from offering my opinion just now...because I am at work and just got handed a pile of crap to do before 5:00. doh!

Greetings. Happy Autumnal Equinox to you all. To start things off, how about we just ease into it with first impressions/ reactions of The Poisonwood Bible. Was this a good book? What hooked you into the story and kept you reading...or did you have to work at it? Was there anything in the story or writing style that rankled you or stuck in your craw?

Right off the bat, it's no secret that I like this author. One of the elements that really pulled me in was the setting. For me, part of the adventure of reading is experiencing new places, or witnessing a character's unique impression of the familiar. The descriptions and images of the Congo were so vivid. My only frame of reference other than Nat'l Geographic pictures would be movies: mere visual depictions. As I get older, my imagination is stiffening in tandem with my knees. So I need a lot of help getting a feel for a place. This is an author that really delivers. I could hear the squawk of Methuselah, smell the assorted acrid stenches, feel the steamy, sticky swelter, see the loud clash of clothing, and taste the goat stew and fufu. Texture everywhere. It is a sure bet that, after reading this, I won't be making any travel plans.

Hi everybody. So here we are just ten days away from discussion of Poisonwood Bible. Guess I better hurry up & finish Cold Mountain and start reading the Bible. Just out of curiosity, who has read Ms Kingsolver before? Which titles?

And would anybody be willing to moderate the discussion for the 2nd half of the week...Thurs and Fri? I know I'm a big-loser-pain-in-the-ass for doing this...but I am going out of town the last weekend of Sept. I will not have access to a computer after Wed 5pm. (oh wow!! I just figured out the movable type tricks. I am sooooo slow)