Poison Wood Bible #5
Contemplating what I have just read and criticized by Kingsolver I would say overall I was a little harsh in my review of her writing style. Having looked back at my own work and other authors pieces I have found that Kingsolver’s way of writing is not far off of mine. Maybe because of this similarity it caused so much frustration for me while I read the book. I find that when I write what I am thinking in my head does not always reflect what is on the paper and I think that is exactly what Kingsolver was experiencing while she was writing the Poisonwood Bible. Do to seeing my own writing style in the book it made me want to hate it more.
Another reason I might have been so critical of the novel is I have been comparing it in my mind to some of the best books I have ever read and this novel stands no chance against the greats rather I should be comparing it to books more in its league. If I had taken this book for what it was and not set such a high bar for it to achieve maybe I would have actually found pleasure in reading it. This book should be placed up against other school required readings, not American classics. For a while, I was thinking this is like reading Gone with the Wind a book I didn’t really enjoy. I thought this because of the way the story was laid out before the reader in both books with no clear plot just serious events scattered throughout. Yet this wasn’t a fair comparison at all the difference between these two stories was the caliber of writing. Gone with the Wind even though I disliked the story I still was drawn to reading the next page. With this book, I never experienced that because the captivating parts of the novel were so rushed.
If The Poisonwood Bible was compared to say All the Light We Cannot See it would be equally as good. Just a brief story with little trouble throughout and one major event towards the end of the story to sort of make it all worthwhile to read. Pinning the book against competition like this makes it seem not so terrible and probably allows the novel to cater to a larger market of readers. However, anyone who has read books slightly more advanced in writing style can see that this book is missing some key elements in making it into something unforgettable.
I would not recommend this book to other readers just because I feel there are better books out there people should before choosing this as a pleasure book. I wonder why this book was chosen for the AP Literature curriculum I do not see the lesson that this book is supposed to convey in the classroom.
Another reason I might have been so critical of the novel is I have been comparing it in my mind to some of the best books I have ever read and this novel stands no chance against the greats rather I should be comparing it to books more in its league. If I had taken this book for what it was and not set such a high bar for it to achieve maybe I would have actually found pleasure in reading it. This book should be placed up against other school required readings, not American classics. For a while, I was thinking this is like reading Gone with the Wind a book I didn’t really enjoy. I thought this because of the way the story was laid out before the reader in both books with no clear plot just serious events scattered throughout. Yet this wasn’t a fair comparison at all the difference between these two stories was the caliber of writing. Gone with the Wind even though I disliked the story I still was drawn to reading the next page. With this book, I never experienced that because the captivating parts of the novel were so rushed.
If The Poisonwood Bible was compared to say All the Light We Cannot See it would be equally as good. Just a brief story with little trouble throughout and one major event towards the end of the story to sort of make it all worthwhile to read. Pinning the book against competition like this makes it seem not so terrible and probably allows the novel to cater to a larger market of readers. However, anyone who has read books slightly more advanced in writing style can see that this book is missing some key elements in making it into something unforgettable.
I would not recommend this book to other readers just because I feel there are better books out there people should before choosing this as a pleasure book. I wonder why this book was chosen for the AP Literature curriculum I do not see the lesson that this book is supposed to convey in the classroom.
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