Out of Africa...

Barbara Kingsolver has created a masterpiece of historical fiction, using multiple voices to tell her story, Kingsolver draws the reader in and inspires emotions, for me the primary one was anger, in her readers. The story she tells is of the Price family and their experiences in the Belgian Congo/Zaire that begin in 1959, when the colony first struck out for independence from Belgium. Nathan Price, the patriarch is a Baptist evangelical preacher who takes his family to the Congo where he hopes to baptize and convert (really, in that order) the Congolese residents of the remote village where he and his family are posted. The story is told from the perspective of Orleanna Price, his wife, and his four daughters Rachel, Leah, Adah and Ruth May. I chose the title for this review somewhat ironically, because none of the family ever really leaves Africa. Two of the daughters marry and stay, one dies and is buried there, the other returns to America where she becomes a medical researcher who specializes in tropical diseases. Orleanna remains trapped there by her guilt over the death of her daughter, and Nathan stays until madness takes hold of him and the residents eventually have simply had enough. The first few pages of the book are not as engaging as they should be and I had put the book aside until coming across a review of it here. I am very glad that I gave the novel a second chance, it's great!

The Price Family:

Rev. Nathan Price: Although we never hear directly from this stubborn and misguided man, we hear a lot about him from his wife and daughters, the narrators of this story. Nathan Price is a complex character, his stubborness and devotion (to be generous) stem from his experiences in battle, where he was the only member of his troop to survive an attack. This leaves him scarred psychologically, although I'm not sure it justifies his actions. Our first glimpse into the trouble he is bound to experience in the Congo comes when he sets out to plant a garden with seeds he has brought from America. The Congolese woman who is in charge of cooking for the Price family and helping them survive tells him that he must build hills, and warns him against a tree he is about to chop back "That one bites." The tree is the Poisonwood Tree, and Rev. Price is covered in blisters and a rash the next day because he failed to heed her warning. When the rains come, his garden is washed away and he desperately revives the plants he can and proceeds to create a garden with mounds, as he had been advised. Of course, he pretends this was his idea. As he tries to convince his congregation that they must baptize their children in the river, many flee from his makeshift church. He later learns this is because a child was recently eaten by a crocodile in the very place he was proposing to do the baptisms! Yet this does not stop him, nor do the pleas of his wife and daughters, nor the warnings of other missionaries who are set to leave the Congo on the eve of independence.

Orleanna Price: Nathan's wife, she stands by her man at great peril to herself and her children, but finally gets up and leaves, daughters in tow, when one of them is killed by a snake bite (I will let you read the book to find out which one). Her account is reflective, written from the United States long after her departure from the Congo. She is filled with remorse and guilt as she holds herself responsible for the death of her daughter.

Rachel Price: The oldest daughter, Rachel is vain and shallow. When the village is besieged by driver ants and everyone forced to flee, Rachel retrieves her hand-held mirror. Her concerns all revolve around herself and her appearance, she is not able to get her special shampoo, she misses her sweet sixteen party, her dresses get ruined by the climate....

Leah Price: At first Leah is the one daughter who adores her father, this is somewhat problematical though, because among Rev. Price's "qualities" is a firm misogyny and he is constantly complaining that the Lord only sent him daughters. Leah is a gifted, intelligent child and her father's misguided ways soon leave her disillusioned with him. She learns to love the Congo, makes friends and learns to hunt, a skill that leads to troubles for her family and the village.

Adah Price: Leah's twin, Adah was injured in the womb and has problems moving one side of her body as only one hemisphere of her brain developed. She is also very intelligent, and tends to write in palindromes, allowing Kingslover to make some biting commentaries. As the tale unfolds, Adah makes remarkable transformations.

Ruth May Price: The youngest daughter, Ruth May is the first to make friends in the village of Kilanga where the family is posted. Her youth (she's six) gives her a courageousness that the others lack at first, and she explores and plays with little fear, adopting animals and friends as she goes along.

Character and Plot development

As I mentioned, the book is narrated by all five of the Price women and their characters develop as they recount for us the events that take place during their stay in the Congo, and for two of them, their reflections and developments after returning to the United States. The struggle for independence, the CIA plot to assassinate newley elected President Patrice Lumumba and install US President Eisenhower's choice, the corrupt President Mobutu provides the back-drop for the story. Diamonds and rubber, the main exports and source of wealth prove to be disastrous for the majority of the population, as it is the lust and greed for these commodities that inspires the colonial rulers and later, the US interference in this countries independence.

Final recommendation:

I strongly recommend this novel. It is a great read, well written and historically accurate. Kingsolver's parents were health workers and she lived in the Congo as a girl, and also lived in other places in Africa. Although she could not return at the time of writing this novel, she did a lot of research and it shows!