40 Books--Book 1 The Poisonwood Bible
One of the things I used to do on a yearly basis was make myself a reading challenge that corresponded to the number of years I was turning on my next birthday. When I had just turned 26 I made a list of 27 books I wanted to read before my 27th birthday the following year and so on. I loved the intentionality of this kind of challenge, choosing ahead of time what I wanted to read, making sure I had a diverse list of titles in various genres planned. I got out of the habit of doing this awhile ago but I had the idea back in September to bring this challenge back in this year before I turn 40. Well that was my original intent. It became clear to me by November it might have been a bit ambitious since the titles I’ve chosen aren’t exactly light and fluffy beach reads, so I’ve morphed my challenge to be 40 books to read in my 40s. That feels much more doable and still leaves me plenty of room in the year to read the new releases everyone is talking about like I love doing. So when I began, I made a list of 40 books I want to read, but instead of choosing 40 titles I’ve never read like I usually do when making a “To Be Read” list, I did something a bit different. I emailed a handful of folks from various seasons of my life—professors, former pastors, mentors, friends and fellow book lovers and asked them to choose a title or two for me, books they’ve loved that have shaped them in their lives that I should allow to shape me in the second half of my life. Then, I’ve added in a bunch of titles I’ve loved in the past 20 years that I’ve always meant to re-read but haven’t ever taken the time to. I wanted to see if these books that I loved as a 23 year old would still say something to me today as a 39 year old. I thought I’d share the 40 books that I’m planning on reading in these next few years here and spend a blog post reflecting on each of them as I read (or re-read) each title. If it was a book recommended to me by someone in my life I’ll share a bit about that person as well and why they were someone I reached out to for a book suggestion. To see the list of the 40 titles I’ve chosen you can visit the page I created for this challenge here at this link and I’ll update it as I read and share reflections.
For today’s post I’m sharing my reflections of the first book I read in this little challenge I created for myself back in the fall. I knew when I started reading this year I wanted to start the year with a book I’ve loved for years. I actually don’t re-read novels very often. I used to. As a kid I am sure I drove my mom bananas reaching for the exact same books over and over again (I may or may not have read the entirety of the Baby Sitters Club series many many times) but as an adult I am constantly aware of the number of books that exist in the world I want to read and don’t feel like I have time to re-read ones I’ve loved. That’s part of what I’m excited about in this project, half of the books I’ve chosen are books I have read before so I can intentionally pick them up again. So for my first book I went with a fiction novel I’ve read a few times but hadn’t picked up in several years, Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible. I remember reading it sometime after college maybe during my seminary years, I know I read it again when Aidan was a newborn and my book club chose it as our first ever pick, and I think I read it once more since then, so this time around was my 4th go around with the Price family. I am amazed at how much more I get out of this novel every time I read it. I think that is what makes a novel truly incredible, do you discover something new or gain a new insight every time you read it?
The Reverend Nathan Price is an arrogant, eccentric, overly-zealous Baptist minister so obsessed with “saving souls” that he risks his own life and the lives of those closest to him when he moves his wife and four daughters to the Congo for a supposed one-year stint as missionaries. This later turns into decades of tragedy for this family as he refuses to leave and return home. He carries nothing but his determination to show the pagan village of Kilanga the errors in their tribal beliefs and practices, proclaiming Tata Jesus as their one true God and demonstrating an unwavering obsession with getting their children baptized. Rev. Price moves his family without the sanction of the Baptist Missionary Society, without training, without any knowledge of the culture or language, and while his terrified wife and four daughters sneak mild comforts from home into the Congo hidden in their underclothes Nathan Price bulldozes his way into a village that would have been happier had he never set foot on their soil.
Nathan may have a very authentic belief in Jesus, and a deep desire to see other’s come to know Jesus as Lord, however it is his arrogance that ends up destroying his family and changes the lives of the villagers he is attempting to serve in a less than positive way. Because he chose not to study the language of the people prior to his trip, and because he does not always trust the interpreters, Nathan chooses to attempt preaching in a language not his own. Sunday after Sunday he boldly proclaims “Tata Jesus is bangala!” In the native language Kigongo, the meaning of words depends upon intonation. So while he is attempting to say “Jesus is precious and dear,” he is actually proclaiming week in and week out that Jesus is poisonwood, a local tree that causes immense pain, itching, and misery. People attempt to correct him and he will hear none of it. He knows Jesus. They don’t. He’s right. They’re wrong. And he can’t figure out why no one is flocking to be baptized into the family of this itchy, miserable Jesus.
Throughout the novel Nathan’s arrogance rears its ugly head time after time, leaving a wake of misunderstanding, pain, and heartache in his path. The amount of hatred I felt for him surprised me, I don’t normally have such a strong reaction to fictional characters. The level of spiritual abuse he rose to with his family and the villagers he was attempting to convert was astounding to me. And it would be really easy for me to sit here in judgment of him. But I found myself having to ask the question as I read, ‘have I ever done this?’ Certainly I haven’t bulldozed my way into an African village proclaiming Jesus is a poisonwood tree, but have I ever looked at non-Christians with a sense of arrogance or lack of humility? In interactions with my non-Christian family members do I assume I have it all figured out and they are simply stumbling in the dark? Do I ever wear my faith like a badge of honor? Do I misunderstand the culture and language of those I am attempting to minister to because I fail to take the time to really listen and learn? I think the answer is yes, I am guilty of these things. I know I’ll continue to make these mistakes, but The Poisonwood Bible is a book I know I’ll be re-reading every so often, partly because it’s a phenomenally written book, and partly as a reminder of the approach and heart we as people of faith are to adopt as we look at a world desperate for the Good News and compassion that comes with knowing Jesus. I’d love to hear from anyone who has also read The Poisonwood Bible—what did you think? What were your reactions to the characters and the story of decades of life in Africa and the destruction Nathan brought on his own family and the village in the name of Jesus? And for fun, if you had to choose 40 books to read or re-read, what would some of your titles be??
