The Poisonwood Bible was unlike any book I've ever read. Even from the way it starts and ends - an unknown narrator using the second person in such a strange way - it was a new experience. While I've read books told from multiple perspectives, this one was unique. Each character has a very unique voice. As each character developed, so did her voice (well, except for Rachel, whom I found to be a very static character). For the first half of the novel, I was drawn to Adah. She sees things in such a different way than her sisters. I loved her palindromes and backwards phrases. Seeing life from the perspective of someone who just sits and observes is interesting. However, when the story began to progress much more quickly, after the family left their village, I became more attached to Leah. It seemed that Kingsolver abandoned Adah in America, not paying particular attention to her. Being someone who always follows exactly how writers want me to, I abandoned Adah in favor of Leah as well. It was very strange, and seemed backwards: as the book progressed, Adah became more independent, and ended up no longer behind Leah. As she grew, though, Kingsolver and I drew away from her, abandoning her in a completely different way.
Rachel was an incredibly amusing character. Her use of the words irregardless and anomalous, as well as her description of Christian marriage as "monotonous" cracked me up. Her story, though, was quite boring. My favorite thing about Leah, Adah, and Ruth May was their interaction with the Congolese people, with whom Rachel would have nothing to do. Even when she lived in South Africa, she was the same. Her love for her restaurant, and nothing else, annoyed me. As I mentioned earlier, her writing style didn't change at all. Even when she turned 50, she used the phrase "Jeez oh man," which she used countless times as a teenager.
After finishing the book, I find myself disliking Rachel, and feeling no connections to Orleanna or Ruth May. If I had to order the characters by preference, I'd put Leah and Adah at a tie, which I believes works well with how their lives turned out.
