by Barbara Kingsolver

This is the story of an evangelical missionary family who have been uprooted from their American home when their preacher father takes on an assignment in a Congo mission. He is presented as a harsh, strict man who sees his mission as enlightening the savage pagans and ruling his family with a huge lack of understanding. The story is told through the voices of his wife Orleanna and their four daughters in alternating chapters that reflect their individual interpretations of the experiences they undergo. The father is not given a voice in the book, and the mother's voice is one of retrospection as she looks back on a time that caused major upheaval in the Congo and in their own lives.
There is a wonderful story between the pages of this novel, told with great sensitivity and in a manner that allows you to get know all the characters in the book. Barbara Kingsolver has woven the affairs of the state they live in with the life events of this family in a complex and skilful way.