The Poisonwood Bible

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussions of religious discrimination, racism, ableism, and death.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. How does Kingsolver's choice to tell the story through five different female narrators affect your understanding of events in the Congo? Have you read other books that employ multiple narrators to similar effect (e.g., William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying)?

2. The novel begins with Orleanna Price addressing an unknown audience and describing her time in Africa. How does this frame narrative shape your expectations for the story that follows?

3. What role does guilt play in driving the actions of different characters throughout the novel? How do their varied responses to guilt influence their eventual fates?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Each of the Price daughters develops a distinct way of coping with cultural displacement. Which character's response most closely mirrors how you might handle being suddenly immersed in a completely foreign culture?

2. The novel explores various ways in which people maintain or lose their faith when confronted with

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